Little Wren Pottery

I met Victoria aka Little Wren Pottery through Folksy and twitter and am a big fan of her hand thrown pottery, in particular the mugs, I'm gonna get me some of those as soon as I have some spare funds!

Name: Victoria Baker
From: Sunderland
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Favourite colour: Red and purple
Favourite animal: Tough question! Birds and squirrels, I’m working on a way of combining the two.
Favourite band: I’m big into my Heavy Metal its difficult to pick just one but I like AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper.
Favourite book: Harry Potter, I’d happily go to Hogwarts School.

Shop / Business name: Little Wren Pottery

What you make: I produce hand thrown stoneware pottery in a rustic style. Stoneware itself is a very rustic material and I try and choose glaze combinations which reflect that – browns, greens and reds.

How did you know you were crafty / artistic? When I was little I used to really love drawing, I’d try my hand at anything and it used to keep me occupied for hours. At one point I wanted to be an artist for Disney but as I got older I got discouraged from my artistic endeavours.
I got interested in craft a few years ago, previously I’d not really been that interested in it but my flatmate at the time suggested I took up knitting. His throw away comment really changed my life for the better!

What was the first thing you ever made? The first pottery pieces I made were kind of crude tubes I passed off as vases. Although when I look back on it now, it was only two years ago, I can see the formation of where I started and how much I’ve progressed.

Do you have any formal training or who taught you what you know? My Dad has been a craft potter for a number of years and he encouraged me to try it out. He wasn’t keen on teaching me though since he’d never taught anyone himself so I went to a night class to learn the basics.
My Dad does teach me things from time to time though, especially when he’s looking over my shoulder while I’m busy throwing!

How did your craft business come about?  I originally started selling as an experiment, I wasn’t sure if my work was good enough to sell yet. I had a shop for about one or two months before I sold my first piece. I was totally thrilled that I’d managed to sell something and its pretty much continued from there.

Where and when do you do your crafting?  Since I still have my full time job I do most of my making on a weekend, during the week I do other tasks as and when needed. On a Saturday morning I can throw up to half a bag of clay between 8am and 10am. I then leave the pieces to get leather hard before they’re turned on the Sunday.

Tell me something surprising about yourself:  Sometimes I like to casually dress like a pirate.

Which Folksy / Etsy shop can you not get enough of?  I really like Moon Raven Designs -  what with being a rocker I love the jewellery that she sells. Its all animal skulls, bit morbid I know but I think its cool.

Why is handmade / crafting important to you?
Sometimes my job can be quite stressful its important to me to zone out and do something I can focus my mind upon. As the wheel goes round it’s very hypnotic and if you start thinking about other things while your throwing you’ll end up with a wobbly pot. My family have all be en crafters of various disciplines want to carry on that tradition too.

Is it just me or is crafting really hot right now?  It is! I think there’s a real buzz around crafting however I still think in the UK that there s the old perception of hand crafted items being of a low quality. This kind of cultural shift has been big in America and I don’t think we’ve seen the end of the crafts movement in the UK.

Tell me why I should buy something from you!  I like to think that my pieces are functional, attractive and represent the everyday potential of handmade. Our lives are filled with things made by machines that are ergonomically perfect, there’s no variation in perfect.

Ok you’ve got me convinced! Where can I find you? 
Folksy 
Etsy
Dawanda