lifestyle MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2017

FEATURE

Men walk along a canal past the site of Middleport , which was originally constructed in 1888, in Stoke-on-Trent, Derelict bottle kilns, surrounded by vegetation are pictured in Stoke-on-Trent, central England. central England. — AFP photos Artisans break the mold in Britain's pottery capital

t the 18th-century pottery works in Stoke-on- have moved in there too, while the new visitor center tells peo- Trent, start-up artisans like 22-year-old Emma Price are ple about traditional pottery production. Amoving into abandoned buildings and breathing new Laura Cohen, chief executive of the British Ceramic life into a once-mighty industry. The 10-acre (four-hectare) site Confederation trade association, said the industry was in good in the heart of the Staffordshire city in central England whose health in Stoke as sales and employment had surged since the name worldwide is synonymous with pottery has become a depths of the recession in 2010. "It forced those companies that creative hub that is drawing a new generation. "It's a real privi- were surviving to look at their business models, to think about lege to be on this site," said Price, wearing blue overalls flecked how they can become truly world-class," she told AFP. in plaster, as she worked on the mold for a bowl. "This offers me the opportunity to do my own thing and gives me the space to work in and do what I'm passionate about," she told AFP. "A lot of people now are starting to move away from the mass-produced work and want something that's more bespoke." Iconic Stoke brands such as , and Spode are renowned across the globe for their fine chinaware. On a rich seam of clay in England's , Stoke became the world center of pottery production by 1800. Now fewer than 10,000 people still work in an industry that once employed 80,000 in Stoke, as factories closed and produc- tion shifted to Asia over the last 20 years. But young artists are making the most of the latent factory space, skills and expertise that still exist in the 250,000-strong city, not to mention the cov- eted "Made in Stoke-on-Trent" backstamp. At the Spode works, Molds for crockery designs, some dating back over 80 years, are pictured on the site of founded in 1767, a few dozen artisans have moved into the the former Spode pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, central England. derelict buildings. Cobwebbed storehouses on the site are stuffed with Spode molds from the past, stacked on wooden shelves marked with names like Louis XV, Old Comport and Rose Tazza. The cav- ernous China Hall, once bustling with people and machines, now stands like an empty cathedral, filled with light and silence. A worker hand-paints Ceramic artist Jo Ayre, 34, works in a makeshift studio just off Only pottery left crockery in the Emma the China Hall, in a space formerly known as Scorpion Alley, so Steph Woodhouse, spokeswoman for the Emma Bridgewater factory. fierce was the reputation of the women who worked there. Bridgewater factory, one of the more established brands, said: Besides producing her own works, she runs adult learning class- "We've seen a real return of artisan potters coming back to es, teaching groups of locals who want to know more about the Stoke to utilize the skills and experience". Bridgewater began craft that made their city's name. producing ceramics on a tiny scale in Stoke in 1985, and bought the Victorian-era Meakin factory in 1996 as the business 'Endless possibilities' expanded. The pottery now produces 32,000 hand-made, Among those taking their first steps in learning how to hand-decorated items per week and exports internationally. manipulate the clay was 36-year-old barber Craig Urwin. "We Some 250 people work in the Bridgewater factory, from the are doing it in the old-fashioned way, by hand. It's fascinating," men casting the clay to the women using traditional sponging he said. "We've probably got ancestors who did work here or techniques to press on the decoration. John Buckley, 59, has in other factories." Ayre, who hails from Stoke, trained at the been working in since he was 16. "The mining's gone, Royal College of Art in London but moved back in 2015. the steel's gone, there's only this, really," he said of Stoke's tradi- "There's so much space, people you can talk to who know a tional industries. "I'm surprised this is still going, and it's coming tremendous amount about ceramics, so it feels like there's back, and I'm proud to be part of it." — AFP endless possibilities here." In 2011, Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, stepped in to save Middleport Pottery, another historic site and the home of Molds for crockery designs, some dating back over 80 years, are pictured. Burleigh chinaware. As part of the regeneration project, artists

Ceramic artist Emma Price poses for a photograph in her studio, located on the A worker hand-paints crockery in the Emma Bridgewater factory, which A worker hand-paints crockery in the Emma Bridgewater factory. site of the former Spode pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, central England. employs around 185 people and manufactures 1.3 million pieces of pottery each year.

Pieces of crockery await finishing in the Emma Bridgewater factory.

Workers hand-paint crockery in the Emma Bridgewater factory. Hand-painted crockery is moved on trollies in the Emma A worker produces crockery in the Emma Bridgewater fac- Bridgewater factory. tory.