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Pottery with close royal ties releases commemorative mug

Both the Princess of Wales and King Charles III have previously visited Emma Bridgewater.

Richard Vernalls
Thursday 15 September 2022 13:32 BST
Emma Bridgewater Queen Elizabeth II commemorative mug (Richard Vernalls/PA)
Emma Bridgewater Queen Elizabeth II commemorative mug (Richard Vernalls/PA)

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A pottery with strong royal connections has launched hand-painted commemorative mugs marking the death of the Queen.

Staff at Emma Bridgewater, who have begun painstaking work on the pieces, have spoken of their ā€œhonourā€ at being chosen for the task, as the nation mourns after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The factory in Lichfield Street, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, has close ties with the royal family.

In 2015, the now Princess of Wales, Kate, visited the works.

Two years later, the future King Charles III, on a tour of Stoke-on-Trent and Middleport Pottery, unveiled a plaque designed by Emma Bridgewater commemorating his visit to the then Princeā€™s Trust in Hanley.

Charles and the Queen Consort, then the Duchess of Cornwall, also visited the works in 2010.

The factory has been creating porcelain designs marking important royal events for years, including most recently for the Queenā€™s Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.

Since the announcement of the Queenā€™s death a week ago, collectors have been eager to have a memento marking the loss of Britainā€™s longest-reigning monarch.

In response, designers have produced two sponge-printed motifs, both incorporating the heraldic lion and unicorns from the royal crest, the Tudor rose and the Imperial State Crown.

One bears the name of the monarch, while the other can be personalised with a message.

Stephen Beeston, head of production at the pottery, said: ā€œThis is something we first started producing this morning.

ā€œWe produce everything by handā€¦ and this is decorated by hand.

ā€œThese designs are done by the design department ā€“ we then have to cut the sponges out.

ā€œWe then apply those (sponges) on to the biscuit (the un-fired pottery mug).

ā€œThatā€™s one of the advantages ā€“ this process is very responsive,ā€ he said, adding the mugs went from ā€œdesign, to kiln and into distributionā€ in only a couple of days.

When production reaches full tilt, up to 1,500 a day can be made, with a single sponge-painter getting through up to 30 an hour.

ā€œWe have an initial plan to do 5,000 and then weā€™ll just monitor sales from there,ā€ he said.

He added: ā€œThis is a tradition in the pottery industry, that we have always made commemorative pieces to mark all sorts of royal occasions.

ā€œWe commemorated the Silver, Golden, Diamond and of course earlier this year, the Platinum Jubilee.

ā€œToday, weā€™re marking and recognising the long service of the Queen to this country and the Commonwealth.ā€

He said the factoryā€™s ties with the royals made staff ā€œpleased and proudā€.

It had been a ā€œdifficult and challenging weekā€ for the workforce, but the current production run ā€œhas given us an opportunity to say thank you (to the Queen), thank you for being an inspiration and an example for everybodyā€.

Rachel Matthews, a sponge-painter who has worked at the pottery for 10 years and met Kate during her visit, was applying the design to unfinished mugs.

It's been a very sad and strange week

Rachel Matthews, sponge-painter

Mrs Matthews described the trickiest part of the process as applying the ā€˜Queen Elizabeth IIā€™ writing, which is cut on to one sponge, to the curved side of the mug without smudging the paint.

ā€œThe first time I did that, it was quite nerve-racking,ā€ she added.

Of the Queenā€™s death, she said: ā€œI felt quite emotional, it hit me more than I thought actually.

ā€œEven though we didnā€™t know her personally, it feels like it weā€™re all affected in some ways.

ā€œItā€™s been a very sad and strange week.ā€

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