Portmeirion is a British pottery company based in

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 ...

, England.

History

Portmeirion Pottery began in 1960 when

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

designer

Susan Williams-Ellis Susan Williams-Ellis (6 June 1918 – 26 November 2007) was a British pottery designer, who was best known for co-founding Portmeirion Pottery. She was the eldest daughter of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis. Background Williams-Ellis was born in Gu ...

(daughter of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, who created the Italian-style

Portmeirion Portmeirion is a tourist village in Gwynedd, North Wales. It was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975 in the style of an Italian village, and is now owned by a charitable trust. The village is located in the co ...

Village in North Wales) and her husband, Euan Cooper-Willis, took over a small pottery-decorating company in

called A. E. Gray Ltd, also known as Gray's Pottery. Susan Williams-Ellis had been working with A.E. Gray for some years, commissioning designs to sell at the gift shop in Portmeirion Village, the items bearing the backstamp "Gray's Pottery Portmeirionware". In 1961, the couple purchased a second pottery company, Kirkhams Ltd, that had the capacity to manufacture pottery, and not only decorate it. These two businesses were combined and Portmeirion Potteries Ltd was born. Susan Williams-Ellis' early Portmeirion designs included Malachite (1960), Moss Agate (1961) and Talisman (1962). In 1963, she created the popular design Totem, an abstract pattern based on primitive forms coupled with a cylindrical shape. PortmeirionPomonaTasse

She later created Magic City (1966) and Magic Garden (1970), but arguably Portmeirion's most recognised design is the Botanic Garden range, decorated with a variety of floral illustrations adapted from Thomas Green's ''Universal or-Botanical, Medical and Agricultural Dictionary'' (1817), and looking back to a tradition begun by the Chelsea porcelain factory's "botanical" designs of the 1750s. It was launched in 1972 and, with new designs added periodically, is still made today, the most successful ceramics series of botanical subjects. More recent designs have included

Sophie Conran Henrietta Sophia Conran, known as Sophie Conran (born October 1965) is a designer, retailer, cook and author. She is the founder and director of the Sophie Conran Shop. Early life Conran is the daughter of designer and restaurateur Sir Terence C ...

's ''Crazy Daisy'' and ''Dawn Chorus''. On 23 April 2009, Portmeirion Potteries Ltd purchased the

Royal Worcester Royal Worcester is a porcelain brand based in Worcester, England. It was established in 1751 and is believed to be the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain brand still in existence today, although this is disputed by Royal Crown D ...

and Spode brands, after they had been placed into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

the previous November. Portmeirion Potteries has since changed its company name to Portmeirion Group to reflect this acquisition.David Johnson
Article in The Staffordshire Sentinel on 16.12.10, ''The Sentinel''
/ref> The purchase did not include the manufacturing facilities of Royal Worcester or Spode. The manufacture of much of Spode's ware was returned to Britain from the Far East, to the Portmeirion Group's factory in Stoke-on-Trent. In 2019, the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

mounted an exhibition of Portmeirion pottery.

References

External links

Official website

Resource website for Grays Pottery

Portmeirion Pottery Collectors' Website
(archive only) {{Authority control Ceramics manufacturers of England Welsh pottery Staffordshire pottery Companies based in Stoke-on-Trent Design companies established in 1960 British companies established in 1960 Manufacturing companies established in 1960 1960 establishments in England Privately held companies of the United Kingdom

History

References

Further reading

External links