Dorothy Jessie Tait (6 March 1928 – 14 January 2010) was a prolific English ceramic designer working in the

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

pottery industries, most prominently for

Midwinter Midwinter is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the early Germanic calendars. Attestations Midwinter is attested in the early Germanic calendars, where it appears to have been a specific day or a number of days during the winter ha ...

, from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Life and work

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Tait studied at the

Burslem School of Art Burslem School of Art was an art school in the centre of the town of Burslem in the Potteries district of England. Students from the school played an important role in the local pottery industry. Pottery was made on the site of the school from th ...

. She first worked as a junior designer to Charlotte Rhead, and then as designer for the Midwinter Pottery between 1946 and 1974. The Midwinter Pottery was taken over by J. & G. Meakin in 1968, and again by

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

in 1970. Jessie Tait moved from Midwinter to Johnson Brothers, another part of the Wedgwood group, and retired in the early 1990s. Many of her designs were mass-produced by the Midwinter Pottery on dinner services, and tea and coffee sets. In the 1950s these were hand painted, and well known designs included 'Red Domino' and 'Zambesi'. Her style was often detailed and geometric, making an effective transition to transfer printed wares, with 'Spanish Garden' and a range of designs on the Stonehenge shape in the 1970s continuing her success. Midwinter produced a series of Jessie Tait vases and beakers with tube-lined decoration. Tait also worked at home in the evenings, making intricate tube-lined wares on terracotta bodies for friends and family. She also designed for the Clayburn Pottery. Like other Potteries-based ceramic designers such as

Clarice Cliff Clarice Cliff (20 January 1899 – 23 October 1972) was an English ceramic artist and designer. Active from 1922 to 1963, Cliff became the head of the factory creative department. Early life Cliff's ancestors moved from the Eccleshall area ...

, Susie Cooper and Charlotte Rhead, her work has become highly sought after and valued by pottery collectors.

Gallery

Image:jessietait1957.jpg, Jessie Tait tube lined vase, dated 1957 Image:jessietaitvases.jpg, Vases and a beaker by Jessie Tait for Midwinter Pottery

Bibliography

* ''Midwinter Pottery'' - Steven Jenkins, Richard Dennis, 2003, *

Charlotte Higgins Charlotte Higgins, (born 6 September 1972) is a British writer and journalist. Early life and education Higgins was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the daughter of a doctor and a nurse, and received her secondary education at a local independent sc ...

(12 February 2010)
Jessie Tait obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' (guardian.co.uk), retrieved 5 July 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, Jessie 1928 births 2010 deaths Alumni of Burslem School of Art Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from mesothelioma Dinnerware designers English designers People from Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire pottery