This week I had my first meeting with Em of 1882Ltd, the collaborators on my residency project. 1882Ltd was formed in 2011 by fifth generation Emily Johnson and her father, Christopher continuing the Johnson Brothers’ 134 year legacy in the Potteries, the company name evoking the deep routes of the family heritage. Their mission is to champion and take inventively designed ceramic products to wider audiences whilst employing the manufacturing heritage of North Staffordshire and promoting the British ceramic industry.
Working with them and in response to the Museum’s collections, I am interested to combine traditional studio pottery techniques with industrial production, working with the manufacturer to explore how industry can be used to create individual items within small production runs. Designing with integrity, with a knowledge of material and history of the subject.
Illustration is an important part of my practice, I decided in order to give my residency some industrial context I needed to set the scene, I need a factory, so I ‘built’ one. From a drawing of Johnson’s Brothers Imperial Pottery front, blown up 800%, you now enter my studio through it’s gates.
