MOORCROFT
s’ plenty about local pottery
Australia, Canada and New
Zealand. Historic pieces like
Waratah
sell
today
for
phenomenal prices on the
secondary market, not to forget a
corporate Royal Appointment, an
honour bestowed on the
company by Queen Mary in 1928.
Today, Moorcroft designers
continue to push the boundaries
of surface design and shape.
Rachel Bishop (senior designer),
has
had
a
Staffordshire
University Hall of Residence
named after her as well as some
national gold and silver awards of
her own. The head of the Design
Studio is highly regarded in the
world of Moorcroft for her
outstanding contribution to the
art pottery in the 1990’s when she
introduced a plethora of designs
reviving the Arts and Crafts
movement in ceramic design. In
turn, these allowed the art
pottery to intrigue and excite
collecting in Moorcroft again as it
moved towards the Millennium.
In 1997, the Moorcroft Design
Studio was formed, and the likes
of local designer, Emma Bossons
FRSA, (made a fellow of the
Royal Society of the Arts after the
Millennium celebrations for her
contribution
to
Moorcroft
design) with her Design Studio
colleagues, had her designs
displayed in the Mansion House,
London, at the time of the
Olympic celebrations for Heads
of State and visiting dignitaries to
admire. These prestigious pieces
are now on display at the
Mansion House in perpetuity.
Nicola Slaney and Kerry
Goodwin, other Design Studio
stars born and bred in the
Potteries have brought fresh
blood into Moorcroft, now
acknowledged to be a globallyrenowned brand. The Moorcroft
Design Studio members have
undertaken work for national
charities including the RSPB, and
the Born Free Foundation to
name but two, whilst during this
Moorcroft centenary year, the
Douglas Macmillan Hospice itself
is also a beneficiary.
And so to celebrate this most
monumental
century,
The
Moorcroft Exhibition was opened
at the Potteries Museum and will
remain open until the 19th
January 2014 with selected
pieces of Moorcroft from the
acclaimed Legacy collections
available to purchase in the
Museum Shop.
December 2013/ January 2014 23