Sunday, March 29, 2015

Affordable and stylish mid-century pottery? Try some English-made pieces by The Hornsea Pottery (1949-2012).

When I think of mid-century modern pottery, German and Italian makers come to mind first. Today I learned about The Hornsea Pottery in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They were in business only from 1949-2012 but they hired designers like Dorothy Marion Campbell, Alan Luckham and John Clappison, son of one of the founders Phillip Clappison. From these people, came the stylish and contemporary range of products that are in demand today. In the 1960's the factory could not keep up with production of John Clappisons "Heirloom" collection which had been accepted and won awards from The Design Council.

Heirloom tableware by John Clappison. Photograph: Antique Collectors' Club

The second of their two factories went into receivership in the year 2000 and ultimately closed completely in 2012. The factory buildings no longer exist but there is a Hornsea Pottery Museum.
"Over 2,000 pieces from the pottery's beginnings in 1949 to 2000 are on display in two converted 18th century cottages in Hornsea Museum in Newbegin, the main street of Hornsea. Geoffrey Hindle, (Jolley Geoff); son of Bob Hindle, the driving force behind the very successful sales organisation; also nephew of Desmond Rawson, has spent many hours recording both of their life's work, donated all the family's pieces of pottery and many photographs to help the collection's guardians Carol Harker and Museum founder Dr Stuart Walker tell the full story of the company's success and eventual demise. The Intellectual Properties of Hornsea Potteries including all the designs and trade marks were acquired at the time of receivership by Hornsea Potteries Intellectual Properties Ltd. Most of the designs are digitized and will be reissued both in the original format and as appropriate consumer goods". (courtesy Wiki)

John Clappison obituary

Innovative designer who created bestselling ranges for Hornsea Pottery

John Clappison, who has died aged 75, was a prolific and innovative designer who came to the forefront of British pottery after the second world war. He wanted to improve the quality of design and production for a mass market, and at Hornsea Pottery created some of the most popular ranges available in the UK from the 1950s through to the 80s.
He later commented that working in the Yorkshire coastal town of Hornsea, while the pottery industry was centred on Stoke-on-Trent, helped him develop his own unique response to contemporary design. John understood the possibilities, but more importantly the limitations, of the Hornsea company and its workforce. Handpainted decoration in the "contemporary" style of the popular Midwinter Pottery was not possible at Hornsea, as it was very costly; and the idea of using transfer-printed sheets was also ruled out as being far too expensive for such a small works. These limitations prompted John to experiment with new shapes, glaze and decorative techniques, which resulted in well-known ranges such as Summit and Home Decor, both from 1960.
John, the son of a butcher, Philip Clappison, and his wife, Enith, was born in Hull, east Yorkshire, into a family that appreciated the arts. After attending the local school, John gained a place at the High School for Arts and Crafts in Hull in 1950, soon followed by studies at the Hull Regional College of Arts and Crafts, where he gained a national diploma in design, specialising in ceramics.
The Hornsea Pottery was a relatively new business, having been established in 1949, by two brothers, Desmond and Colin Rawson. A year later their friend Philip Clappison, having sold his butcher's shop, invested in the pottery. This gave the young John the opportunity to experiment and develop his ideas in ceramics and led to successful lines including his Elegance range of vases, gift wares and dishes, launched in 1955.

Clappison tableware — John Clappison's Elegance range for Hornsea Pottery. Photograph: Antique Collectors' Club

As trade increased, in 1957 the Rawson brothers arranged for John to spend a year at the Royal College of Art in London, where he specialised in industrial design and ceramics. Having already gained considerable hands-on experience, he felt he learned little at the RCA and instead spent a lot of time studying the collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum and visiting department stores such as Heal's. He was awarded the faculty of industrial design certificate in ceramics, but decided to return to Yorkshire, where in 1958 he was appointed chief designer for the Hornsea Pottery.
John continued to innovate throughout the 60s with different decorative techniques and, importantly, a new printing technique which screen-printed a resist medium on to the biscuit wares before glazing, so that the glaze covered the unprinted parts of the design, creating contrasting semi-matt areas. The thicker glaze created a relief effect that enhanced the design. This technique was successfully exploited by Hornsea to produce bestselling tablewares such as Heirloom, launched in 1967, and Saffron, from 1970. These new ranges were much admired in the trade press and copied by other manufacturers.

Clappison pots — Saffron tableware by John Clappison. Photograph: Antique Collectors' Club

In 1972 John resigned his position at Hornsea, becoming the chief designer for Ravenhead Glass in Lancashire, where he created lines including Siesta, Solar and Topaz. His 1973 Barmasters range for licensed premises sold in the hundreds of millions.
He eventually rejoined Hornsea Pottery in 1976, soon producing the new Impact range which was accepted on to the Design Council Index, quite an achievement for a small pottery manufacturer. But Hornsea suffered in the recession of the early 1980s, and attempts to recover through changes in management and design policy failed to save the company. When Hornsea went into receivership in 1984 John found a new position as head shape designer at Royal Doulton, working for a range of factories such as Royal Albert and Minton. He retired, due to ill-health, in 1998.
I met John when he talked to collectors about his work at a ceramic study weekend in Stoke-on-Trent and later consulted him for my book Twentieth Century Ceramic Designers in Britain (2001).
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, whom he married in 1966, and their sons, Mark and Jonathan.
• William John Clappison, industrial designer, born 27 June 1937; died 21 February 2013

(courtesy of The Guardian)
If you are interested in a great mid-century to 1970's look Hornsea Pottery can be found on all the major online sources and is extremely affordable. Nice pieces can be found for under $20. Here are a few examples I found on Etsy where we have our online store.