News & Events

PayPal now accepted on Emma Bridgewater

Friday 12th March

You can now pay for all your online shopping at Emma Bridgewater with PayPal. PayPal is a safer, simpler way to send and receive money online. You can now pay for your Emma Bridgewater with money held in your PayPal account balance or use another payment method such as a credit card, debit card or your bank account. Once you sign up for a PayPal account, you just need to select PayPal as your payment method when you shop online.

Supporting Stoke City in the FA Cup Quarter Final

Sunday 7th March

Our factory staff in Stoke-on-Trent are supporting Stoke City in the FA Cup Quarter Final on Sunday and have produced special-edition mugs for the team to mark the special occasion. The “FA Cuppas” in the club’s red-and-white colours bear one of our trademark star designs and have been painted with the name and number of each player. Emma said: “The players are all stars as far as we are concerned and are really putting the Potteries back on the map with their achievements this season. “We wish Tony Pulis and his team all the very best for the game at Chelsea and we are planning to put the FA Cuppas into full production if they make it to the final.”

Decorating Event

Friday 5th March

Rossiters of Bath are holding an Emma Bridgewater decorating event on Friday March 5th from 10am to 4pm. Paul from our Stoke on Trent decorating studio will be on hand to demonstrate decorating techniques and help you with your designs. Decorate your own mug, or get the children to decorate their own Mothers’ Day presents. To book your place contact the store direct on 01225 462227. Rossiters have sold our pottery for many years and carry the full range so if when you’ve finished your decorating take a look at our new designs for spring.

Royal Visit

Friday 19th February

Emma Bridgewater is excited to announce the visit of HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall to her factory in Stoke on Trent this week. Her family and staff will welcome their Royal Highnesses with a specially commissioned wooden trellis archway designed by Matthew Rice and depicting the Prince of Wales feathers and Royal crests. The Royal party will walk under the archway to embark on a tour of the Lichfield Street factory where Matthew and Emma will introduce them to many long serving members of staff who will demonstrate their skills – from creating the distinctive earthenware pottery to skilfully decorating them by hand. Following the tour, Emma and Matthew will show the Royal party a selection of their designs before inviting them to join four youngsters and try their hand at decorating their own ware. Matthew Rice said: “We are truly honoured to have been chosen to be part of this very special day for Stoke- on-Trent”. View the photos.

February Half Term

Saturday 13th - Sunday 21st February

Shake off the winter blues and join us for our Dressing Up week. Every child visiting in fancy dress will receive free decorating studio time (normally £2.95) and a small gift to take home; and from Monday to Thursday we are holding free factory tours. Come and join us for a week of colour and character fun from Saturday 13th to Sunday 21st February (sorry, closed for one day on Friday 19th). Call now to book your decorating table and factory tours on 01782 201328.

£30,000 raised for charity

We’re thrilled to be able to report that due to the fantastic sales of our Flowers pottery we’ve been able to give a cheque for £30,000 to the National Gardens Scheme.
The NGS raises huge sums of money each year for a number of incredibly worthwhile charities including Marie Curie and Macmillan Cancer Care by opening private gardens to the public. If you’d like to find out more about the organisation visit their website at www.ngs.org.uk and if you’d like to help us raise even more next year keep buying the Flowers. Have you seen our new Flowers mug designs for 2010?

Marmalade Festival

Sunday 14th February

We have produced a special limited edition mug to celebrate the World’s Original Marmalade Festival which is being held at Dalmain Mansion in Cumbria on the 14th February. The ½ Pint Mug features illustrations by artist Mungo McCosh and we’ve produced 250 mugs. 200 will be sold at the Marmalade Festival and the remaining 50 will be available through our website. Keen collectors will need to keep their eyes peeled (see, there’s a marmalade joke there) for news of when the mugs become available. For further information on the festival visit www.marmaladefestival.com

NGS Yellow Book – 2010 edition

The 2010 edition of the NGS Yellow Book is out now, priced £8.99. The National Gardens Scheme organises garden openings for charity throughout the UK. Buy a copy this year and plan some visits. The openings vary from tiny London gardens to grand country houses. You’ll certainly find something of interest to visit near you, wherever you live, and there’s a pretty good chance that some very good tea and cake will be on offer too. A lovely way to while away a Sunday afternoon and help raise money for charity. Buy a copy now and you might still have time to catch an early opening to see snowdrops and crocuses.

