The move to slip casting

The next development in the pottery came by chance. A wholesaler called John came into the pottery brandishing a pottery boot that he had bought from somewhere and asked if we could make something similar. He said there was a huge demand for them, and the larger ones could be used as planters.

Gerry had done a bit of slipcasting at college and decided to "give it a go". With the help of CoSira - a government body giving help to small businesses in rural areas, Gerry went on a course where he learnt to make the models from which to cast the moulds.

Not long after we were making hundreds of boots - small ones, large ones, black wellies, green wellies with a real brass buckle and hiking boots - complete with a set of proper metal studs. Marks and Spencers gave us an initial order for 100 Green wellies but we never saw them in the shop and they never repeated the order.

Gerry with one of the boots.