Rye Pottery

A Saxon Shield Wall joins our 1066 Bayeux Tapestry Inspired Collection

Developed in collaboration with the British Museum to celebrate the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry on English Shores, the Saxon Shield Wall is our brand new figure in the 1066 Battle of Hastings collection.  

A fantastic sense of movement & determination flows through these three House Carls, conjuring the words of Carmen de Hastingae Proelio (Ad 1067) “When the stars came out men were still fighting”.  

With the design process spearheaded by Josh, the original model has again been created by the legendary Tony Bennett with decoration by the ever talented Rye Design Team. We even managed to lure celebrated ceramic mould maker Chris O’Donoghue out of retirement to help us bring the news piece to life.

Please click here to see lots more pictures of our Saxon warriors. It’s been months in the making and our whole team are super proud of it – we hope you agree.

New figure launching in the 1066 Bayeux Tapestry series…

We’re excited to announce we have a new Battle of Hastings figure launching for the first time in quite a while, so watch this space and just say the word if you’d like to know about it as soon as it goes public or keep your eyes peeled on our 1066 Bayeux Tapestry page here…

V11 Vases in Country Living Modern Rustic #25

Thank you to Country Living Modern Rustic who were kind enough to feature two of our vases as “Objects of Desire” in their latest Issue #25.

Shown here are our two large and tall Mid-Century Modern V11 vases, also available in small and an array of colours and decorations, click here for more.

Styled by the amazing Alaina Binks @abinksstylist with pics by photographer Nato Welton @natowelton It’s such an inspiring publication, designed as a keeper so go out and grab a copy if you can. https://www.countryliving.com/uk/

Turner Contemporary partners with Rye Pottery for new design

We’re delighted to announce a creative partnership with Turner Contemporary to introduce a striking new design –Breakwater.

Initially conceived by Wally Cole MBE and completed by our current creative director Josh Cole and illustrator Laura Gill, the Breakwater design has been brought to life in a series of ceramic table lamps, utensil pots & vases and will be sold exclusively in the Turner Contemporary shop, Margate until early May 2024.

The collaboration coincides with the launch of Turner’s spring exhibition – Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction, 1950-1970, which opened earlier this month, and focuses on abstraction in a post-WWII period.

Once the Rye Pottery Design Team understood the nature of the exhibition we felt instinctively Breakwater could be a great match. The original pattern was developed and trialled in the mid 50s using a very different colour palette, but the randomness of the hand-painted design was difficult to master and ultimately too time consuming.

Working in tandem with Turner director Clarrie Wallis and leadership from the gallery, the Rye Pottery Design Team re-imagined the little known 1950s pattern, which was originally inspired by the weathered wooden groynes on the pebble beaches, into a bold new hand-painted colourway. The new surface decoration features raw, earthy tonal shifts, layered lines and sgraffito, with the colours taking inspiration from the exhibition’s title and abstract markings from key pieces within it, as well as the Rye Pottery archive and our shared coastal geography.

The Mid-Century Modern aesthetic of our shapes and the abstract style of the hand-painted design complement the exhibition perfectly.

Clarrie Wallis, Director of Turner Contemporary, said: “Turner Contemporary is excited to partner with Rye Pottery on a new collection inspired by the 1950s and 60s – a golden era in the pottery’s history. This collaboration honours a significant period in the decorative arts and resonates beautifully with our ‘Beyond Form’ exhibition, which explores the emergence of post-war abstraction and its role in shaping a new period of creative expression.”

Turner Contemporary believes the partnership with Rye Pottery enriches the gallery’s offering and exemplifies its commitment to supporting the vibrant community of craftspeople and the creative industries in the Southeast. It says the collaboration is an opportunity for them to champion traditional craftsmanship and innovative design, furthering the gallery’s role in nurturing the rich cultural landscape of the region.

Find out more about the exhibition Beyond Form: Lines of Abstraction, 1950-1970 here www.turnercontemporary.org and click here if you’d like buy this decoration.

Country & Town House feature on Rye Pottery

We’re so grateful to Lucy Cleland and the Country & Town House team for writing a feature about Rye Pottery’s latest figures – the Lion & Unicorn tattoo-inspired bookends.

