The influential designer-maker joins the organisation to advocate for craft excellence and education in the region.

MAKE Southwest is delighted to announce renowned potter Sue Pryke is joining the organisation as an Honorary Fellow. Pryke will support the organisation in its charitable aims, championing craft education across the region.

Pryke utilises an industrial method of making – slipcasting – to produce elegant, pared back pottery in a craft context. Her focus is on small batch production, making tableware for individuals, galleries, independent retailers, and restaurants. A minimal aesthetic with precise finish is Pryke’s trademark, and can be traced back to an early introduction to pottery in the Lincolnshire fens where she learnt the skills of production throwing. It was this repetitive process that sparked an interest in volume production and a need for uniformity that led her onto a role as a junior designer at Wedgwood and later began a 25-year collaboration with Swedish giant, IKEA, designing recognisable household classics.

“I never set out to be a potter,” Pryke told MAKE Southwest, “I just joined a queue. I loved drawing and painting at school and decided to do A-level Art, but it had to be with craft or design, and as part of the course we had to do printmaking or pottery. I hadn’t done either of them before – but the queue for pottery was shorter than printmaking. I thought I'd give it a try, and it’s been my life ever since.”

Pryke’s relationship with MAKE Southwest began fifteen years ago when she featured in a Christmas exhibition:

“It's a fantastic space and representation of makers, and the exhibitions have always been so carefully curated. I'm delighted to be an Honorary Fellow – it's so exciting to be part of MAKE Southwest.”

Pryke joins the craft education charity at a pivotal moment, as the organisation celebrates 70 years of making in 2025, as well as embarking on their ‘Reviving Riverside’ project, thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which is generously funding vital repairs to the Grade II listed Riverside Mill that MAKE Southwest calls home. Pryke’s links to Bovey Tracey span a decade of sharing her work at Craft Festival, which she touts as the best show on the craft circuit:

“Craft Festival has such a wonderful atmosphere to it – it's very carnival-like, with such a palpable community feel, and the opportunity to see people making things – it’s just magic.”

Pryke won Best Stand at Craft Festival in 2016, and exhibited in ‘20 Years in the Making’, an exhibition at MAKE Southwest celebrating two decades of the biggest event in the craft calendar in April 2024.

Pryke’s practice straddles craft and industry, revolving around functionality and a love of clay. She references Devon pottery traditions as a source of inspiration, in particular the work of studio potter Janice Tchalenko during her time at Dartington Pottery, formerly part of the Dartington Hall Estate in South Devon:

“As a student in the 80s and 90s, I was inspired by people like Janice, who had a foot in both craft and industry, and were strengthening the bridge between the two. Janice threw tableware, but was best known for her pots. But she didn't just make brown pots, like potters of the 70s – she daubed expressive patterns and colours onto the surfaces at a time when nobody else was doing that.”

Tchalenko joined Dartington Pottery as chief designer in 1984, to create their signature ranges in high fired reduction stoneware, closely based on her own techniques and aesthetic. She tutored Pryke, and the pair went on to partner in producing pots for Hornsea Pottery, with Pryke designing the form, and Tchalenko applying the patterns.

Though Pryke’s practice revolves around contemporary design, learning about ceramic heritage throughout her university and professional career has shaped her as a maker, and references to ceramic movements appear throughout her product ranges:

“After graduating in the early 90s, my first job was as a designer for Wedgwood. They have access to almost 300 years of heritage – so I used to delve into their archives and draw upon the company’s history for my designs. I still make those references today – that's one reason I'm working with coloured porcelain – it’s a nod to the blue and white Jasperware that Wedgwood is well known for. There are elements in some of my other pieces, like my tulip cup, for instance, which is a reference to 18th century creamware. I love looking to historical design choices and reinterpreting them so they have some sort of currency for today.”

Pryke’s work is inspired by the everyday and the ordinary material qualities, textures, and interactions we have with objects: small details and preferences which reflect the daily intuitive decision-making when choosing what cup to take from the cupboard for a cup of tea.

