A British Icon
Posted on - 15th July 2023
Celebrating great British tableware design.
An icon of British style and functionality, Portmeirion was founded by Susan Williams-Ellis in Stoke-on-Trent, and has been a mainstay of ‘The Potteries’ for over sixty years. Susan and her husband, Euan Cooper-Willis began Portmeirion Pottery in 1960 by buying out potters, E. A. Gray Ltd., and early designs for the company included the collectible Malachite, Moss Agate, and famous Totem coffee pot. The real success for the company, however, came in the early 70’s. With nature as her muse, Susan Williams-Ellis went on to create the iconic Botanic Garden collection for Portmeirion. Adapted from a set of 19th century Botanic illustrations from Thomas Green’s ‘Universal-or Botanical, Medical and Agricultural Dictionary’, Susan's now instantly recognisable Botanic Garden designs broke away from tradition at the time, by offering a large variety of Floral Illustration motifs within a single collection. Today this is still one of the most popular and bestselling tableware collections of all time.
Going from success to success, Portmeirion went on to collaborate with designer, and cook, Sophie Conran, in 2006, to produce the beautiful timeless and award-winning Sophie Conran tableware collection. Featuring her subtly textured Asian ceramic inspired ripple design, this collection has become a Sophie Conran signature, and a Portmeirion bestseller.
Bringing the same commitment to beautiful, sophisticated and elegant design, Portmeirion replicated its earlier success by joining forces with the award-winning British designer, Sara Miller, in 2017, to create a stylish afternoon tea collection. With a flash of colour and Sara’s unique prints, this is a striking and very contemporary collection. Added to recently with a 12-piece dinning set, the Sara Miller Chelsea Collection is alluring, colourful, and very compelling.
Visit our Inspiration pages for look-books of Botanic Garden, Sophie Conran and the Sara Miller collections. These can be accessed from our Main Menu or go directly to our Portmeirion page under Brands to view each of the collections in detail.
Discover the full style potential, versatility and eminent collectability of the iconic Botanic Garden collection below.
