An annual ritual; tidying the shelves, dusting down the cobwebs (not joking!) sorting hot pots straight from the kiln and earmarking a few bargains to tempt pottery collectors old and new. Not forgetting topping up the fruit and spices for the mulled wine and picking up the clementines and mince pies to keep energy levels up for a busy weekend.

This year I’m joined again by Clare Lewis of The Weavehouse with her gorgeous, comforting woven rugs, blankets and table linens, Tamsin Loveday, aka the Barefoot Bindery, showing beautiful artists’ books and hand bound journals and sketchbooks, and Charlie Martin whose etchings and linoprints joyfully observe and celebrate the animal world in its colourful variety.

We can’t pretend the secret studio is a glamorous place, but we do put on our best bib and tucker for our annual opening and celebration of the handmade. Embedded in the centre of the tiny but big-hearted city of Salisbury, we are under 10 minute’s walk from the train station and only two minutes from the Market Square.

Put us on the calendar and call in for the warmest of welcomes, friendly chat and glorious handmade goodies to tempt you and delight everyone on your Christmas list.

After a few nomadic years, MADE London is back in the glorious setting of 1 Marylebone, the stunning Sir John Soane Church that provides such a fitting backdrop to all manner of handmade treasures. The best contemporary jewellery, textiles, glass, wood, and of course ceramics in abundance rub shoulders in a setting adorned with the superb skills of past makers.

For details of how to get hold of your tickets, who is exhibiting, and all things MADE, visit https://madelondon.uk/

We all know that food and pots go together, and I’m delighted to have been invited by the highly regarded ArtShop&Chapel.co.uk to show at the country’s biggest and best food festival, Abergavenny in South Wales.

The town will be alive with every kind of food-related offering, and I’ll be alongside a select group of contemporary potters, in the light-filled upstairs of the fabulous Chapel on Market Street.

For more on all the goings-on, visit https://www.abergavennyfoodfestival.com/

This young festival aims to reinvigorate the pride in the skills that built the UK’s pottery industry in Stoke on Trent, with tours, talks and exhibitions around the city through September snd October... I’m proud to be a part of it.

For details of exhibitors and events, visit

https://www.stokeonclay.com/exhibitors

Yippee!! Potfest have a new venue, just outside Shaftesbury in Dorset, and I’m looking forward to nipping down the road to my local event…

More details coming soon…

I’m delighted to have been selected again for Ceramic Art London in 2024. CAL will be celebrating its 20th year and over that time it has become recognised as the most exciting contemporary showcase of current ceramic art, with exhibitors drawn from all over the world. It aims to showcase the best in contemporary studio ceramics, across the full range of styles.

The main exhibition is accompanied by a full programme of additional activities, including talks, demonstrations and films.

More details coming soon!

Last year I took part in York Ceramics Fair for the first time, and loved it! It’s a calendar highlight for students of pottery, first time enthusiasts and seasoned collectors and I’m delighted to be invited back this year. It’s outside my home territory and it feels good to spread my wings a bit.

I’ll be showing alongside some great potters and makers of ceramics of all styles, shapes and sizes from around the country from Cornwall to Scotland. The venue, York Racecourse, is easy to find and makes the whole show enjoyable for both participants and visitors with lots of space and natural light, easy parking and access on site and a regular shuttle bus to and from the city centre.

I hope to see some friendly faces from last year, and no doubt lots of new ones…

December, and time to fling open the door to the workshop and extend an invitation to enjoy a tot of something warming while browsing the creative delights of five talented makers. I include myself, of course!

Alongside me this year are fellow potters Bridget Timoney and Jonathan Garratt, makers of distinctly different but equally practical pots, in stoneware and earthenware respectively. Patterned or plain, to use everyday or for special occasions, there’ll be a great range to choose from for those on your list who would appreciate a beautifully balanced handmade mug, jug or bowl.

Joining the gang for the first time this year, Clare Lewis is a weaver who makes cosy blankets and comforting rugs from her studio in the New Forest. Influenced by Scandinavian weaving traditions, she uses natural fibres and a colour palette that’s at once muted and joyful.

Also new this year, though familiar to many a Salisbury resident, Tamsin Loveday will be bringing her beautiful handmade books with their colourful and ingenious bindings - perfect for the artist in your life, or to encourage a reticent diarist to start keeping that journal!

As always, we’ll be welcoming visitors with mulled wine and mince pies, so a relaxed and convivial atmosphere is guaranteed. It’s also my opportunity to blitz the shelves and create space for the year ahead, so end of line bargains are there to be found alongside brand new work fresh from the kiln - possibly new enough to warm your hands on!

Back to Brilliant Brighton for three sparkling days this November, in the spectacular grandeur of the newly renovated Corn Exchange. Can’t wait! Fantastic company in a fantastic venue, it promises to be a bit special. For details of all this year’s exhibitors visit the website here.

Lights, cameras, action!

