As every man who has a father knows working together in your late teens brings out a certain rivalry and resentment. So having been to Japan to finish my pottery studies and then having spent a year in the rock and roll business in London in the 60s, when I returned to work at Shanagarry Pottery with my father I began to feel trapped and frustrated. It had nothing to do with my father but I was at that stage of development when a young man needs to get out and plough his furrow. At first I was considering creating a completely different sort of pottery with different clay and different colour glazes. However I realised that I was very much in love with our earthenware clay having gone to the field with my father as a young boy to dig it on the banks of the River Blackwater. There was the memory of the camaraderie of digging with picks and shovels, the preparing of the clay by hand at home, the unique smell and sloppy texture – and finally the satisfaction of making pottery with it. So I decided that I would stick with the earthenware clay from Youghal.
Early days, early pots. The shapes have evolved ever so slightly over the years – sometimes for simplicity, sometimes as I learnt what customers really want and sometimes to keep up with the modern world: dishwashers for example.
Then the next two choices. Firstly while in Japan making pots that were not glazed on the exterior I became very fond of holding pottery that was slightly rough on the outside. In addition, as a young designer with simplicity as my number one priority it seemed obvious to me that I needed to continue using my father’s white glaze on the inside of my work. So put all of that together and you have the essence of my Classic range. What I find most extraordinary is that a few simple changes like I made really change the feel of my father’s and my pottery completely. And yet they are of the same family.
Recently I have been noticing in life that small adjustments can have a major impact. Like getting up half an hour earlier in the morning, being slightly more attentive to your partner or simply not putting sugar in your coffee. Anyway, that was the beginning of the Terracotta and White range of pottery which I started in 1972.
Still going strong: Our bestsellers from the Classic Range in 2013
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Previously:
Read about how Stephen’s father Philip started the Shanagarry Range
Why Stephen called his book “Warrior Spirit”
The story of Shanagarry Pottery and Stephen’s own adventure, Stephen Pearce: Warrior Spirit, is now available with free shipping to Ireland, the UK and the US.
272 pages, over 200 colour photographs by the renowned photographer Kevin Dunne, 24x30cm (coffee table format) and almost 2kg!
Order your copy here for Christmas.
The Stephen Pearce Blog: Warrior Spirit 