Well who would have thought it… I’m now sitting at the wheel after a gap of 6 weeks, which would have been unheard of only a few years ago. I’m making prototypes to add to the word range for the New Year to send over to my studio in one of the factories that we use in China. A far cry from making hundreds of pieces a day on the wheel!

This for me is as equally fulfilling as hand making the work myself, but has required a very different approach. Visiting and working in the factories in China is quite inspirational. The minute I walk in, I get a true sense of years of experience in producing ceramic, which to me is very exciting and although there is a language barrier, we tend to be able to communicate through the work itself, and the common goal we have in achieving new shapes and new ranges.

This hands-on and very practical approach gives me a far better understanding of not only how their work is created, but also the cultural attitudes towards the work and in turn, the way they live. It is quite simply fascinating.

The photograph above shows one of the men at the factory who is in charge of the moulds and mould making, taken on one of our regular factory trips.

Anyway, back to the wheel… speak soon.