EDP and Jarrold Book awarded to Matthew Rice's “Building Norfolk”

Matthew Rice was delighted to win the EDP and Jarrold Book award for his book “Building Norfolk”. The judges had this to say about his book “An impressive achievement – a wonderfully illustrated book that makes you look again at Norfolk and see its glorious array of architecture with fresh eyes.”

Spring 2010 catalogue

Our Spring 2010 catalogue is out now and is full of great new shapes, patterns and products. If you haven’t received your copy yet and would like one please request your copy here:
www.emmabridgewater.co.uk/page/cataloguerequest

2010 Year Jug

Collectors do not need to worry; there is a 2010 Year Jug. The piece will be made available to members very soon and will celebrate 25 years of Emma Bridgewater.

Finding Santa Competition Winner

Many congratulations to Emma Findlay who won our Finding Santa competition. Her Emma Bridgewater account has been credited with a January-blues busting £1000 and we hope she has a truly wonderful time spending it.

New Ceramics Galleries at the V & A Museum

The first phase of the new Ceramics Galleries has opened at the V&A Museum in London. The galleries, designed by Stanton Williams, are located on the top floor of the museum. The new design has revealed a beautiful domed ceiling around which artist Edmund de Waal has created a site- specific installation entitled 'Signs and Wonders'. The five- year project has been a huge undertaking with some 30,000 objects and hundreds of cases having to be moved out of eleven of the fourteen old galleries before the builders could move in and start renovating the empty space.

Some examples of Emma’s work are on display at the V&A in Room 140, Factory Ceramics after 1900. This gallery contains factory-made ceramics by the leading designers and manufacturers of the 20th century. Chronological displays of Scandinavian and British ceramics by influential companies such as Wedgwood, Poole and Royal Copenhagen will examine the impact of mass produced ceramics on modern dining habits and lifestyle, such as the development of ‘oven- to-table’ ware.

The project will complete this year.

Ebay

Our pottery has been achieving some incredible prices on ebay. Collectors of the Birds mugs are paying high prices to fill any gaps they have in their collections. A ½ Pint Mallard Mug recently sold for £830, an Oystercatcher for £250 and a Pintail for £206. Collectors of the Year Jugs have also made a sound investment. A 2006 Owl Year Jug sold for over £500 in November.

Collectors are showing a great deal of interest in vintage/discontinued spongeware patterns and shapes, special designs and collectible series such as Birds, Flowers and EB Club pieces. It is unusual these days for anything bought not to instantly be worth dramatically less than was paid for it but it is reassuring and satisfying to see how well Emma Bridgewater pottery holds it’s value and in many cases, makes a healthy profit for it’s owner.

Tor Falcon

Tor Falcon is a friend of Emma and Matthew’s who paints beautiful, atmospheric landscapes. Visit her website to see a selection of her work and read her online diary to see family meals served on her favourite Emma Bridgewater pottery.
www.torfalcon.co.uk

Great Bustards

Matthew Rice has designed a Great Bustard mug to commemorate the first successful breeding of Great Bustards in the UK for nearly 200 years.
Great Bustards were formerly very much part of British wildlife before they were finally hunted out of existence in Britain by the 1840s. They have suffered similar dramatic declines in numbers across their range in the last 200 years and their global population is now estimated to be just 35,000 individuals. They are currently listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Globally Threatened Species.
The Great Bustard Group is a charity that aims to establish a self- sustaining population of Great Bustards in the UK and create practical conservation measures for Great Bustards in Saratov, Russia. If you’d like to find out more or support the cause visit
http://www.greatbustard.com

Spotting Emma Bridgewater

Our customers are so eagle-eyed, thanks for all the brilliant spots you’ve been sending in. Our pottery has been seen this winter in Nintendo DS adverts, vintage Ab Fab, Christmas Outnumbered, Emmerdale, Autumnwatch and the Restaurant with Raymond Blanc. Lots of you saw it recently on the Hairy Bikers Show “Mum Knows Best” and since she’s snowed in, the prize of a mug goes to Sue Spencer.

