The space was pretty derelict before we transformed it, although the actual structure was there. We tiled the floor, with underfloor heating, insulated the roof and walls and added boarding to the walls. We whitewashed the walls and ceiling, including the stone. We retained the original shelves and added extra. I used to listen to the radio, but now I actually prefer listening to my wheel as I produce the pieces. I enjoy the sound of glazing too; I can concentrate fully without any distractions. I’m also a very calm and laid-back person, which helps!

My previous careers were quite varied. following art college, I completed three ski seasons as a chalet girl. I then moved to London, and worked in a Trust Fund firm. When I had my first two children, I worked as a childminder, with up to five young children at a time. The main skills I have learnt are organisational skills and patience! You can’t rush pottery. It was also good to learn computer skills from my office job in London, which has helped me enormously with the admin side of my business.

I completed a foundation art course at Bristol School of Art and Design, and I was lucky to do a GCSE and A-level in ceramics at school. My final piece at college was in ceramics. I made a large, coiled urn which is currently in my garden, using Raku clay and a clear glaze. Anyone can become a ceramicist – it’s just practice!

There’s no particular artist who influences me, however, I spent time as a child in Zimbabwe. Simple, organic, African forms of earthenware clay have always been a favourite of mine. I enjoy visiting museums and galleries and I gain inspiration from seeing different artists’ expressions, in a variety of different mediums and materials.

The earlier restaurants and retailers who currently stock my work were local, it was just a question of making contact with them and meeting in person for a presentation of my work. I did the same further afield and it spiralled from there. If you don’t ask, you don’t get, so be brave, go in person and show them your wares with passion and pride!

I’m lucky to have a husband who acts as my marketing manager and handles most of my social media. He works as a creative director in the tile industry (yup, we’re both in ceramics!) so knows how to style and design photos for my Instagram. The most important things to me as I create my new website is to be clear, clean and interesting. I want customers to really get a sense of what they’re purchasing through the website. And to be satisfied that what they see is what they get.

Early morning school run, sometimes followed by the gym/pool, then home for work, either on the computer or in the studio. In the studio, there is always something to do, whether it’s making pieces on the wheel, turning pieces on the wheel, making up balls of clay ready for the wheel, recycling the clay, rubbing pieces down ready for the first firing, glazing, emptying and filling the kilns, packing boxes ready for deliveries, and keeping the studio clean and relatively tidy. Then the afternoon school run with after school clubs most days. Once home with three children, supper, chat about their day and help with homework. By this point I’m normally ready to crash, but I often have to go out to check on the kilns or finish those last pieces so I can turn them the following day. I’ve been known to be in the studio until 10pm. My husband and I share the kids’ bath time and bedtime, particularly when I’ve got deadlines to meet.

I feel work/life balance works well for me. We spend time as a family at the weekends and I get support from my entire family. I do feel blessed.

My favourite piece to look at has to be my giant bowl. I can only fit three of them in my large kiln at a time. They’re a mission to make and glaze but I love them. My favourite pieces to make are the cappuccino cups and the small bowls. I can churn them out and find them enjoyable and easy to make.

That’s a great question. I used to love making different pots from coiling and being quite creative on the wheel, and I did feel a little disappointed at one point to the realisation that I’m a production potter now. However, selling a piece that I’ve personally made, with some positive feedback is so satisfying and rewarding it keeps my morale up and keeps me enjoying what I do. I love my job!

My inspiration comes from pieces I have seen in a museum or gallery. Or someone asks me to create something similar to something they’ve seen. I like my pieces to be functional or have a dual purpose, like the cappuccino cup and macchiato cup being pots for a plant or a cup to drink from, the jugs being used as vases, the tall straight sided vase as a wine cooler. I feel everything I make needs to have a purpose and can be used again and again.