Hello, I am Nadine, and my love affair with clay and ceramics began at the early age of 11, when my mother took me along to a Tuesday pottery class in my hometown of Chemnitz in East Germany. Although my memories of this time are clouded, I still remember how I enjoyed the feeling of working the clay, smoothing the surface of my pots and the satisfaction of holding a finished piece. I think I was hooked straight away.

​

I did get a little side-lined when I became a civil engineer in 1997 working for international high speed rail projects. However, ceramics have played a part in my life all the time. When I lived in Shanghai, I travelled to see the Terracotta Army, I visited potteries in Portugal, France, UK and Meissen and attended evening classes wherever I lived.

 

I established my brand in 2017 and am mostly self‑taught, learning from books, the internet and sheer determination. That said, I have done training at City Lit London, Salemi Ceramics in Sicily and various weekend courses. Before moving my full collection to this website, I sold over 220 pieces through my Etsy shop, earning 54 five‑star reviews and achieving Star Seller status — something I’m incredibly proud of. 

 

When I left London, I was handed 3 glaze recipes that are layered on top of each other. This sparked a slight obsession with glazes and how they are made. Mainly because these glazes did not work for me straight away and it took me 6 years to work out why and change the recipes. I feel I am a custodian of this glaze and glazing method and would love to be able to hand them over to another generation when the time comes. 

​

My inspiration comes from my German roots, travel experience and the beautiful nature around me, especially my garden. I am slightly obsessed with my pieces being functional and I am sure my training as an engineer can be blamed for that. I pot full time and also teach in my business @MenstonPottery since 2021.

 

I use Stoneware and Porcelain clays and work with hand-building techniques such as slab-building and pinching as well as the potter's wheel. 

 

Over the year, I design various collections including garden ware, kitchen/ serving ware and greeting cards.   See my full collection in my shop here.

​​

Nadine is:

- based in Menston, West Yorkshire

- a fully qualified civil engineer

- Member and Chair of the Northern Potters Association

- has published articles in the NPA magazine 

​

​