Matthew Rice will be painting and signing next Tuesday evening in our Fulham store

Tuesday 15th December 5.30pm - 7pm

Our stores are bursting at the seams this Christmas with tons of gorgeous gifts. If you are near any of our shops do come and see what we have to offer, we always have a few surprises up our sleeves. You can buy Gift Tokens, have all your shopping gift wrapped, you can even have calendars and books signed by Matthew Rice next Tuesday evening in our Fulham store between 5.30pm and 7pm. We look forward to seeing you.

Marylebone Christmas Lights

Wednesday 18th November 2009

Marylebone High Street turns on its Christmas lights on the 18th November. Join in the celebrations and visit the Emma Bridgewater shop between 4pm and 6.30pm (with the switch on at 6pm). There will be live music, Christmas carols, a Father Christmas grotto and lots, lots more.

Love Yorkshire

You will find this special edition “Love Yorkshire” Polka Dot ½ Pint Mug in The Olive Branch in the villages of Addingham and Easingwold and at The Mulberry Bush in Hawes. To order yours visit their websites at www.the- mulberrybush.co.uk or at www.the-olive- branch.co.uk or call either of the shops on 01943 830123 (Addingham) or 01347 823402 (Easingwold).

A note to collectors, do you already have “I Love the Lakes”? And look out for “I Love the Dales” coming soon.

Decorate your very own Emma Bridgewater mug at Jarrold Department Store in Norwich and buy a limited Jarrold Mug

Tuesday 17th November 12 noon - 9pm

Paul, one of our decorators, will help you design and decorate your very own 1/2 pint mug at Jarrold Department Store on Tuesday 17th November - or if you prefer, he can decorate it for you - before taking it away to be glazed and fired. Your finished mug will be delivered back to the store for you to collect at a later date. Contact the store for more details on 01603 660661. To coincide with the decorating event we have designed a limited edition Jarrold Mug and the 400 mugs will go on sale on the 17th November.

“Building Norfolk” and “Rice’s Architectural Primer”

6th-8th November / 12th-16th November / Monday 16th November

Matthew Rice is keeping very busy this autumn.
He has been invited to speak at a number of literary festivals about his best selling new books “Building Norfolk” and “Rice’s Architectural Primer”.
Matthew’s message to his readers is “If you want to understand a building, sit in front of it and draw it. Architecture is the backdrop to our lives. With this book you can name the parts, work out when a building was built and understand what the building is trying to convey”.
In his book “Building Norfolk” Matthew Rice describes a county that has the best preserved built environment in England. He looks at Norfolk’s village houses, farms, country houses, estate buildings, almshouses, inns, parsonages, churches, as well as the towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn and the seaside resort of Cromer. He explains how the particular features of the county – geological, environmental and economic – have molded their appearances.
If you live in East Anglia or plan to visit the area during November do come and see Matthew at one of the following this month:

Burnham Market Book Festival, North Norfolk 6th-8th November
Saturday 7th November Event 2: 10:30am – 11: 30am
The Moroccan Room, The Hoste Arms, Burnham Market
The Architects’ Tales: William Bertram and Matthew Rice
Tickets available from: Whitehouse Books, Burnham Market
www.whitehousebooks.co.uk 01328 730270


Southwold Literature Festival, Suffolk 12th -16th November
Monday 16th November 10.30am St Edmund’s Hall, £9
Tickets available from: www.waywithwords.co.uk 01803 867373


