Berkshire


<p>Deep in the heart of the rolling South Fawley countryside would seem a pretty unlikely location for a superstar singer to approach an artisan pottery thrower. But hey, it happened. Last year, Charlotte Manser designed a collection with American singer John Legend as part of an Etsy campaign to showcase talented makers from around the world. Since then, it&#8217;s safe to say business has been through the roof.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2254" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38.jpg" alt="Charlotte Manser ceramics berkshire pottery courses local pottery workshops" class="wp-image-70399" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38-532x800.jpg 532w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38-665x1000.jpg 665w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38-266x400.jpg 266w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38-768x1154.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38-1022x1536.jpg 1022w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-25-38-1363x2048.jpg 1363w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Charlotte went on to open her new studio (<a href="https://www.charlottemanserceramics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Charlotte Manser Ceramics</a>) on the Berkshire/Oxfordshire border in April this year, and now, on top of selling her gorgeous handmade creations, she offers a range of workshops, courses, and retreats, plus rents out the space for other creatives to use. I went on her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C8UTb_NIFgK/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pottery and Flower Arranging Retreat</a> back in June and it was bloomin&#8217; fabulous. The jug I created, however, is another story. But we can&#8217;t all be as talented as Charlotte, hey?</p>



<p>I caught up with the ceramics queen in a rare moment off the throwing wheel to get the goss on her A-list collab and what she&#8217;s got up her sleeve next.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="998" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-18-18.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-70398" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-18-18.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-18-18-800x532.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-18-18-1000x665.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-18-18-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-18-18-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-past-year-has-been-a-huge-deal-for-you-from-opening-your-new-studio-to-working-with-john-legend-what-s-that-been-like">This past year has been a huge deal for you! From opening your new studio to working with John Legend &#8211; what&#8217;s that been like?</h3>



<p>Overwhelming! I feel very proud of myself and proud of my fiancé for supporting me. My staff, family and friends &#8211; have all helped along the journey. I&#8217;ve worked very bloody hard to do it. It&#8217;s not been easy. I started with a half broken wheel and one table in my grandparent&#8217;s garage, and now I&#8217;ve got twelve wheels, and many tables. I just walk around the studio, like, what on earth is going on? It&#8217;s like I&#8217;m in a dream. I&#8217;ve achieved something I never thought I&#8217;d achieve.</p>



<p>When I think back to the whole five years of my business, and how the fact even one person wants to buy just one of my mugs, or one person wants to have a lesson by me, I just find it all very surreal.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-so-what-is-charlotte-manser-ceramics-all-about">So what is Charlotte Manser Ceramics all about? </h3>



<p>I started my business in 2019. I was previously a teacher so I&#8217;ve kind of come from that education background and now I do workshops to share my passion and help other people do the same. Through my social media, workshops, retreats &#8211; it&#8217;s created this community of people who connect through making objects from raw materials from the earth that can be forever lasting<strong> </strong>and beautiful at the same time.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-am-i-right-in-saying-sustainability-is-quite-a-big-thing-in-your-business">Am I right in saying sustainability is quite a big thing in your business?</h3>



<p>Sustainability has always been a big part of my business. The clay, the glazes are all things you can just dig up and make beautiful pieces of art or functional pottery with. Even from when I first started out, I&#8217;d fill buckets of water outside rather than at a tap, make sure I fill a kiln and everything like that because I was very cost conscious too. All of my staff are female, which is also quite cool.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="998" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-46-31.jpg" alt="Charlotte Manser ceramics pottery workshops berkshire" class="wp-image-70402" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-46-31.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-46-31-800x532.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-46-31-1000x665.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-46-31-400x266.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-46-31-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-many-pieces-of-pottery-do-you-make-a-week">How many pieces of pottery do you make a week?</h3>



<p>If I&#8217;m on the wheel for a whole day, I&#8217;ll make around a hundred pieces. I&#8217;d say between myself and Esme, who&#8217;s my apprentice, we probably do about 300 a week. It&#8217;s crazy considering I&#8217;d make 30 mugs a week when I first started. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-ever-get-bored-of-it">Do you ever get bored of it?</h3>



<p>No! I think there&#8217;s times where I find it stressful, and obviously now the bigger my business gets, the more managing I have to do of people and the more admin side of things. That&#8217;s the bit I probably dislike the most. I&#8217;m useless at replying to emails. But I don&#8217;t ever get bored of making pottery. Opening that kiln is the best feeling when things come out good. Even though I just make the same things over and over again, I always know what they&#8217;re gonna come out like. Well, hopefully.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-favourite-thing-to-make">Favourite thing to make?</h3>



<p>I really like throwing pasta bowls because they&#8217;re just very fluid and the curve is just very nice to throw. But sometimes I like the challenge of bigger pieces like a wine cooler which is around 1.4 kilos of clay. But if I do, at the end of the day, my arms are not okay.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-47-12.jpg" alt="Charlotte Manser ceramics" class="wp-image-70400" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-47-12.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-47-12-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-47-12-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-47-12-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-17-47-12-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-recently-opened-your-very-own-studio-in-south-fawley-tell-me-about-that">You recently opened your very own studio in South Fawley! Tell me about that?</h3>



