About Us
HISTORY AND HERITAGE
After more than 90 years in the clay business and with over 55 years in the service of the studio pottery and education communities Potclays has become one of the best known names in our market. Our family company is now in its fourth generation: Heritage is very important to us, and so is our place in the wider ceramics community.
POTCLAYS CLAYS
Our premium-quality clay bodies have a worldwide reputation, especially our unrivalled panmilled clay blends which are manufactured using traditional machinery and a process unique within the industry. Did you know that our panmills have a sweet heritage? They were once used at Cadbury’s to grind the cocoa nibs for chocolate production. These unique machines were purchased by Potclays in the 1960’s, were slightly modified, and the rest—as they say—is history. Nowadays, our clay bodies are enjoyed around the world, as far afield as New Zealand. You can read more below about our production processes and watch our videos.
POTCLAYS KILNS
We have been a specialist kiln manufacturer since the early 1980’s. We have a highly qualified and experienced team of engineers building top-quality kilns for hobby, educational and industrial use. These range in size from around 12 litres (0.4cu.ft) chamber capacity mini-kilns to truck kilns of over 2 cubic metres (70cu.ft) capacity. Many of these are custom-built to customers' requirements. For after sales support, we hold a comprehensive catalogue of spares and we manufacture our elements in-house.
OUR BRANDS
We are in the privileged position of being the only authorised importers into the UK for Shimpo & L&L Kilns. We also hold a number of other long-term distributorships including Mayco (Platinum Distributor), Amaco-Brent, Spectrum, Botz, North Star Equipment, Giffin Grip, GR Forms and Mudtools to name just a few. As of summer 2024, we are the offical authorised importer and distributor of the Cowley Double Drive Potter's Wheel for the Northern Hemisphere. We are committed to providing exceptional after-sales service for all our brands.
OUR ‘EDUCLAYTION’ MISSION
We’re passionate about keeping the craft of ceramics alive. Studio ceramics is under increasing threat due to neglect in the education syllabus at primary and secondary levels, whilst further and higher education courses are quietly dropped or subsumed into other disciplines. Our involvement in the promotion of ceramics within education has grown as the need to protect and nurture the subject has intensified. We’re wholly committed to promoting the role of ceramics in our schools, colleges and universities as well as in the wider community.
Craft education has suffered in recent years, and both Becky & James firmly believe the arts offer children access to a richer and more fulfilling life. James is a signatory on the Bacc for the Future campaign letter to government alongside luminaries such as Philip Pullman.
We are active members of other bodies such as the NSEAD (National Society for Education in Art & Design) and offer numerous forms of support to teachers, including educational discounts and free of charge advice. Each year Potclays provide a round of graduate awards to Further Education courses across the UK to encourage and showcase new ceramic talent. Some of the award winners from past years are building successful careers for themselves and fast becoming renowned practitioners.
We hope that our efforts go some way to securing the future of ceramics.
THE POTTERS CLAY AND COAL COMPANY
The fireclays from our PCC clay mines are exceptionally plastic and also pale-burning. Consequently, they are used in pottery, brick, tile and vitreous china bodies as a part replacement for more expensive ball clays. We also supply sealant clays for lakes and waterways and other civil engeering projects. Our puddle clay was used in the construction of parts of the M6 motorway, notably Spaghetti Junction, and most recently by the Lichfield & Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust.
Learn more about the history of our company >
Read our 85th Anniversary story >
OUR CLAY PRODUCTION METHODS
In November 2022, potter Izzy Letty visited our factory to film some of our production processes. You can watch her short videos here:
Panmilling | Sliphousing
SLIPHOUSING
Sliphousing is a process of clay production used in the pottery industry whereby filtered liquid clay is pumped under high pressure into a machine called a filter-press. The water is extracted, leaving behind slabs (or ‘cakes’) of clay. These filter-cakes are then passed through a pugmill which homogenises the clay before it is bagged. Sometimes additions of sand or grog are made during pugmilling. Sliphousing gives greater product uniformity and virtually guarantees freedom from contamination, but it is more difficult to control grog contents due to settling from suspension, and moisture content. It is the best technique for smooth-textured bodies.
PANMILLING
Panmilling is a process of clay production whereby powdered ingredients (or sliphoused base clays in the case of ‘plastic blending’) are blended together with water and sometimes sands and grogs to produce our unique, highly plastic, clay bodies such as Craft Crank and St Thomas bodies. The panmill lifts and turns the clay as it passes under the ‘floating’ granite roller, simulating a kneading action and resulting in an incredibly even distribution of materials and grogs. Panmills offer a much greater control over water content than sliphoused clays. From here, the blended clay is pugmilled before being bagged. Our panmills were used in the manufacture of Cadbury’s chocolate in a former life: Potclays purchased them in the mid-sixties and they are still going strong.
Credit to: Izzy Letty izzylettyceramics.com
Credit to: Florian Gadsby floriangadsby.com