If you’re interested in an update on how the design inspiration behind our unusual new pieces, well, it’s a cracking read and it’s free online if you click here!

The Wealden Times

Our thanks to the team at The Wealden Times for featuring our New Tattoo inspired Lion & Unicorn bookends in their latest “The Must List”. To see them in all their glory click here.

New King – New Figure

Lion & Unicorn Bookends – To mark the significant changes in the monarchy we’ve decided to launch a more unusual Royal tribute to coincide with the King Charles’ Coronation. Featuring the incredible freehand brushwork of our talented team, we’ve named the pair of figures “State of the Union“, inspired by the Royal Coat of Arms, tattoo art and the challenges facing 21st Britain, not least the Monarchy.

An elegant addition to any home, Republicans and Monarchists alike. Sold separately or as a pair. Click here to see tons more pics.

New Christmas Baubles!

Suitably Bonkers for Rye Pottery … and suitably last minute!

What started as a few baubles for a window display has quickly escalated. These are fun one-offs at the moment, hand-painted and individually singed by the decorator – we’ve been having some fun with them if we’re honest and the whole team has taken part.

Pick n mix from the tree in store, or order here from our seven favourites so far.

Please click through here to see more pics and order or email us at sales@ryepottery.co.uk and say which you’d like by using numbers from left to right!

Living Etc

Chuffed to have The LB1 Mid Century Modern ceramic lamp base picked for the Living Etc Agenda pages.

Do check out the June 2018 edition.

Country & Town House

Our thanks to Country & Town House magazine and The Insider team for featuring The LB1 – our Mid Century Modern Ceramic Lamp base in their May 2018 Edition.

Rye Pottery at White City House

We’re very pleased to see Soho House’s latest venture unveiled publicly and even more pleased to see our specially commissioned Mid Century Modern Lamp Bases in situ!

Their latest hotel and member’s club is in London’s Shepherd’s Bush, housed in the former BBC HQ that used to flash up on the telly.

You know – the iconic round 60’s “doughnut” building with the famous sculpture of Helios in the centre.

Shown here: The LB1 Medium in Black Tracery

Choosing our medium LB1, we were asked to create 92 table lamps, 2 for each bedroom.  The Soho House interiors team of Daisy Bere & Linda Boronkay first picked one of our own revamped 1960’s patterns (Black Astrakhan) and then complimented it with 2 further mid century-esque designs alongside one specifically developed for the project – the all new Soho Stripe.

You can view our full range of lamps by clicking here, but for now here’s another pic of one of the cosy White City House rooms.  Oh and did we mention there’s a swimming pool on the roof. With a bar…..

This picture: The LB1 medium in Denmark Green Cascade and Denmark Green Soho Stripe

All images courtesy of White City House

Food service now open at Gusbourne Vineyard

Anyone for Cheese?

We’ve just finished a great commission for one of England’s finest wine makers – Gusbourne.

They’re just over the border in Kent and on top of producing delicious booze they’ve now launched a new Discovery Tour & Tasting. So if you visit their new restaurant “The Nest” at Appledore, you may well find yourself supping something delicious, while nibbling something local … from one of our beautiful terracotta plates.

Do pop in to see us if you make the trip & check out Gusbourne and their wines by clicking here. 

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

Continuing Rye Pottery’s long tradition of marking significant Royal occasions, we’ve produced a limited-edition run of commemorative tankards to mark the upcoming wedding of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle.

Hand-thrown & hand-decorated in soft Cobalt Blue on a simple white glaze, they are 8-8.5cm high.

These little mugs have been designed to tie-in with previous pieces produced, particularly those made for the wedding of Prince William & Catherine and Prince Charles & Princess Diana, for whom we were official suppliers to St Paul’s Cathedral.

Available from stock or to order, or in our shop in Rye where you might like to emulate Princess Diana’s late Mum and snap any seconds we might have.

Please CLICK HERE to buy one. 

White City House

Our last few tweaks to the final of four majolica decorations chosen by the Soho House Interiors team for their Mid Century White City House project.

