Girls' Trip to Stoke on Trent

Time for the annual American Women's Club outing to what is officially called the Ceramic Capital of the World, or more often, The Potteries--the town of Stoke-on-Trent.  Since the early 17th century, the area has been known for its pottery production due to its abundance of clay and coal, and then once china clay was imported in, the manufacture of bone china also began and has carried on to this day.

Today--it's all about the factory shops and bargains galore!

Our first stop was to the Leeds shop, or Royal Creamware, where the beautiful piercings of many of the pieces distinguish the look of its openwork.

Moving down the street, we visited the factory shop of Aynsley, a prominent maker of bone china,

where there were still remnants of Royal Wedding china.

At the time of the Royal Wedding, Aynsley was known as the china maker who had used an unflattering photo of Kate Middleton. Doesn't even begin to show how beautiful she really is.

Since 2012 is the year of the Queen's Jubilee, celebrating her 60th year of being queen, the first of the commemorative pieces are beginning to roll out of production.

One of my favorite stops is always at Burleigh pottery,

where its chintz-look delighted us, and its prices pleased us.

Every piece of Burleigh is made in their authentic Victorian pottery using the original machinery and process.

The blue pottery is a crowd favorite,

but a lot of us were selecting some of the black,

and red, my personal favorite.

My purchases included a couple of bowls and a creamer to add to my collection.

Back on the bus, where we gobbled down a quick sandwich, and continued on our way. Next stop was the Wedgewood Outlet, which also carries Royal Doulton, Minton and Waterford.

I couldn't pass on this Wedgewood china--the plates were marked down from £32.50 ($50) to £5 ($8,)

so ten of them went home with me.

Next, on to Portmeirion, who also now owns Spode and Royal Worcester.

Stacks and stacks of traditional patterns to choose from,

making decisions of how much we could carry home an issue!

Some were drawn to the traditional Spode Blue Italian

or the ever popular Pimpernel place-mats,

but I was searching the Pomona pattern to add to my collection,

this time buying some soup bowls for just £3 or $4.60 each and a pretty tray.

Deals and steals!

Finally, how much we LOVE thee, Emma Bridgewater!

Your ♥'s

your polka dots,

and your bold classic Black Toast pattern thrill us, especially at Factory Shop prices.

And with great JOY, I found another JOY bowl to add to my Christmas cake stand I bought this year.

JOY--found in simple places and definitely in Stoke-on-Trent!

Emma Bridgewater-You're so fun!

 

A second stop on our field trip to Stoke on Trent was to the Emma Bridgewater factory. Emma Bridgewater is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, looking back to the year when Emma first started decorating mugs when she couldn't find a mug that had the look she was hoping to find. She is married to the illustrator, Matthew Rice, and although their business centers about pottery, they also work together to design glass, cutlery, textiles and stationery too.

The factory shop boasts specials and samples, and encourages you to fill your trolley

with loot. Her iconic look is the polka-dot.

And in her kitchen cafe, she even has a top of the line polka dot Aga range cooker, and you too, can have one for £10,000. Maybe you could ask Santa to bring you one??

Another popular style is the Black Toast pattern,

which is offered on many different items.

Also popular is the Union Jack, as well as the floral and bird patterns.

Personalized items can be ordered

or painted by you in their workshops.

One of the highlights of the day was lunch in the Emma Bridgewater cafe. I loved all the fun cutlery, but one look at the price made me realize it wouldn't be going home with me that day.

Good friends and family made the day even more fun

and there was a lot of shopping success that day. 

Lest hubby read this and assume these bags are all mine, I must hasten to say that only one bag out of four was mine, dear. And a word to the wise--the stores are all happy to ship!

Field Trip to the Potteries

It was time for a field trip, so we started our day walking to the tube at daybreak, hopped on with the morning commuters to the train station, and off we went by train for a 2 hour trip to Stoke on Trent, in the Staffordshire area of England, where we then hired a taxi for the day. This area, known through recent time as the home of the pottery industry, today still boasts quite a few working potteries, and where there are potteries, there are factory shops with bargains to be found. I had made this trip a dozen years ago, when the economy was stronger and all the big names, Wedgewood, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, Minton, Spode and Portmeirion had very active factories and shops. Alas, today many of the factories have closed or been bought by other groups, so although there are not as many shopping options as in previous years, it's still fun to see what you can find at the "seconds" shops. 

Stoke on Trent became the center of ceramic production in the 17th century because of the availability in the area of clay, salt, lead and coal--all necessary ingredients in production.

We started our day at the Burleigh factory--probably best known for its blue floral prints. Burleigh claims to be the last working Victorian pottery in England. It has been using the 200 year old decorating process of underglaze transfer printing for over 150 years.

Since its foundation in 1851, they have been using this labor intensive method.

I fell in love with the whimsical red prints last year when I was there,

when I picked up one of their cow creamers, a few bowls and a serving platter. This time, I picked up a another serving platter in the check print seen on the left to go with my floral print platter. Most of the pottery is still pricey, even though they are seconds, due to this specific hand decorating process. I did find a couple of small Christmas dessert plates for 50 pence that they had made for Williams Sonoma.

Maybe the pink pattern catches your fancy,

or the very unique purple. Other popular colors are black, brown, and

green. What would you be your favorite? They are so fun to mix and match, as you will see if you take a peek at their lovely website.

Be watching for the next post which was also focus on another fun pottery line.