1882 Ltd’s charity auction: bid for artist-designed plates

Standing on the concourse at London’s Euston station, brandishing a banner saying ‘bob on’ – Stoke-on-Trent slang for ‘perfect’ – 1882 Ltd founder Emily Johnson corralled a coach load of designers and journalists onto a train to the Staffordshire city this week for the opening of ‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’, an exhibition at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery.

‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’

Johnson has been mobilising creatives to reenergise the ceramics industry in Stoke-on-Trent for over a decade, helped by her infectious enthusiasm and boundless energy. Since she launched 1882 Ltd with her father in 2011, she has tapped everyone from fashion designer Giles Deacon to stoke-born pop star Robbie Williams to collaborate with local makers on the brand’s collections. For this turbo-charged effort, she has tasked the pair and 58 other artists, designers, musicians and architects to design 61 plates, which will be auctioned to raise money to upskill the next generation of craftspeople. Many jumped onto the train with us to celebrate the opening (Williams was sadly on tour…).

One of the plates cheekily declares ‘You’ve had enough fatty’, while another bears a portrait of a bespectacled pug. The 61 pieces range from minimalist sketches to maximalist feasts of pattern, made with a range of techniques: colour overlay, handpainting and gilding. Each is being auctioned anonymously, though some of the works of the contributors – who span from architect John Pawson and designer Bethan Laura Wood to Oscar-winning set designer Shona Heath – are easy to guess.

‘100 Years, 60 Designers, 1 Future’ is part of a series of events marking the centenary of Stoke-on-Trent being granted city status. But this milestone comes at a tough time for the region, with spiralling energy costs and cheap imports seeing successive potteries – from Royal Stafford to Moorcroft – close, though the latter has just been rescued from liquidation by the founder’s grandson.

As part of the British government’s new industrial strategy, published on Monday, ministers have said that more than 7,000 energy-intensive businesses across the country could see their electricity bills slashed by up to 25 per cent from 2027. But Ceramics UK – which represents dozens of manufacturers in Stoke-on-Trent and across the country – isn’t hopeful that potteries will reap the benefits, pointing to how the 160-page document includes just one mention of ceramics compared to 70 mentions of AI and calling it ‘a missed opportunity to truly underpin and champion a cornerstone of British manufacturing’.

The ever ebullient Johnson is also cynical. ‘It’s deeply frustrating because we desperately need government support,’ she says, while highlighting the dire lack of apprenticeship schemes across the industry. 1882 Ltd previously worked with specialist makers in different potteries to create its collections but opened its own factory within the Wedgwood works in Barlaston in 2021 to bring a diverse array of skills under one roof and safeguard their future. ‘But the average age of the team is 55, so what will happen when they retire?’ she asks.

That’s where the auction comes in. Proceeds from the plates will directly fund apprenticeships at 1882 Ltd, with 15 per cent also going to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) to fund a Saturday Club for Stoke-on-Trent school children, giving them the chance to experience the magic of clay. Bidding has now opened for the signed works, but a limited run of unsigned editions will go on show at Fortnum & Mason, London, in September and will be available to buy.