Snape Maltings, Nr Aldeburgh, Suffolk Monday 16th November 1.30pm Matthew Rice architecture talk and book signing
Tickets available from: www.snapemaltings.co.uk

Mulberry Hall

Mulberry Hall is a flagship store for fine china, crystal, cutlery and cookware situated in the historic city of York. The business has been in the Sinclair family for over fifty years and stocks almost the entire range of Emma Bridgewater in their beautiful medieval building on Stonegate in the centre of the city. Matthew Rice has designed a special, limited edition ½ Pint Mug for Mulberry Hall. The design features some of York’s loveliest buildings together with Matthew’s distinctive wording. The mugs go on sale at the end of November and will be available from the store and online through the Mulberry Hall website at www.mulberryhall.co.uk If you need any further information on this special piece please contact Mulberry Hall on 01904 620736.

Halloween Factory Fundraiser

Halloween 2009

Well done to Emma Bridgewater factory staff and their children who raised the fantastic amount of £273.95 by wearing “Something Spooky for Halloween”. We’d never seen such a good looking coven of witches! The money raised will go to The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice Trust. Emma Bridgewater has matched the amount so in total the local charity will receive a cheque for £547.90. Not scary at all.

Polka Pumpkin 1/2 Pint Mug

Halloween

New for Halloween is our delicious Polka Pumpkin 1/2 Pint Mug. Great for Halloween parties. Serve warm spiced apple juice, home made pumpkin soup or hot chocolate. Mix with your Polka Dot for a seasonal twist.

Spirit of Christmas Fair, Olympia London

4th-8th November 2009

Get all of your Christmas shopping done nice and early this year at House & Garden’s Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia. It’s a great way to get in the festive spirit. We can be found on stand D6, right by the main entrance. We look forward to seeing you there. Book your tickets at www.spiritofchristmasfair.co.uk

British Ceramics Biennial Stoke-on-Trent

Autumn / Winter 2009

From now to the 13th December, Stoke-on-Trent will host its first British Ceramics Biennial. The festival is city wide and there will be five terrific exhibitions presented in extraordinary buildings. Hayon Ceramics and Fresh will be held at Emma Bridgewater in our Lichfield Street space. In addition each weekend of the ten-week festival there will be something happening – guided tours, activities with clay, masterclasses, open studios, demonstrations – and some great retail sales. For more information about the festival visit www.stokeceramicsfestival.co.uk

Macmillan Coffee Morning

Friday 25th September 2009

Thank you to everyone who came and supported our coffee mornings. We are thrilled to be able to report that we raised £1800 for Macmillan Cancer Care. You are all wonderful and generous, and a big thank you to all of our staff who brought in home made cakes. Your contributions made the morning very special.

I Love the Lakes

We’ve designed a special 1/2 Pint Mug for Armstrong Ward in Kendal. The Polka Hearts mug is sponged with the words “I Love the Lakes” and is available from www.armstrongward.co.uk. For each mug sold Armstrong Ward will donate £1 to local Mountain Rescue.

Sarah Raven Special

Emma has designed a beautiful new spongeware pattern for BBC Gardeners World presenter Sarah Raven. Inspired by things that Sarah grows in her garden at Perch Hill - crimson black dahlias, pods of peas, globe artichokes, cress and mizuna, the pattern is available on a Four Cup Teapot, a Half Pint Jug, 1 1/2 Pint Jug, Salad Bowl, One Pint Mug, Pasta Bowl, Baby Mug and Serving Bowl. Visit www.sarahraven.com for more information and to order.

Marylebone Refurbishment

We have recently completed a spanking new refurbishment on our shop in Marylebone. The whole store has had a complete face lift, with new paintwork and new lighting which really brightens up the store. We’ve re-arranged the displays, too, so that it’s an even easier and nicer place to shop, as it feels a lot more spacious. Come and see us and let us know what you think of it.