pots

using the right ceramics to serve our dishes is so important to us. they need to tell the story of our local area, to be the right colours, sizes and textures. right here on gower, we have the amazing ceramicists: micki schloessingk + chris jenkins, who work at bridge pottery in cheriton.

bridge pottery is in the most beautiful setting; the babbling sound of burry pill flowing through the garden, the trees overhead swaying gently in the breeze, the meadowsweet scenting the air and a collection of wooden studios and cabins. it is pure bliss. 

i met micki and chris earlier in the year and we discussed a collaboration for some snack and starter plates that would suit wyld clwb’s style and storytelling. we had to wait until the november firing, as it takes approximately two months to fill the kiln and they only fire four times a year as it’s such an arduous process.

the kiln is woodfired and they create the different colours and textures on the pots using different slips, flames, ash deposits and salt vapour. here’s the process detailed by micki: “we stoke the kiln slowly and carefully at the beginning of the firing but by the end we are stoking almost continuously. when the kiln reaches 1250°C we introduce 3kg of sea salt over a period of a couple of hours. the salt becomes a vapour and the sodium fuses with the silica in the clay to form a thin and hard glaze “salt glaze” making the pots very durable and suitable for daily use. we fire to 1300°C and then we leave the kiln to cool for three days before opening it”.

we are working on more pots and food collaborations for 2023, so watch this space for more information.

micki and chris have a winter sale coming up on 3rd and 4th december. pop along for some pots and conversation.