A must visit on every pottery enthusiast’s calendar, Art in Clay takes place in Farnham’s characterful Maltings, a stone’s throw from the railway station and neatly timed to provide a wealth of choice for the festive season. There’ll be talks and demonstrations, and a range of exhibitors from newly qualified and emerging ceramic artists, to established makers with many years of creative work behind them. With ample parking and onsite cafe, it’s the perfect pottery lover’s day out.

https://www.artinclayfarnham.co.uk

Once every two years a creative explosion hits West Wiltshire, and this is it! The Wyle Valley Art Trail is a riot of creativity on show, and I’m thrilled to be exhibiting in truly illustrious company again this year. Along with celebrated glassmaker Ruth Dresman and the man himself, I’ll be showing off my latest pieces in the beautiful showroom in Hindon that is home to Matthew Burt, furniture designer and maker extraordinaire. Along with Celia Burt and a team of highly skilled cabinetmakers, Matthew has forged a path that fuses respect for the absolute fundamentals of craft skills with an ambitious, forward looking ethos that results in a marriage of superb making and audacious innovation.

I’m really proud to be invited alongside makers of such quality.

See Matthew’s furniture here and Ruth Dresman’s glass here.

https://wvat.co.uk

It’s back! MADE BRIGHTON returns to the atmospheric St. Bartholomew’s Church, festooned with fairy lights like Aladdin’s cave and packed with wonderful handmade delights to tempt you.

Salisbury’s own Open Studio event is back in style! The city’s artists and makers throw open their doors to welcome in audiences from near and far and show off their wares.

There’ll be a printed and online guide to steer you to all Salisbury’s creative corners, and I’ll be doing a spot of high dusting in Factory Four to provide a characterful backdrop to my newest work.

Craft and early human history go hand-in-hand. Every find unearthed by archaeologists was made or marked by human interaction with the materials they bent, cut, carved, hammered or built. The innate curiosity of the mind, allied to our desire to create, has embedded the act of making deep in time and the human psyche.

Planned pre-Covid by curator Tara McKinney Marinus for the Hampshire Cultural Trust, this exhibition at the Willis Museum has been nearly two years in gestation. Shown to brilliant effect in the Sainsbury Gallery, it features 22 Hampshire and Berkshire Guild members’ work alongside photographic portraits by David McKibbin and biographical notes on each maker, written by me.

Entry to the the exhibition is free, and it runs until July 17th.

The light, clean-cut exhibition space at Sir Harold Hillier Arboretum is a sympathetic setting for contemporary craft, and the Hants and Berks guild members are delighted to be showing again at this venue after an abence of a few years.

You can see examples of the guild’s work on their website here

My annual sparkling sale of the handmade will be happening over the first weekend of December, for thirty years a firm Salisbury fixture. I’ll be joined by a few creative friends (https://www.bridgettimoney.com/shop and https://www.gentlejewellery.com/shop-all) and we’ll be offering you first dibs on our newest work including handprinted cards, artists prints, jewellery and baskets. You can browse for bargains amongst older stocks of pots, and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere with mulled wine and seasonal nibbles.

It’s the best way to enjoy your Christmas shopping and support your local independent artists’ community. So hop along to 38 Winchester Street for the original experience of buying direct from local makers and avoid the dreaded driver and stock shortages that come with online shopping.

As last year we will observe Covid safety, so please wear a mask. We will mix indoor and outdoor-under-cover tables, unless the weather is, um, inclement. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

The Artful Christmas Weekend is organised by Artful Collective, and brings together a selection of high quality arts and crafts from talented regional artists and makers in the beautiful setting of the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens Visitor Centre, Romsey, Hampshire.

A popular destination at all times of the year, the exhibition and lecture spaces make it possible to have well spaced stands with all due care given to Covid safety. It’s an ideal opportunity to shop for original, handmade wares direct from the makers themselves. The event also offers Christmas craft workshops for all ages, and live music from local musicians raising money for charity. There’s a cafe too, so why not make a day of it!

Free on site parking, public access and admission to this event, Hillier’s visitor centre and cafe. Normal charges will apply to visit the gardens.

After the frustrations of the past year and a half, The Hampshire and Berkshire Guild are absolutely delighted to be exhibiting again. A guild whose members’ work is of consistently high quality, they will be demonstrating techniques across a wide range of disciplines against the backdrop of finished pieces for sale. For original and unique jewellery, textiles, metal sculpture, glass, furniture and, of course, ceramics, mark this weekend event on your calendar. There will be cake, too!

https://www.craftsguild.co.uk

The Vanner Gallery is Salisbury’s newest cultural venture, and promises to be a very welcome addition to the cityscape. Sitting just outside the High Street gate into the cathedral close, its opening show, curated by Prudence Maltby, is a wonderful selection of new work by the region’s foremost artists across different mediums, on the theme of Connect - people, art and place.

For the exhibition I have made a pair of moon jars, pulling together aspects of my work which, up to this point, have tended to run in parallel. I’ve written about the influences which informed the pieces in my latest blog post.

I’m delighted to be included in this new venture, and look forward to a successful future for this exciting addition to the cultural life of my home town.

https://www.vannergallery.com