Practice makes perfect.

“Reload” Screen Printed Kitchen & Bathroom Tiles

New screen-printed tiles from our own archive designs.

These are some of Tarquin Cole RCA’s most notable past tile designs – albeit in a slightly different inglaze medium.

Suitable for kitchens, bathrooms, fireplaces and worktops.

Currently available to order in Cobalt Blue on a White glaze, with minor variations and imperfections reflecting the tricky hand-made nature of the technique.

Repeat one design or use all 12, it’s up to you.

152x152mmx6mm

Please CLICK HERE to find out more.

Rye Pottery very pleased to meet Soho House

After a visit from the Soho House interior design team, Rye Pottery is looking forward to working with them on a grand new Mid Century Hotel opening for 2018.

Shapes agreed…Pattern Development pics to follow soon …

Mid Century Modern Lamp Base

Welcome to the formal unveiling of our Mid Century Modern LB1 Large Lamp Base.

An iconic shape from our archive redesigned with a contemporary decorative twist in six different designs.

Collection designed & conceived by Josh Cole.

Please CLICK HERE for more details

Margaret Howell

We’re very pleased to say that Margaret Howell in London are stocking our Mid Century Modern LB1 large Lamp Base in two different decorations- All White Tracery & Black Astrakhan.

Do TAKE A LOOK at the full range of designs here. 

World of Interiors & our Mid-Century Modern v11 Vase

World of Interiors – April 2015 – The Mid-Century Modern v11 Vase by Rye Pottery.

Please click the image above to find out more.

Our latest 1066 figure – Bishop Odo

New for 2015 is Bishop Odo – the latest addition to our 1066 Battle of Hastings Bayeux inspired range.

William the Conqueror’s Half brother and the former, some say tyrannical, Earl of Kent, Bishop Odo was also Bishop of Bayeux.

He’s a key figure in the 1066 story.

In production terms Odo is one of the most complex and intricate pieces we’ve ever made, with almost 20 hand-made stages involved to bring him to life. Odo is also the first figure in this range commissioned by siblings Josh & Tabby Cole – the third generation of the Cole family to run the company.

Do click the photograph to see him in more detail.

Finally, we’d like to introduce you to Miss Simplicity!

Those Collectors who visit the shop in Rye will know if they’ve been lucky, over the last 2 or 3 years they’ve been able to pick up the occasional one-off design sample of this Mid-Century Rye Pottery Classic as we worked out how, and indeed if, we could incorporate a contemporary version of this wonderful, popular figure from days gone by.

So, drum roll please, here is Miss Simplicity fit for the 21st Century, but retaining all her 1950s charm. Modelled by our post-war co-founder Jack Cole, this piece was originally designed as an oil & vinegar bottle. Now with her head firmly in place, and with totally fresh decoration and design, we gave her a suitably demure “soft” launch at the Wealden Times MidSummer Fair in June … and promptly sold out! So now we’ve managed to make a few more, we thought it was time to re-introduce her formally back into British Society.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we’d like you to meet Miss Simplicity.

Our stand at the Wealden Times MidSummer Fair

We thought it would be fun to share a pic of our stand at The Wealden Times Midsummer Fair.

June 2014 was our first time at the show, which is staged at Hole Park in Rolvenden, and we’re pleased to say we had a fun and busy three days.

Our tent was packed full of other stylish stands and we met lots of charming visitors, and from a selfish point of view the reaction to our pots, not least our new lines, shapes and colourways, was very uplifting.

So the next step will be planning the stand for the MidWinter Fair at the Walled Garden at Bedgebury Pinetum in November, once we’ve recovered from three days on our feet that is!

Dogs & Puppies now available in three new colours

We know lots of our customers like to group these little fellas together, so this spring/summer we’ve produced a limited edition run of our popular Ceramic Puppies & Dogs in three (oh yes) new colourways. And collectors will be pleased to know this is the first time they’ve been painted in these colours.

They’re designed to compliment our focus this season on Flamingo Pink, Cobalt Blue and our fresh new Paris Green.

Click here to find out more.

