Once Upon A Time

Naine had come to London after a three-year apprenticeship in Kasama, Japan and a brief tenure as a production thrower in Dorset. Together with a business partner, Mary Neville, located through an ad in Spare Rib magazine, she began selling tableware to local people in Clapham from the front room of her house in North Street.

The business expanded quickly with further orders from other Japanese restaurants and within a year the two women moved the business across the road to its present address at 24 North Street. They opened a shop and set out to establish what has become, a successful business, an evolving craft collective, a launch pad for many trainee potters and a focal point for the local community.

The name, The North Street Potters, was chosen to identify the location and to acknowledge the importance of the skills of the individual craftswomen and their commitment to shared working as a collective of sole traders.

Over the years, many women joined the collective, attracted by the opportunity to work in a creative environment where ideas were shared and individuality prized. Until they get established, most members have other jobs, working in the pottery a few days and elsewhere for the rest of the week. Through such contacts and a growing word-of-mouth reputation new members joined to improve their skills, to gain experience in business or to build an income for launching their own enterprise. Some worked alongside the professional potters developing their skill for personal pleasure while continuing their primary careers. Current potters Yvonne Dean, architect and Debbie Parker, trainee architect come into this category. Luisa Cacciotti made bowls for a Tuscan castle owner before leaving for a sojourn around the world. Liz Font has a particular interest sculpting heads in earthenware clay.