Miranda Jessop meets the woman who turned her passion for beautiful crockery into a global empire. We have 5 special commemorative mugs from Emma Bridgewater up for grabs. You can win one of these beautiful mugs commemorating The Queen's 90th birthday by entering our competition here
One of my most cherished wedding presents is a baking dish from Emma Bridgewater’s Toast & Marmalade collection. The words ‘bread and butter pudding’ around the inside edge and ‘steak & kidney’ around the outside immediately conjure up visions of cosy, comforting suppers; there’s even a useful recipe for chicken pie on the underside.
At my parents’ home, tea is always poured from my mother’s Emma Bridgewater polka dot teapot and at my sister’s, one of her distinctive sugar bowls sits in the middle of the kitchen table. Everyone in my family has their own favourite piece of Emma Bridgewater pottery.
In the 30 years since she began, her pottery has become snonymous with images of idyllic family life. Emma is keen to tell me that her own childhood, although unconventional, was happy. She was the eldest of three, but her parents separated when she was seven and both remarried, going on to have five more children between them.
“Life was very lovely in both places; my father stayed in rural Hertfordshire while my mother moved to North Oxford. Mum’s kitchen was always welcoming and a really fun place to be. The food she served up was quite delicious and it was all very relaxed; she never cared about numbers. There was plenty of cheap wine and late nights, sorting out the problems of the world around the kitchen table. I have lots of golden memories.”
After studying for a degree in English Literature, Emma worked for a small, creative knitwear company.
“I learned so much there and I left to set up my own business without actually knowing what it was going to be.”
Inspiration struck in 1984 when she was in a china shop, looking for a present for her mother’s birthday.
“I was looking for a pair of cups and saucers but it was all too formal. When my parents parted, my mother left everything behind and she never had matching china again and that was at the very heart of it. At that moment, I imagined a dresser full of china that didn’t actually match but looked delightful together.”
And so the Emma Bridgewater journey began.
“A friend put me in touch with a potter in Stoke-on-Trent; I drew a few designs, took them up there and we got underway. I didn’t have a business plan but the look and the brand were identifiable quite quickly and I was able to get in front of a retail audience by taking a stand at the Top Drawer trade fair.”
The show proved a success in more ways than one; it was here, two years after she started the business, that she met her future husband, Matthew Rice, a designer who at that time worked with David Linley. Within five years, Emma and Matthew were married and had two children. Working together, they opened their own shop in Fulham.
In 1991, Emma’s world was rocked when her mother fell from her horse and, although she went on to live another 20 years, she was badly brain damaged and was looked after in a care home for the rest of her life.
“It was an awful accident and the impact was terrible; there was a long phase when the business wasn’t dynamic and nobody was really pushing to grow. By the time I gathered myself back together again, I did find that anger was quite a good driver and ‘doing it for Mum’ was quite a natural response; she had always been such a great supporter of what we were doing.”
The time came for bigger production premises in Stoke and in 1995, Emma and Matthew bought an old Victorian factory. Now living in Norfolk, they went on to have two more children and it was after the birth of her youngest son 15 years ago, Emma realised that she was going to have to throw herself wholeheartedly into the business if it was going to achieve its full potential. She relied on Matthew to look after the children. As the company grew and became more dynamic, it became apparent that the commutes to Stoke and London from Norfolk were too long so they relocated to Oxford, before deciding to move further out into the countryside.
I ask Emma if it was hard spending so much time away from the family.
“Yes,” she replies. “It’s the same old work-life balance that every woman grapples with and there isn’t really a solution.”
Eight years ago, Emma took the decision to hand the reins to her husband and stepped back from the business. She had been suffering symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, a condition aggravated by stress and she felt it was time to lead a more balanced life.
“Initially it was hard but now I feel an enormous sense of relief. I feel intensely grateful to Matthew for taking it on and he is really good at it.”
Emma now has time to throw herself into other projects and is currently organising the third Stoke-on-Trent Literary Festival.
“At the factory, we also work closely with the YMCA in Stoke to help get kids, whose lives have always been chaotic, into the way of working.”
Emma has also had time to write another book and for any true fans Pattern is an absolute must, described as ‘a celebration of design from the Queen of British kitchenware’.
“I felt it was absolutely the right moment to dig everything out by hook or by crook and Pattern is really about reviewing 30 years of designing.”
Selecting 30 of her favourite patterns, the book focuses on the Emma Bridgewater brand and the inspirations behind the designs. Exclusive to the book is an illustrated archive listing of all Emma Bridgewater patterns, dating back to 1984, the first time this list has been collated. Some of Emma’s favourite recipes are also scattered through the book.
“Many of the recipes are from my childhood and are quite retro; there’s a recipe for ‘boiled bungalow cake’ which mum used to cook for us after school. A neighbour gave her the recipe and that was just what it was called. She used to say ‘you can’t not love a cake with a name like that’,” laughs Emma.
Seemingly so modest of her achievements, does she feel proud?
“As an entrepreneur, you are perennially dissatisfied, always thinking about the stuff that you haven’t done. But there are nice moments like when my own children understand that their friends’ parents think of the brand as absolutely part of their lives.”
And, as our conversation comes to a close, my mind turns to my own collection of Emma Bridgewater and whether I have a serving plate worthy of boiled bungalow cake.
You can pick up your copy of Pattern (pictured) from Amazon by clicking here
We've also got 5 special Emma Bridgewater mugs commemorating The Queen's 90th birthday to be won. To enter the competition click here
You can check out more of our Home and Garden news and advice by clicking here, like our interview with retro furniture maker Lucy Mortimer
Finally why not follow us on Facebook and Twitter? Go on, I dare you...
