Maureen Minchin

Here's another potter that I really rate when I'm in the mood for something lighthearted. She's also quite collectable and her current work sells for good prices. I bought this delightful mug from the Great Eastern Co-op shop (now Craftco) in Southwold, Suffolk during the early 1990s. At that time Maureen was based in Homersfield, nr Harlaston, Suffolk. The cup, which I used for years, is wheelthrown in red earthenware with painted slip and sgraffito decoration under a clear glaze. Unmarked. 8.8cm (height).



My second Minchin piece appeared recently on ebay and even though it has a small hairline I couldn't resist, especially as it was made after her move in 2000 to Scotland. Exactly the same techniques but this time with a stamp. 5.4cm (height).

I rate her work highly too, the decoration she does is brilliant.

Her work reminds me of Margaret Brampton's stuff - and her prices are still very reasonable in comparison. I predict she'll be just as expensive in a couple of decades from now.

Large plate with dragonflies

A potter that I've not heard of, who it appears hasn't marked her work since the late 1980s.

I assume that you judge it to be her work on the style and, if so, has it changed over the years?

It hasn't changed much in terms of technique and designs and materials, but the compositions have become more elaborate over the years. I also have a frog bowl to upload which is marked and has a bare border which these days she would have filled with extra plants and animals.

There is a Minchin collectors page on FB.   
Apparently her next kiln opening is in October.

studio-pots wrote:A potter that I've not heard of, who it appears hasn't marked her work since the late 1980s.

I assume that you judge it to be her work on the style and, if so, has it changed over the years?

She's a potter who's pots are instantly recognisable, though her earlier pots are a lot plainer, they are still in the same manner.

I could spot her pots a mile off, but I not be able to tell you what her mark looks like.   

Potty wrote:

I could spot her pots a mile off, but I not be able to tell you what her mark looks like.   

Fret no more, Potty, here it is.    - although it's not the mark in Yates-Owen, so I don't know when it dates from, but it is a relatively early piece of hers judging by the degree of decoration.

I suspect the dragonfly 'plate' was the base to a cheese dome.

Hello,
I've tried without success to identify a mark on the base of a pretty little stoneware bowl I've had for some years - have found nothing online, and in the process, came across this forum - it's worth a shot. I'll be selling it on eBay and would like to be able to verify the maker or pottery. The letters form an intertwined 'SfR', with a separate secondary mark of 'J'. I did get in touch with the Narberth Pottery in Pembrokeshire, formerly run by Simon Frank Rich; his mark is similar in feel, but his daughter tells me this pot is not one of his. The bowl measures about 5" across the top diam. Hoping the photos will help.
Many thanks,
Moira



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the pics don't enlarge so it's hard to tell Moira

Nice bowl. The mark is reminiscent of Simon Rich's SR, but you've ruled that out already.

Just trying to (successfully?) upload images again:

now I see the larger image I recognise the decoration, I'll try to find my pot from that potter to see if it helps me remember who made it

Found it. Early Maureen Minchin, Springs Farm Pottery

Many thanks for your perseverance, Naomi M - much appreciated.
I've just sold the bowl on eBay but not posted it yet - will be nice to be able to tell the buyer who made it - tho' now I have a maker, I feel I could have asked more for it. C'est la vie!

Fantastic attention to detail on this little hare jug, her decoration is absolute top quality.

I am about to gift this to a colleague, but I must know where it came from before it goes!  Thank you in advance, as always, for your patience and expertise

Very nice. I'm pretty sure it's by Maureen Minchin, but Jenny Hale makes similar work.
Seems to be Minchin's unrecorded 'duck' mark. The Marks book annoyingly says "No mark for Downs Farm" which was 1988-2000, but i think this is it. (Jenny Hale signs her work)
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Thank you, another mystery off my shelf

The mark is oneshe used between 1983-88 at Spring Farms pottery, Waveney, Suffolk. Which would chime with the decoration on this one not looking anything like as sophisticated as her later work. The main problem you get with Maureen Minchin is that right through the 1990's she did not use a mark.

This one is a little unusual. Glazed inside and out 25cm at its highest point. It looks strangely Germanic to me somehow but probably isn't!

I believe the mark is upside down and is Maureen Minchin’s early work at Springs Farm Pottery when she was making salt glazed stoneware

Thank you again! Thats a great help.