Biography

My passion for ceramics began in Tokyo. While studying Japanese at Cambridge, I lived with a Tokyo family who introduced me to pots and the language of materials. After university I abandoned plans for a career in the City and slowly felt my way towards ceramics and art.

Handling objects at Christie’s, I realised I wanted to make things myself. I started with night classes in London and went on to study 3-D Design at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in Farnham.

Ceramics is in my blood. I found out unexpectedly that my great-grandmother was a Ridgway - the family company that made pottery for Queen Victoria and ocean liners.

Now I make, design, write and teach. At the Royal College of Art, I began exploring colour in an effort to break new ground in the contemporary use of porcelain. Since 2002 I have become known for a decisive and sensitive handling of colour, a quest for exhilaration, and ideas about movement and risk.

I work from a Victorian studio in London’s Elephant & Castle.

Photo by Matthew Donaldson