Shropshire pottery celebrates £30,000 Arts Council grant to diversify
A Shropshire pottery business's mission to expand its arts centre is being supported by a £30,000 grant.
Mike Fletcher, who runs Wenlock Pottery with Shelagh Bill, said that they had taken the decision to diversify the business due to huge increases in energy costs.
The business, based at Much Wenlock, has been running for more than 45 years – and at one point produced ceramic sculptures for Nando's restaurants across the world.
Mr Fletcher, 66, said the £30,000 Arts Council grant would see the business, which will still manufacture items for customers, focus on the pottery cafe at its Shineton Street site, teaching sessions and even hosting live music and poetry events.
He said that they had taken the decision to decommission the pottery's large kiln, which was capable of firing 1,000 mugs at a time, because it was costing £200 each time it was fired up.
The situation meant energy bills had risen from £700 to £1,600 a month – while materials such as clay and glaze had also become more expensive.
Mr Fletcher said he was sad to see the old business disappear, but is excited about what the future holds, with huge enthusiasm from visitors for the pottery cafe – where they can create their own items, which are fired in one of the venue's smaller kilns.
He said: "It is sad what has happened, not just for me, but the big potteries in Stoke are thinking of closing down because of the cost of firing.
"I am sad to see the kiln go and what has happened but we have had the good years.
"If I go back 35 or 40 years, we were making between 500 and 1,000 pots a day here.
"We had 14 staff, and that is how things have changed.
"But it is exciting, we have got this grant which is exciting. We are using it to redevelop this into another venture quite honestly."
