From humble beginnings, working a kiln set up in the bathroom of a squat she was living in, Emma Bridgewater has built up her eponymous pottery design business over the last twenty five years to a turnover of £ 8m. All of her ceramics are made in a nineteenth century factory on the Caldon canal in Stoke on Trent. She is married to Mathew Rice, and they collaborate on pottery designs. Emma and Matthew live in Oxford, but retain a home in Norfolk.
Matthew Rice is a painter, designer and writer. He is the author of Village Buildings of Britain (Little Brown), to which Prince Charles contributed a foreword. He lives in Norfolk with his wife, the potter Emma Bridgewater.
An architectural fanfare for one of the great cities of the industrial revolution. Bookseller This generously illustrated book makes you long to visit this bizarre wonderland of post-industrial dereliction. -- Margaret Drabble Spectator This book is a vital record, and appreciation, of some of these buildings as they are today. Staffordshire Life A clarion call to the "Five Towns" to stop knocking down the bottle kilns and pot banks and start preserving one of the civic gems of England.' -- Tristram Hunt Observer A charming book illustrated with the author's own watercolours that argues for regeneration of the dear old place. Spectator Mr Rice's Osbert Lancaster-ish drawings record the neglected Victorian architectural jewels whose proud preservation he advocates. Stoke, hollowed out by industrial decline, is regarded as a dump by many in nearby Birmingham and Manchester. Mr Rice is a posh bloke from down south. Sometimes it takes an outsider to point out that the local under-acheiver is not as dumb or ugly as sneering neighbours say. -- Jonathan Guthrie Financial Times Although clear-eyed about its imperfections, their [Matthew and Emma Bridgewater's] love and respect for the city is palpable - the seam that runs beneath this book. Independent A lament for the destruction of our artistic and manufacturing past. The beautiful drawings of Stoke's buildings are annotated. I love the old-fashioned schoolmasterly approach. Lady A delightful book for anyone with an interest in Stoke on Trent. It is a true celebration of all that Stoke has been and what Rice hopes it will be in the future. Ceramic Review This charming book, illustrated throughout by the author's wity and informative watercolours, is a howwl of protest at what has been done to Stoke in the past, and a call to arms to save what remains. House & Garden A visually mesmerising, historically captivating, and unrestrainedly opinionated view of the six towns, with the added edge of being written by an outsider. North Staffordshire Magazine Even if you thought you would never have the slightest interest in Stoke on Trent, you cannot fail to be moved by this gorgeous book and its heartfelt message of hope. Good Book Guide A heartfelt, occasionally critical, often amusing history of Stoke on Trent. Bookseller Buyer's Guide
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