Last November some of our members went on a trip to the potteries. It was a cold and wet day outside but we were in a comfortable and dry mini-bus that transported us quickly to our first venue: the Emma Bridgewater factory. We had an excellent tour guide who knew all the people at each of the stations we visited and who could answer any and all questions. For those of you who are not familiar with the company, Emma Bridgewater is a real person who started the company in 1985 (originally to make a teacup and saucer for her Mother's birthday present!), and she has been designing and making homestyle crockery ever since. It is one of the few potteries remaining that make everything by hand, from pouring the slip into moulds, to "jollying" plates, to decorating and glazing the finished products.
After the tour we had a very tasty lunch in the factory cafe where they made delicious homemade sandwiches and soups. After a hearty meal we had the stamina to go around the factory store and the factory outlets centre, and had a good time choosing some beautiful pieces to give out as Christmas presents!
We learned a lot about the making of ceramics, here are just a few of the things we saw (you can click on an image to see a larger version):
