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Designer Profile: Susan Williams-Ellis
Ahead Of Her Time
Portmeirion, one of the UK’s most successful ceramics companies, was founded by the late Susan Williams-Ellis in 1960, with Susan remaining the company’s principal designer for many decades. Today, Susan would be extremely honoured to know that London’s Victoria & Albert museum has dedicated a room that pays homage to her fascinating life and groundbreaking work. With the exhibition open to the public until the end of July, PG&H went behind the scenes to discover more about what made Susan among the most outstanding trendsetters in her field. Born on June 6, 1918, Susan Williams-Ellis was one of Britain’s most celebrated designers in the second half of the 20th century. Her designs were at the forefront of contemporary style and continue to inspire the ceramics industry to this day. When she married Euan Cooper-Willis in 1945, the couple moved to Wales, taking control of Susan’s father Sir Clough Williams-Ellis’ souvenir gift shop in the village of Portmeirion. This ignited their flair for business, which would subsequently see them launch Portmeirion pottery in Stokeon-Trent in 1960. However, it was three years down the line, with the launch of the abstract, reliefmoulded Totem range, that really put the company on the map, with people fascinated by the tall, elegant, design-led coffee pots. Magic City followed, and then, Susan’s (now) world-renowned and most celebrated ceramics collection, Botanic Garden, in 1972. It was inspired by the hand-coloured herbal book, The Universal Herbal; or Botanical, Medical, and Agricultural Dictionary by Thomas Green. Susan had an eye for detail and mesmerising illustrations of flower prints, and, going against the grain, she created individual motifs for each piece in the collection, using a uniform leaf border on each product.
“At that time, you might have had dessert sets which had different patterns on each plate, but for the traditional tableware setting, everything had to match,” Susan explained at the time. “I thought, why can't we have different patterns all within one collection? The department store buyers in 1972 said that no-one would stock it, as there were too many designs, and that noone would want to buy it as it didn't match. However, I think I proved them all wrong!" Portmeirion’s creative director Julian Teed remembers working with Susan: “It was an absolute honour to have worked with her for over 15 years, witnessing first hand her wonderfully creative mind at work. Her vision
Above: The book that inspired Susan’s most celebrated design, Botanic Garden. Shown is a cup from the collection. Left: Portmeirion’s founder and designer Susan Williams-Ellis at work in her studio. Bottom: Some of Susan’s groundbreaking designs from the 1960s.
was to create affordable and beautiful tableware to be cherished for years to come, and she succeeded greatly at achieving this.” Continues Julian: “The factory and village were an extension of Susan’s family. She never switched off. On many occasions, she could be found in the factory at night taking cups of coffee to those on the night shift. She surrounded herself by the things she loved most in life design, animals, flowers and her employees.” Also taking centre stage at the exhibition are many other of Susan’s ground-breaking designs, to include the renowned Magic City pattern, as well as her first ever creations for the company, the Malachite and Moss Agate patterns. “Having Susan’s designs on display at the V&A for everyone to see is just incredible,” enthuses Julian. “For her work to be marked in this way is a testament to the impact and contribution she made to British design style and the pottery industry as a whole. Over the years, pottery trends have changed and the display reflects how instrumental Susan was in ensuring Portmeirion was at the forefront of that change. She was a visionary and a woman ahead of her time. Most importantly, she knew what would sell, frequently saying that good design was good business.” Today, Botanic Garden continues to be manufactured at Portmeirion’s factory in Stoke-on-Trent - each piece passed through 22 pairs of hands - something else that Susan would surely be delighted about! Progressive Gifts & Home Worldwide
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