Morris and James has been making pottery at Matakana, New Zealand, for over 30 years. If you've had the chance to read 'Mud and Color man' (Harper Collins ISBN: 978 1 86950 820 3) you'll appreciate the creative but tempestuous history of the business. In 2009 the founder Anthony Morris decided step down from the demands of running this sizable enterprise, and to sell the pottery to a group of the staff. Since then we have built on the creative foundations laid by Ant and started to explore new design directions. This new work naturally reflect some of the earlier qualities that made M&J pottery so popular, but draws on a broader range of styles and aesthetics, that will arguably appeal to a wider cross section of people. Particularly, there is growing interest from a younger audience who are drawn to the bold designs, vibrant colors and contemporary styling.
We've set this blog up with a number of objectives in mind; firstly as a convenient way for those of you with an interest in ceramics and M&J's work in particular to see what we are up to, and secondly as a way of engaging you in the process of finding, sifting and sorting new ideas that might one day become 'new designs'! On that basis, we'd love to share our ideas with you and of course to receive your feedback and comments.
In addition to this we will be posting 'things of interest'. This will naturally revolve around ceramics of all types, but will also include all kinds of inspirational design topics.
Should be interesting, so check in occasionally and see what's been posted!
- Nick C