The New All White Collection

New our “All White Collection”…

This elegant new colourway for Rye Pottery sees our “Sheep”, the Ram & Ewe, alongside the Billy & Nanny Goats sporting glossy, white textured coats accompanied by soft charcoal faces and detailing. Our classic Ducks are also available as part of the All White Collection, as well as the timeless ceramic Owls, originally modelled by our post-war co-founder Wally Cole.

As ever each individual piece is hand-made using traditional slip-casting techniques and then hand-painted, decorated and initialled by our talented paintresses. Click on the links above to see them all in more detail.

There are plans afoot to extend this range, so watch this space.

Jade & Pink and Fabulous Cockatoos!

Ok, so we’re singing our own trumpet, but if we didn’t love them, well, we wouldn’t decide to include them formally in the Rye Pottery Exotic Animals Collection now would we?

So, new for Autumn/Winter, we’d officially like to introduce our new colourway for our Cockatoos – Jade with Pink Wing or, Pink with Jade Wing.

Like all our animals, while these are sold singly, we think they’re great fun as a “Mismatched Pair”. And of course they’re still available in Black & Pink too.

Click here to find out more.

Win a limited edition “Sussex Boar”

To celebrate Wild Boar Week in Rye, we have produced a limited edition run of our famous Sussex Pig – “The Sussex Boar”.

This new design has been hand-decorated in an exclusive colourway and the head features a unique pair of painted tusks. Each of this small batch will be numbered and signed by the paintress.

Extremely popular as both a collectors item and as a traditional Wedding present, Sussex Pigs have been hand-made in Rye for more than 200 hundred years.

We love Wild Boar Week and are expecting restaurants in Rye to come up with even more delicious dishes this year.  So, to support this popular event we are offering one lucky person the chance to win a Sussex Boar by voting for their favourite dish via the contact form below.

The winner will be chosen at random on November 4^th and will be contacted to arrange complimentary delivery of their prize.  A great opportunity for collectors to own a really rare piece of Rye Pottery!  All you have to do is come to Rye and choose where to eat…

To see more of the planned menus & other events coming up during Wild Boar week visit www.wildboar.org.uk

To tell us your favourite dish from Wild Boar Week in Rye – fill in the contact form below.

Please be sure tell us the tastiest dish and importantly at which Rye restaurant you enjoyed it  – the restaurant with the most votes will receive a certificate from Wild Boar Week organisers.

The competition is now closed.

Prince George it is then

His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge – A great name choice from our perspective. Not only was it on our list of favourites, but it’s also short, which from a potting, lettering, design perspective is a jolly useful thing indeed!

So that means our beautiful hand-thrown tankards are now available. Our long-term collectors will spot that this latest Rye Pottery Royal Tankard features a design based on the pieces we produced to mark Prince William’s own birth back in 1982.

Our Prince George Tankards feature our two most popular colourways for our Royal Commemorative pieces – Cobalt Blue and Blue Green.

These charming little mugs are decorated with hand-printed (not digital) transfers and additional hand-painted banding.

Do let us know soon if you would like to order one or if you pop into our shop in Rye you might even pick up a second.

Having said that our seconds don’t hang around long. Back in 1982, William’s maternal grandmother – Princess Diana’s mum – bought a second from our London shop in Connaught Street. So you see, it’s official, Rye Pottery seconds are fit even for a (future) king!

The Prince of Cambridge – Finally here but for us no name means …

We all send The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge our best wishes on the birth of their first son – The Prince of Cambridge.

But please may we beg the happy parents not to keep us all waiting too long to hear what he is to be called. We – alongside countless other British companies around the country – are all waiting primed and ready to fire our hand-made and hand-decorated commemorative ceramic tankards in the kiln, but, when, and only when, they reveal the last piece of the puzzle. Like many other British firms, we have the additional problem of summer holidays, as if they delay the naming for too long some of our talented but small team will be away on their well earned holidays. HM the Queen was not the only person wanting everything to be sorted before the holidays arrived!

