How is Emma Bridgewater made?                                    View the Pottery

All Emma Bridgewater pottery is made by hand using traditional manufacturing techniques in their own factory in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The pottery is made from earthenware, the traditional body for everyday, informal pottery. The ware is cream in colour and has a smooth, strong feel and finish. It is tough enough to withstand daily use (and these days daily trips between the microwave oven, the table and the dishwasher) but elegant enough to give it desirability.

Emma Bridgewater hollow ware is slip cast in moulds and left to dry on racks. The flatware is jollied on plate making machines by skilled operatives. Once dry each piece is fired in kilns. The ware that leaves the kilns after this first firing is called biscuit ware and once cooled is ready for decoration. Sponge decorators apply colour direct to the pottery, which is then glazed and fired a second time. Because the decoration is under the glaze it cannot fade or be removed. The sponges used are cut by hand using a hot tool. The technique is similar to that of potato printing we all did as children.

Lithographed ware has an extra firing in the process – plain biscuit is glazed and fired a second time. The lithographs are then applied to the glazed ware. This ware then goes through a third firing in the kiln, which fixes the lithographs onto the finished ware. This is called “in-glaze” and ensures the patterns are there for good. They will not fade or scratch off over time.