A Tribute to John Clappison

I received a very sad email last week from the Hornsea Pottery Society, which informed me that the prolific and renowned designer John Clappison had died, aged 75 years.  In this post I would just like to pay tribute to him and of course pay my respects and send my condolences to his family at this very sad time.  He was a very talented man whose designs have brought joy, happiness and humour into this world and particularly my own household.

If you were around in the 1960's and 1970's you may be familiar with much of John's work for Hornsea Pottery, some of which is very well collected and sought after today.  Being brought up in a place not far from Hornsea, the name Hornsea Pottery to me, takes me straight back to my childhood.  There was always Hornsea Pottery items in the cupboard that we used on a daily basis and I'm sure it was the same for many of you out there in blogland.

In the last few years, fuelled by a sense of nostalgia, I started collecting quite a bit of John Clappison's work, but particularly his muramic pin dishes and wall plaques, plus a few other items.  They are not always easy to come by and some fetch quite large sums on eBay and other sites.  I don't have a huge collection but I love every item I have that he designed.  His ideas were so fresh, vibrant and humorous and were synonymous with the era.  I have a few books on his work and I visited the museum in Hornsea only last year which has a wonderful gallery devoted to the products produced by Hornea Pottery over the decades, before it sadly closed some years ago.

I believe these vases in my workroom are John Clappison designs,

as are the muramic pin dishes pictured below.

Only the other day I accidentally broke a small item designed by John Clappison. It was a sage pot and I was so angry at myself for knocking it out of the cupboard. Maybe it was an omen of the sad news to come. The majority of my collection are currently boxed up and put away due to the builders being in our house last year and not wanting them to get damaged. I must pull them out again and put them somewhere they can be truly enjoyed and appreciated.

Do you remember Hornsea Pottery?  Do you like vintage ceramics and have some somewhere in your home?  I believe that John later worked for Ravenshead Glass  and Royal Doulton so you may have some of his subsequent work in your cupboard. His legacy of beautiful designs will live on in my heart and home at least.