In the hope of being as prepared as possible we’ve worked through a host of different designs to allow for different months, long names, short names and so on. Not that it’s useful to anyone but privately some of us reckon it won’t be a Richard (pre-Tudor), or even a William (too close to his dad), and definitely not Cnut! But we quite fancy George or possibly Albert. If it was a girl we were quite sure Alexandra, Elizabeth or Victoria had a very good chance – but alas, that’s for the next one, and fortunately our business is making pottery not bookmaking!

Our hand-thrown tankards will be produced just as they were when Prince William was born back in 1982.  Featuring the two most popular colourways for our Royal Commemorative pieces, Cobalt Blue and Blue Green, these charming little mugs will be decorated with hand-printed (not digital) transfers and additional hand-painted banding. All very traditional and quintessentially Rye Pottery.

The waiting list for these limited edition tankards commemorating the Birth of the Prince of Cambridge is already growing from our band of dedicated collectors, so do let us know soon if you would like one.

As soon as we have a name we’ll hope to provide a sneak peak here of the design.

VIVAT REGINA! – The 60th Anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation

Hand-painted Rye Pottery Commemorative ware to mark the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation Click to enlarge

This year to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation we have produced a very limited number of hand-made and hand-painted bowls and tankards.

June Woolley, who started work as a 15 year-old in 1953 and still comes in voluntarily to act as archivist and layout magician for us, painted some of the pots and bowls while Julie Catt, who came out of retirement to help us, has also produced one or two pieces not least the striking 12-inch bowl featured here.

We are planning to make a small transfer mug for William and Kate’s new baby when he or she finally makes an appearance; the timing looks as if it should coincide with the special Coronation weekend of celebration in mid July, which means we will hope to manage two Royal windows through the summer.

Close-up of the intricate, hand-painted crown – Click to enlarge

Searching for display material to help decorate our Shop Window here in Rye has produced all sorts of royal memorabilia. Tarquin, who was still in the Navy back in 1953, won 2 tickets to watch the whole procession from a very comfortable spot within Admiralty Arch.

All of which means we’ve had several newspapers from the period stashed away as well as 2 copies of the Official Programme. We’ve also saved a wonderfully evocative 1953 edition of British Vogue.

Do come and have a look at our window if you’re passing.

A sneaky peak of a new Rye Pottery design

Whilst you are wrapped up in your winter woolies here’s a sneak peak of a new design we are working on for 2013.

Part of our new all-white collection, this cosy coat is achieved with a decorating technique we call Tracery.

Now for a black face…

A Mid-Century Rye Pottey Classic – Miss Simplicity

We’ve been looking on the web and spotted there’s one of our popular Mid-Century Classics for sale on ebay – a vintage MISS SIMPLICITY bottle. These bottles in 2 sizes were originally used for Oil and Vinegar.

They were designed by Wally’s brother Jack Cole in the early-mid 1950’s, not as stated in the text for the one for sale on ebay, by Marjorie Cole. Marjorie was Jack’s wife and she produced some very collectable Pottery dolls in the 50’s – just not this one!

A very, very few were made and production had stopped by the early 60s, but we have traced about 20 of these very charming one-offs. Sadly Marjorie in later years destroyed any she could lay her hands on. Jack did not really like his Miss Simplicity, (we have this in a letter on file in the archive) but despite his artistic misgivings she was without doubt a very popular piece at the time and still with collectors today.

We recently rediscovered the long-forgotten moulds for Miss S while trawling through our Mid-Century archives. We’ve been working on plans to revitalise and refresh some of our classic pieces and designs from this period, and Miss Simplicity is such a favourite for us that she’s certain to be part of that. So far, we’ve decided she will be reborn in the 21st Century with a fixed head that faces in a different direction! Next up is the decoration development stage. To the right you can see some samples we’ve been working on – absolute one-offs that a handful of collectors have been lucky enough to snap up in our shop in Rye.

But there are lots more decoration ideas we’re working on, so watch this space, because her outfit’s not finalised yet. When we decide on the first design to officially enter production we’ll be sure to let you know here.

If you want to be one of the first to find out when Miss Simplicity is available to buy, visit our shop in Rye every, single day … or alternatively just sign up for our newsletter at the top right corner of the site.