We are devoted to making good, useable pots, delighting in the timeless skill of working in clay and promoting the fulfilling life of creating with hand, eye and the earth’s materials.
Douglas
I started potting in the early 1960s, building my first kiln while still at school. After college and spells working for Mick Casson, Michael Cardew in Cornwall, and Gywn Piggot-Hansen in France, I set up my first pottery on the Somerset/Devon border in 1968. In 1976 I moved to Queen Camel where I commenced wood firing all my work. I ran my first summer school in 1971 and have been combining my own studio pottery work with teaching ever since. I modified the Fred Olsen ‘Fast-fire’ wood kiln design and designed and built a series of wood-fired kilns used at Ridge Pottery. They are based on kilns I have seen and fired in different parts of the world. This interest in the working of wood kilns continues to this day, with modifications of old designs and the development of new prototypes. My travels lecturing, kiln building, setting up potteries, and studying pots and potters have taken me to America, Japan, Malawi and Mexico.
Jennie
After art school in London and teaching, I set up a pottery in Dorset. I am responsible for decorating and glazing most of our wares. Since 1975 I have worked with Douglas on his annual summer schools. My time spent throwing is achieved within the demands of the garden, kitchen and exhibitions etc. I work with Douglas as a “relief stoker” during our wood firings.