The Penny Vase

Martyn Thompson with a yellow Penny vase at the MTS installation for the London Design Festival 2019, held at the Jo Malone Townhouse in Marylebone, London. Portrait by Brian ReyesThese vases are made in an area of England known as “the Potteries”.... famed for the production of ceramics. My mother was born there and my grandparents lived in the village of Barlaston, close by the Wedgewood factory which I would visit as a child. My great aunt, Susie Cooper, was a prolific designer and had a thriving ceramic business. I grew up very conscious of china… tea sets, coffee sets, dinner sets etc.... so it feels a natural fate to be painting vases and other ceramic vessels in a studio in Burlsem, one of the 6 towns that historically comprise this area collectively called Stoke-on-Trent.It’s all been made possible by a fortuitous meeting. When Emily Johnson, from 1882Ltd, first contacted me via Instagram, 3 years ago, we neither knew that our families heralded from this area and had actually lived in the same village nor that we shared a mutual, nostalgic love of this business. I am very grateful for this this meeting. The beginning of a new creative chapter…now one thing’s led to another and we have the Penny vase. — *Martyn Thompson with a yellow Penny vase at the MTS installation for the London Design Festival 2019, held at the Jo Malone Townhouse in Marylebone, London. Portrait by Brian Reyes*
These vases are made in an area of England known as “the Potteries”.... famed for the production of ceramics. My mother was born there and my grandparents lived in the village of Barlaston, close by the Wedgewood factory which I would visit as a child. My great aunt, Susie Cooper, was a prolific designer and had a thriving ceramic business.
I grew up very conscious of china… tea sets, coffee sets, dinner sets etc.... so it feels a natural fate to be painting vases and other ceramic vessels in a studio in Burlsem, one of the 6 towns that historically comprise this area collectively called Stoke-on-Trent.
It’s all been made possible by a fortuitous meeting. When Emily Johnson, from 1882Ltd, first contacted me via Instagram, 3 years ago, we neither knew that our families heralded from this area and had actually lived in the same village nor that we shared a mutual, nostalgic love of this business. I am very grateful for this this meeting. The beginning of a new creative chapter…now one thing’s led to another and we have the Penny vase.

In the beginning…I started work on the "Penny" just over a year ago. From a very humble beginning of cutout shapes, these vases are magically realized into 3 dimensional life. Originally conceived for the London Design Festival, 2019 edition, these larger than life vessels are made in collaboration with 1882ltd and form part of their Icon Collection. The “Penny” stands true to the ethos of the collection, big in scale, complex to make and limited in number. — *In the beginning…*
I started work on the "Penny" just over a year ago. From a very humble beginning of cutout shapes, these vases are magically realized into 3 dimensional life. Originally conceived for the London Design Festival, 2019 edition, these larger than life vessels are made in collaboration with 1882ltd and form part of their Icon Collection. The “Penny” stands true to the ethos of the collection, big in scale, complex to make and limited in number.

*MTS installation for LDF 2019 at Jo Malone London*

Working with a hand thrower in Stoke-on-Trent, “Penny” pushes the bounds of the thrown pot. The vases are left to dry for 6 weeks and after first firing I hand decorate each piece. Every vase is unique- a testament to the beauty of the residual industrial craft that resides in the U.K. in Stoke-on-Trent.

Following on from the LDF, I began working on series of vases for Rebecca Willer. I'm photographed above by Andrew Wood, painting these new pieces that are now on exhibit at the Willer Gallery in Kensington, London.

Vase at Willer Gallery"Big, bold, and quirky, producing the vases has been a very satisfying lesson in the fusing of craftsmen skills, designer vision, and the practicalities of working with clay and glazes." Rebecca Willer — *Vase at Willer Gallery*
"Big, bold, and quirky, producing the vases has been a very satisfying lesson in the fusing of craftsmen skills, designer vision, and the practicalities of working with clay and glazes."
Rebecca Willer

The Penny vases are named after my great friend Penny Galwey. And I describe them as such...

"Penny is a robust matriarch, celebrating the ancient and the naive in a speckled passion of pottery and paint. An ode to my wonderful friend, recently departed, and her enduring romance of history and abundance."

It is a year now since Penny was diagnosed with the cancer that was to take her life only a matter of months later. I'm eternally grateful to have known and loved such a wonderful human being who continues to be a constant source of inspiration. Whenever I have moment of doubt I hear her voice offering up some encouragement, some guidance. Friendship is the glue that holds us all together.

happy July
xm

The Penny Vase

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