Though slipcasting has been Pryke’s mainstay owing to the uniformity of its outcomes, the process is repetitive and often solitary, and so she embraces opportunities to experiment with new techniques and collaborate with other makers:

“Collaboration brings excitement and innovation to the table and makes you think about other possibilities. It's always fascinating to work with others, whether it's responding to someone else's brief or material – it’s a brilliant way to exchange skills, techniques, and ideas.”

Recent collaborations have included an exhibition with textile designer Tim Parry Williams at The Gloucestershire Guild, Cheltenham, as well as a line of homeware with husband John, the designer-maker behind Wild + Wood.

An abundance of leftover coloured porcelain scraps from Pryke’s workshops and a desire to explore early 18th Century pottery techniques led Pryke to experiment with Agateware and Nerikomi, pressing marbled or patterned coloured clay into moulds, while a growing interest in handbuilding techniques resulted in a collaboration with chef and restaurateur Kirk Haworth.

Having originally noticed Pryke’s Crafted collection of recycled ceramics, a pedestal bowl caught Haworth’s eye as the perfect serving vessel for his pre-dessert dishes. He was immediately taken with Pryke’s work, and saw her pieces as a harmonious canvas for his creations at Plates, the restaurant he co-founded with sister Keeley.

Pryke’s collection for Plates is entirely handmade from her reclaimed and recycled clays, allowing her to minimise waste. Combining hand built and slip cast pieces, the collection is intentionally imperfect, showcasing the beauty of hand crafting and maker’s marks, as well as Haworth’s ingredients, including oats and seaweed, which are incorporated into the surfaces. So delighted with Pryke’s designs, Haworth collaborated with her once again on his Olympic-inspired Celebration of Table Tennis dish on The Great British Menu, and the pair has continued to work together ever since.

For a maker fascinated with the daily interactions we have with objects, designing a collection for a restaurant is the promise of its longevity after leaving the studio:

“Making is a form of storytelling. For new makers, storytelling is an important element. Every maker has a story – the provenance of their materials and the integrity of their craft – they just need to be able to tell it in some way.”

As well as making and designing, Pryke has taught at many institutions across the UK, including the Royal College of Art and Central St Martins, and was also the Course Leader for the Ceramics and Glass degree Course at De Montfort University for 10 years. Her experience led her to Channel 4 in 2020, when she was invited to be one of the judges on The Great Pottery Throwdown:

"I was thrilled to be a judge for The Great Pottery Throw Down. It’s such a brilliant programme for championing pottery – it’s been really influential in getting people switched on and interested in ceramics.”

Pryke shares MAKE Southwest’s determination to redress the lack of craft education on the national curriculum, resulting in fewer students pursuing craft and design at a university level:

“The emphasis on arts at school has been depleted year on year, so fewer students are going into craft and design courses in higher education. So when you get the opportunity to go on the television and raise awareness about pottery, people are reminded of the magic of clay. Everyone remembers their first experience of working with clay, particularly older people who were introduced to pottery at school, because nearly all primary schools used to have a kiln.”

As ambassador for MAKE Southwest, Pyke looks forward to fostering the culture of craft excellence in the region. She particularly welcomes the opportunity to meet emerging makers, to find out how they are responding to a challenging economic landscape, and seeing the innovations this might breed.

Pryke urges aspiring and emerging makers to hold on to their individuality and what sets them apart from others:

“You've got to be true to your passion. It's difficult to dilute what you do and produce a commercial range. I've done that in the past, but I always come back to the things I like to do. That's one reason I left working in industry, because I was designing for somebody else's brief, which was always about turning a profit. I became disillusioned with that way of working, and returned my focus to making something that I really like the look of and that I like to use. Follow your heart – don't do it because you think it's commercially viable. It's just about finding your platform and the right avenue for your work.”

Pryke also emphasised the importance of sharing knowledge and skills within the craft community, and learning from other makers and curators:

“Ask questions. Ask as many questions as you possibly can. Go and talk to people. Go around the craft fairs, trade fairs, galleries, and ask questions – because people are very happy to chat and give away their advice.”