5 British ceramicists you should know about

Roam the halls of Liberty, window shop down Lamb Conduit’s Street, snoop into the front rooms of Islington’s townhouses and you’re bound to see beautiful ceramic pot after beautiful ceramic pot.

Yes: the clay craze is still reigning hard.

With a rise of new potters, it is just one of the many crafts thriving in the British art scene right now. Its success as a medium is not just because of its aesthetic but also because it's typically much more affordable than other forms of sculpture. If you’re a student you can pick up a one-off vase for £15, if you’re a banker you can invest in an Edmund de Waal.

Right now there’s really is no end of British makers to invest your money into. Here are some of our favourites…

Skratch Ceramics

Made in South Wales, these handmade, hand-etched ceramics are the stuff of folk art dreams. All the products are made in signature colourways - blue and white or navy and white - and feature the images of lone figures or village scenes.

Using the technique of sgraffito, which in Italian means the act of carving into the top of hardened clay, each of Kate Russell’s pieces are truly one of a kind - lumps, bumps and all.

Limehouse Ceramics

A one-women business, McNeal makes each of her pieces in a small studio at the bottom of her garden (dreamy, right?). Simple and practical, she takes much of her inspiration from Japanese and Scandinavian pottery and adds her own stamp to each design by mixing up the type of clay and glazes she uses. Her speckled Striped Bud Vase is a particular favourite.

Georgie Sampson Pottery

Made from her farm in Scotland, Georgie Sampson throws her pots in her barn-cum-studio. Using a mixed palette that reflect the Celtic landscapes of Scotland and Ireland (she often spends time in Donegal) the glazing on her work is what really steals the show. The pieces are sometimes colourful, sometimes moody but always atmospheric.

John Booth

John Booth’s vases are hard to find. The artist, who once wrote all over Fendi’s designs (with permission and a contract), is known primarily as an illustrator but also produces a range of ceramics that’ll make you want to save every penny until you can afford one of his pieces.

Colourful, kind of Matisse-y, kind of Picasso-y, a little bit Chagall-y - the vases are released from time to time and get snapped up almost instantly but if you do manage to get one - it will make any mantle piece you put it on.

With the fashion crowd's approval already secure, it’s likely a ‘John Booth’ will certainly become collector’s item in no time.

Tom Kemp

Tom Kemp specialises in porcelain work and primarily makes (extremely beautiful) curved vases. His work is instantly recognisable by the calligraphic brush strokes he paints across the glaze. Definitely not a practical purchase, these pots are made to sit in all their glory on a dresser making the room come together by doing absolutely nothing at all.