Friday 25 August 2017

Art in Clay 2017 Proved to be our best show ever !

 The arrival of a huge van outside our workshop
can only ever mean one thing
We are packing up our showroom to head up to
Art in Clay.
It's the only show where we try and take
the full spirit of Barrington Pottery
and plonk it right down in the middle of Hertfordshire.

We had been allocated our space in the centre of the 
Derek Emms marque.  4mts x 2.5mts
So we had done a full mock up in our showroom
two whole weeks before set off for the show and we were confident
of our plans.
I had the firm Idea that I wanted our main table to be as
minimalist as possible!
Marion wasn't so sure.
When we turned up at the event Paul Young joyfully greeted
us and said Come with me I'll show you your pitch
you've got a great spot!

It was indeed a great spot, But it was open on all four sides
and I had planned for having a stall behind us.
I must admit Marion and I had an uncomfortable 10 minuets
while she told me I was an idiot
and I tried to defend myself that I was sure we were back to back
with another stand as all the others were in other marques.

So we had to think on our feet and totally recreate a new stand from
 whatever we had brought with us!

So the original plan was to have the long table
with the Huge A frame I had found in a skip at the end
with our Banner at the back. 
at the other end we had planned to use apple boxes
to create a table effect to put the wrapping paper on.
I stuck to my guns and kept the main table as 
simple as possible
 Even Svend Bayer said  to me
 " How long will you last with it like that ? "  
  It  worked a treat and I was very proud of  it. 
A Big Thank You to Valentines Clay
for a great event and a really well run show.

  For  a long  time now I have been toying with the idea
of making a range of lighting, I've been playing around with some ideas
this one obviously doesn't work,
But I had at least one good chat with a customer who is interested
in my vision.
and that's what shows are all about, putting ideas out there
and gauging the reaction to see if it's a hit or a miss.

 So the back side of our stall ended up looking something like this
 a bit like it looked at Earth & Fire
and I'm pleased to say sales came from every area of the stall
This new design jug made it's debut at the show
and lots of people fell in love with it
But It has made it's way back to Somerset
with us much to Marion's pleasure. 

 We sold all of our small Harvest Jugs
 and we had some notable visitors to our stall
including Richard from the Pottery Throw down.
we also had a quick chat to his lordship
Keith Brymer Jones but felt it was a bit De rigueur
to ask for a photo!
and Ray Toms finally came to collect the jug he 
won the bid on for the Clay College Auction
back at the start of the Year.

All in all we had a great show, sales were good
we set ourselves some targets and hit every one of them.
We came away a combination of
Exhilarated and Exhausted.
Thank You to everyone who came to say hello
especially the amount of people who said they love my posts on 
Facebook and Instagram. 
 We did have the pleasure of also having Felicity Lloyd -Coombes
on a stand opposite ours with this adorable
8 week old Puppy.
We were back home by 10.30 on the Sunday Night
and we were all set up for Play with clay
on the Monday morning by 9.30.

I got straight back into throwing, 
it's amazing what a good show can do for you.

 and the showroom is back as it should be
ready for a busy Bank Holiday Weekend

Our next road trip is to Derbyshire for 
Pots & Food
9th & 10th September
Come and see us if you can it's a quirky show.

Tuesday 15 August 2017

Barrington Pottery Blog Back on Track

Once again apologies for the infrequent blog posts since May
But I have today finally got my computer a new keyboard !
I was at the brink of buying a new Laptop
and it's at moments like that when you are just about to spend
a lot of money that you start to think outside the Box.
A new laptop was going to set me back somewhere in the region
of £500 - £1500 as the more I looked at them the more I was
trying to convince myself that the really expensive one was what I needed.
Of course it wasn't !
If I have learnt one thing over the past 9 years as a Potter
It's that it's not about throwing money at things
it's about making do with what you have to hand.
So in a moment of inspired inspiration I did a Google search for a 
wireless Keyboard
I feel like a genius I have solved my problems
kept my computer and made it fully functional again all for 
a total outlay of only £8.89   

-
 Art in Clay is coming up this weekend I'll be sure to take plenty
of pictures and update you on our stall and how we get on.

We had a bit of fun sorting out a new profile picture of me required by a local
publication
 We spent ages trying to set the shot up, changing positions so
 we could both see what was the best angle. 
 We had some Fun, and in the end Marion got a nice shot
of me at the wheel.
With Art in Clay looming I've been trying to 
make some more lidded jars
 I Do love making pots with lids, the challenge of making a 
really good fitting lid, must be something to do with my dad
being an engineer he's no longer with us
he died 25 years ago, but every time I make a good fitting lid
I think Dad would appreciate that.
 A recent trip to the antique alley in Bridport Dorset
unearthed some interesting old Pancheons
 And it reiterates what I say when people say they can buy an old one
( you never know what's been in it )? 
 I must admit I was tempted by the three dogs
for the showroom!
 I did actually resist them, but if there still there when I go back
those puppies are Mine! 
We have had plenty of firings in the smaller kilns
but I have had two back to back in the larger kiln with pots for
I went back in to the workshop late one night just to check
as it was about to finish.
and it's nice when you feel your dedication pays off
as it proved to be a really nice firing.

 Yes they are still plain and simple but the richness of the glaze
makes you just want to pick them up and stroke them.
 So simple yet so nice.
 and I know my Dad would have loved this Ginger jar shaped pot
as he also loved ginger.
 So our stall will have pots that I am very proud of
and our stall will very much reflect what we are all about
at Barrington Pottery
 
We are very much about to take Barrington Pottery
to Hertfordshire
where for me it all began.


+-

Sunday 6 August 2017

The Pottery Show season is in full swing 2017


Apologies for the long gap between blog posts 
the keyboard on my blog laptop decided it would give up,
my P's & T's had ground to a halt, which made for some
interesting reading if you didn't check it !
I thought I would start with a few work in progress pics.
I'm still not happy with my little Tea Pots
but they will happen!

 Our Cottage is looking good this summer 

We both loved this Harvest jug
It inspired us to try some small ones
These little chaps were thrown using 2lbs of clay
I really enjoyed throwing the full bellied shape
I then handed them over to Marion to work her magic 
on the design 



We were both pleased with the outcome 
and are planning more.

Even if it does go against the grain, it's nice to work 
on pots together. 
Of course you always need a little down time 
and since it's almost a year since we lost Cadbury 
we never miss a chance to meet other peoples dogs.

 Barrington Village held a very successful open Gardens event 
in July
and in the evening I got chatting to Mr Robin Wild,
( he's he second chap)
 who it turned out went to Chelsea school of Art
with Seth Cardew and they were great friends.
 We went into full Country mode for our stall at 
Earth and Fire.
I even borrowed a piece of trellis from the garden centre 
as I couldn't fit it in the car!

 We took a weeks Holiday in the sun in Portugal 
and then we were straight back in it.

 The showroom has plenty of stock
and we are making pots for Art in Clay
it's at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire 
and we would love to see You!

Harvest on the Farm TV appearance

It’s great to be back on the Blog! The most exciting thing that’s happening right now, is that I’ve been asked to appear on Channel 5’s TV s...