If I ask myself the question “what is success to me in terms of my Art” I find it difficult to explain.  I suppose I have always been artistic, but I had a strong urge to study ceramics when I had my two children and attended a pottery evening class in London once a week.

The feeling of the clay between my hands and being able to create something viable was infectious and although I am largely self-taught, I had a lot of good fortune and determination along the way.

I ended up with two factories, one in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, and the other in Northampton employing thirty-five people, including seven decorators, who I trained to paint my designs.  

My luck and fortuitous success was due entirely to a buyer from the Royal Academy I met at a trade fair. I was summoned to her office and asked to do something for the Summer Exhibition – to which, rather cheekily,  I said I wasn’t very inspired but had they got any other exhibition coming soon.
She handed me the huge fat catalogue of the FAUVES which was an exhibition coming from the Met in NY, and said “go away with this and come up with something”!

I hand painted seven designs based on my interpretation of the Fauve artists – all of which she chose, and I made plates, bowls, jugs and mugs and brightly coloured ceramic jewellery. They all sold out in 2 weeks!  I received a mass of publicity and the shops all demanding I make special designs for them.  

It was the “Fauves” who put on the map!  

This illustration is my interpretation of a Derain “Trois Arbres L’Estaque 1906”. One of the seven designs I made for the RA.

Thereafter I was made a Fellow of the Art Society, came second in ‘Women into Business’, and had commissions from the National Gallery, the Royal Opera House, The Royal Horticultural Society, Conran and a commission from Laura Ashley to design something for their 40th Anniversary. I made little bowls for the production team of “OLIVER” and specially commissioned cover plates for several top chefs, including Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsey and The Square.

A call from the Curator of the V&A, who have now got seven of my designs in the British Section of their permanent Ceramic collection on the 4th floor, was the icing on the cake for me.

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