Misty Morning 2011

I've not made that many pots over the past few weeks

because I've still been suffering with the flu.

The morning at the workshop is a great time to go for a walk with caddy. 

It's a real treat to see the nature around the court

and is a great way to start the day.

I love the mist. 

and a great web. 

I love mornings like this. 

 The workshop

 I love all the colours in this view

and It's amazing how they transform into your work.

Like these pie dishes.

all for now,

I'm off to clean up the workshop for

the Westcountry Potters Association demonstration day

on Saturday.

Somerset Life Magazine Article.

Barrington Court closes at the end of October

and is then only open at weekends

in November.

So now was a great time to get a bit of extra exposure

to help with sales on the run up to Christmas

This is the November issue of

Somerset Life Magazine. 

and the workshops have a four page spread. 

I am open all of November and December.

In fact we are all open until Christmas.

It's a great place to come and buy some unique

Christmas Presents.

Don't Worry Mum

I've just put a copy in the post for you.

Pain you can't take tablets for!

Before I start on this blog

Note to self

"Don't take life to seriously, Know one gets out alive."

I was given these Shoji Hamada

comedy Glasses last week.

what was worrying was I could see great in them!

I had the Flu for most of the past week

so I was off on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

I went back in the workshop on Thursday, but was too rough to make pots

so I did loads of computer stuff.

and these signs for the showroom. 

 I've noticed that some customers, seem to have no idea

and need telling what it is I'm making and why,

But you don't always get the chance to,

so I've spelt it out for them.

 Yes no Imported stuff

I realise that these aren't the best ten reasons at all

so any help on this would be appreciated

and I'll change this bit and post it up. 

and these are my winter open times. 

We now have gift voucher cards

all printed up nice and smart. 

So I've been working on this as well. 

The rest of the time I have spent loading up new pics and

info for a new look web site, that will have it's own

add to basket section,

I've re written all the about stuff, terms & conditions

descriptions of each pot etc, etc

Only to have Sam ( my web guy )

tell me he's changed the cart to a new updated version

and all my work has been lost.

to be fair to Sam he did send me an email

that said

OH, No!

http://edsadesigns.com/

Museum of Somerset now re open

The Museum of Somerset

has re opened after a major redevelopment.

It's in Taunton just behind the Castle Hotel.

I've been waiting 3 years for it to re open because it had a big collection

of Donyatt Pottery on Display.

 So you can imagine my disappointment

when the lady on reception told me it was all now in storage.

I explained I had come to see one particular plate

of the conjoined twins of Isle Brewers in 1680.

She gave me a number to ring to make an appointment to see it.

So I thought while I'm here I'll have a look around.

In the very last room I looked in

There it was on Display. 

I've been asked to make a copy of it

and I wanted to see it at first hand. 

it was smaller than I expected at about 12.5" wide.

by the time I got back to reception the lady was nowhere to be seen.

Mean while back at the workshop!

Wassail Cups and salt pigs waiting to be slipped.

I've just been told today that Barrington Court

won't be holding a wassail next year.

So maybe we will do some kind of event ourselves

on a freezing cold dark wet night in January.

and a trial run on a large bowl for the village church.

this measures 19" wide and was 14lbs of clay.

it needs to be 24" wide, so I'm going to try again with 16lbs of clay.

this shot gives you a perspective on the size

as the bowl in the background is 16" wide

made from 6.5lbs of clay.

Design Process in progress

I love working on my own in my workshop

the space is very special to me.

I think that having waited 22 years for my own workshop

now that I have it I don't want to share it.

But more recently Marion has been coming down at the weekends

and making a few things and watching and learning.

I always felt like a very lonely potter,

who just wanted to close the door

 and get on with making what I want to make in my own way.

But this weekend has changed all that.

We had been discussing a design for a large plate or platter

and I weighed up 6lbs of clay and threw a 13" wide ( bowl ).

This was not what we had talked about. 

So I weighed up 5lbs of clay and made this.

This wasn't what we had talked about either!

So I weighed up 6lbs again and made this,

no different to the first one. 

so I tried again, getting closer but the base was too small.

In the end I weighed up 6.5lbs of clay

and made this 15" wide platter with plenty of meat at the bottom

for turning. 

it was great to have someone to work with and to discuss what I was making

or to put it another way "to point out the error of my ways."

But we got there in the end.

we had unloaded the kiln earlier and we both liked this large bowl

in the Old English White glaze. 

 and this small pancheon in the Buckley style

surprised me, it's been sat on the shelf for months

and I had not felt inspired to glaze it.

But when it came out I found myself sitting down watching

my Svend Bayer DVD in the showroom whilst hugging this pot.

Marion went home earlier to prep for the roast dinner last night

and it was great to see this Pancheon of potatoes

sat on the kitchen table when I got home. 

what nicer site could a potter wish to see.

Harvest Festival Time 2011

Sunday was the last day of

Somerset Art Weeks.

I had the feeling it wasn't as good as previous events

But I've sat down since and done the sums.

Last year over the two week event we sold 104 pots

this year we sold 124.

but the sales value was only 4% up.

Having been a contracts manager for 20 odd years

you never get away from analysing figures and working out

where you are compared to last year.

We sold more pots but they were all lower value items.

Overall we are doing very well this year

despite the doom and gloom merchants on the telly,

I feel as if I'm living in a parallel universe.

These pots came out of the kiln on Monday

to replenish some of the stock.

Last Saturday was Ilminster carnival,

the weather was great.

what was nice was that we both got a cheese burger and chips and

sat in a shop doorway eating them, while people who were sat

in a swanky restaurant on the first floor looked down

at us with envy as they waited for their meal. 

 The floats were amazing this year.

 These guys were on stilts.

 The streets were packed and the floats lit up the whole street.

 afterwards we popped up to our mates in the

Duke of York Pub

Ron & Sarah Philbeck
 had a meal in here when they came over

a couple of years ago.

They had a band on and it was a bit of a do. 

I didn't ask this chap how he got these bunny ears

but there were plenty of ladies around boogieing to the band. 

This is my harvest jug for 2011

with script taken from a Michael Cardew Jug.

This week seems to have flown bye.

I had to take the afternoon out on Wednesday

and I went to bed for 3 hours I was just exhausted.

But I feel great again now.

The Up's and Downs of life as a potter.

In my last post I mentioned I had an exciting day ahead!

I'm not sure it went quite to plan.

The showroom was all set up for a visit

from a group of Buyers from a large organisation

I'm not in a position to say who yet!

It all went OK on Wednesday morning.

But I'm not going to know the outcome for some time.

At lunch time I went over to Yeovil

where there was a loud bang under the bonnet of the Pajero

followed by lots of steam. 

The Radiator had split across the top. 

But a chap from the RAC said I had broken down

only 2 miles from one of the biggest radiator stockists

in the south west.

Raysons radiators

Result.

He popped down the road and came back with a brand new

radiator which is amazing considering

the Pajero is a Japanese import that is 19 years old.

any way he fitted it on the spot.

The result of all this is that the Vehicle is now in the local garage

being checked over.

So Me & Caddy have been walking to work.

The weather has been stunning over the past few days

and walking to work has been a real pleasure, beautiful sunshine

misty mornings and the reassuring sound of apples

hitting the floor as we walk past the orchards.

even the local wildlife was looking for some shade.

Including this little chap.

It's amazing, one minuet your up, the next your down

and then your up again by the most natural things.