Wedgwood and JW Anderson current an unique assortment of designs by British studio potter Lucie Rie, relationship again to a 1964 collaboration with the high quality china model, however by no means put into manufacturing.
Lucie Rie’s pottery work
(Picture credit score: Courtesy JW Anderson and Wedgwood)
Born in Austria, Rie fled Nazi Austria in 1938 and established herself in London. Alongside her artistic work, she was making ceramic objects, together with buttons and jewelry for vogue homes, an expertise that later knowledgeable her exact colourwork. She was additionally recognized for her ‘sgraffito’ method, consisting of rigorously scratching the floor of the fabric to disclose a distinct shade beneath. So many many years on, her work is outlined by a language that also feels trendy. ‘Lucie Rie is among the best potters of the twentieth century,’ says Jonathan Anderson, who for a few years now has been a collector of her work.
‘Rie labored with unimaginable restraint and readability, one thing that feels transcendent,’ says Emma Glynn, Wedgwood’s artistic director. ‘Her refined silhouettes, experimental glazes, and graphic use of line challenged conventional notions of ceramics and paved the best way for up to date makers to discover this medium for each inventive and practical expression.’
Wedgwood and JW Anderson launch Lucie Rie designs
(Picture credit score: Courtesy JW Anderson and Wedgwood)
Working carefully with the Property of Lucie Rie, Glynn and Anderson developed Rie’s authentic Wedgwood fee for the primary time. Outlined by Jasper blue surfaces with white graphic inlays, the gathering contains two units – a teacup and saucer, and a espresso cup and saucer – developed with a method that makes them trustworthy to Rie’s designs.
‘The road is unmistakably Lucie Rie, and that’s what I really like about these designs,’ continues Glynn. ‘It’s each ornamental and structural, creating motion with out ever overwhelming the shape. It’s a quiet confidence that actually captures her signature model. Bringing that along with our iconic Jasper materials, this turns into a outstanding assembly of minds – Wedgwood and Lucie Rie, two visionary forces in a collaboration that actually transcends time.’
(Picture credit score: Courtesy JW Anderson and Wedgwood)
The objects are made with a mix of machine and handwork. As soon as moulded, the items are fitted to the turning machine, the place an artisan shapes them and ribs them by hand – a course of just like Rie’s personal studio work.
‘[We used a] method referred to as “slip trailing inlay”, and to my information, that is the one time we have used it,’ says Glynn. ‘It is an especially tough methodology – maybe one of many causes the design didn’t transfer ahead initially. That stated, it is a actually lovely method, and one I hope we proceed to include into our design language.’
(Picture credit score: Courtesy JW Anderson and Wedgwood)
The proceeds from the collaboration will assist the newly shaped Lucie Rie and Hans Coper Basis, working to grant the long-term accessibility, digitisation and preservation of archival materials. As a part of the initiative, a grant scheme shall be established to advertise educational and artistic scholarships.
‘It’s an opportunity to honour a collaboration she all the time hoped would occur,’ says Anderson. ‘What’s actually outstanding is that Wedgwood has now realised these designs in the best way Rie envisioned them. I believe she can be thrilled to see these items lastly delivered to life, particularly on this charitable context.’
(Picture credit score: Courtesy JW Anderson and Wedgwood)
The collaboration shall be obtainable from chosen shops in China, Japan and the US, Harrods and Selfridges within the UK, wedgwood.com, JW Anderson Soho in London, JW Anderson Milan, JW Anderson Shibuya Parco Tokyo, and at jwanderson.com from 19 September 2025
(Picture credit score: Courtesy JW Anderson and Wedgwood)
Supply: Wallpaper
