Emma Bridgewater is responsible for some of the best-loved crockery around. Her solidly-made polka-dot and star printed mugs, plates and other pottery pieces are a common fixture in British kitchens, but considering how ubiquitous the designs have become, it’s surprising to learn that Bridgewater pottery is still made the slow way, with each piece taking around a week to complete.
While most crockery is now mass produced in large factories, Emma Bridgewater’s pieces are still made at her small factory in Stoke-on-Trent, using the traditional methods of slip-casting that is still done by hand with plaster moulds and clay taken from Wales, Cornwall and Staffordshire.
Slip-casting by hand is a very labour-intensive method of production, but it ensures a higher quality with some interesting advantages: the handles on each mug, for example, are part of the main body of the cup, which makes them much harder to break than the mass-produced sort, which are often assembled from several pieces. This certainly explains a lot of household breakages – particularly when it involves cheap crockery!
Once the wet clay is cast to look like one of the familiar mugs, bowls or plates, it’s fired to a low temperature, which keeps it absorbent as it cools. This results in a better surface for the sponge-decorating – the colourful design, which is also done by hand for greater depth of colour.
A team of skilled decorators works on the fired clay, making each piece very slightly different from the last, for that unique, hand-made look. Once the pattern is completed, pieces are hand-dipped and fired once more at the best temperature to make them highly durable; the colour sitting just beneath a highly-glazed surface.
Homewares made using slower, more traditional techniques are certainly gaining in popularity, with Emma Bridgewater pottery being just one success story. This partly comes down to the quality – enough shoppers simply tiring of broken handles and identikit designs – but also to an interest in how everyday items are made: people like to know where their possessions have come from, the processes and materials that went into making them. Bridgewater’s popular factory tours in Stoke-on-Trent are testament to this new enthusiasm for how things are made.
If you’re looking for a thoughtful Valentine’s gift, Emma Bridgewater’s heart print and ‘Nice Dream’ designs are available to order until 8 February for delivery by 14 February.
Images courtesy of Emma Bridgewater
