About Jon French

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At the age of 16 I left the countryside of Essex and took the bold step to move to the industrial town of Stoke-on-Trent and became an apprentice at Wedgwood. After 29 years working for Wedgwood, I have now decided to go it alone and make my own pottery and use my main talent of hand painting, to bring to life with a pallet and brush from tiny thimbles to large china urns, from puppy dogs to famous people.  My main specialities are portraits and classical scenes.  I have a real passion for pottery and local history.  I have years of experience in demonstrating the skills and gift of a master craftsman to department stores such as Harrods, London and department stores all over Japan including Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya and Isetan over the last 20 years.  I have been really lucky whilst working at Wedgwood and have worked and demonstrated in many countries in Europe and also the Middle East, Far East, China, Taiwan, Australia, the Caribbean and even the QEII.  I hope to continue my success by now developing in my own pottery and designs.  I have just started to show my skills at Middleport Pottery which is part of the Princes Trust Regeneration programme in Stoke-on-Trent.  This is a good example of a working Victorian pottery factory with its own bottle kiln.