<p>This is the fifth studio I&#8217;ve had since I started my business. Two years ago I was in a studio that was 300 square foot and now I&#8217;m in a studio that&#8217;s nearly 3,000 square foot. I signed the lease in April and I wanted to make it a teaching space because teaching was something I really loved. Within, I think it was 10 days, my first course had sold out. </p>



<p>I also got the grant funding from West Berks council to buy 10 pottery wheels, a slab roller and a kiln, so that sort of funded the expansion. Now I do day retreats and workshops, and hire out the studio to other small businesses and potters in the area to use. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-i-had-the-absolute-best-time-at-one-of-your-workshops-have-you-got-any-others-coming-up">I had the absolute best time at one of your workshops! Have you got any others coming up?</h3>



<p>Yes I&#8217;ve got a <a href="https://www.charlottemanserceramics.com/pages/blog" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pottery and Yoga Retreat</a> at the end of September which is staying at a local yurt farm and doing pottery and yoga. In the same month there will also be a Pottery and Sound Ceremony Day Retreat, and my next 10 week course starts in October.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/john-legend-Etsy.png" alt="john legend etsy collection" class="wp-image-70406" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/john-legend-Etsy.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/john-legend-Etsy-800x800.png 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/john-legend-Etsy-400x400.png 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/john-legend-Etsy-768x768.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/john-legend-Etsy-500x500.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Taylor Rainbolt / Etsy</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-right-let-s-address-the-elephant-in-the-room-john-legend-how-did-that-collaboration-come-about">Right, let&#8217;s address the elephant in the room &#8211; John Legend! How did that collaboration come about? </h3>



<p>So in December 2022, I got an email from Etsy saying, &#8216;We really love your shop, we&#8217;d like you to be part of our next celebrity collaboration. Sign this NDA and we&#8217;ll tell you more.&#8217; I thought it was a scam email. And when I realised it was real I replied. A couple of weeks later, they were like, &#8216;so let&#8217;s start, the celebrity is John Legend.&#8217; I&#8217;m not very in on celebrities, but it was actually someone I knew who&#8217;s actually quite big. I thought, &#8216;this is quite insane&#8217;.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-it-go-from-there">How did it go from there?</h3>



<p>So I spent the next six months talking to Etsy who then passed on the relevant information to John and then he&#8217;d reply. I was sending samples to LA and they were getting John to look over them. In the end, I made mugs, coasters, pet bowls, and candlestick holders. They all had his name and my name printed on the bottom.</p>



<p>They were part of two seasonal interior design collections that were all black women and minority Etsy shop owners. John just has a passion for interior design, a passion for the handmade crafts, and a passion for supporting small businesses. So he wanted to be part of it. When it came down to it, I was like, &#8216;Oh God, I hope this goes well.&#8217; Thankfully it&#8217;s been crazy since that launched.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-was-it-all-very-hush-hush">Was it all very hush, hush? </h3>



<p>Oh yeah, I couldn&#8217;t talk about it to anyone. And that was so hard because I just wanted to tell everyone. Obviously the people that work for me had to sign NDAs because we were all working on the project. But it was a really hard secret to keep. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="980" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-john-1-copy.jpg" alt="Charlotte Manser ceramics john legend etsy collection" class="wp-image-70404" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-john-1-copy.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-john-1-copy-800x784.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-john-1-copy-400x392.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-john-1-copy-768x753.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Taylor Rainbolt / Etsy</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-you-ever-get-to-speak-to-him">Did you ever get to speak to him?</h3>



<p>Not directly on a voice call or anything, but when it launched in June last year, it popped up that he&#8217;d tagged me in a post on his story. It went into my DMs, and I was like, &#8216;Oh my god!&#8217; Even now, he&#8217;s still got some of my stuff in his home. I see on his Instagram now and again which is quite cool. I just find it all so bizarre to think even someone more than my parents wants to have my work in their house.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-was-the-collection-like-what-inspired-you">What was the collection like? What inspired you?</h3>



<p>Looking at the visuals and interior design of John&#8217;s home there was a lot of neutral colors and textures like marble, wood, and ceramics, so I brought all these different mediums together. His home was beautiful, and so the summer colour palette was a little bit more pastel and lighter, and the winter colour palette was greens and reds. He&#8217;s got a poodle so I did pet bowls. It was quite funny, the mood board they gave me was just pictures of my own work. I was like, uh, thanks. Useful. Yeah, I&#8217;ll just be inspired by myself. I was also the only UK seller in the summer collection.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2250" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54.jpg" alt="Charlotte Manser ceramics" class="wp-image-70401" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54-267x400.jpg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/charlotte-manser-Photo-09-05-2024-18-20-54-1365x2048.jpg 1365w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-did-the-collaboration-help-your-businesses">How did the collaboration help your businesses?</h3>



<p>My Etsy doubled in sales! My Instagram also went a bit crazy. A year ago, I had maybe 4,000 followers, now I have over 20,000. I just launched a potters day in September which is just inviting pottery people to my studio to hear about my business and hopefully help them with theirs. I&#8217;ve nearly sold out of tickets for that. It&#8217;s just gone crazy, and my business turnover has tripled in the last two years.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-exciting-plans-in-the-pipeline">Any exciting plans in the pipeline?</h3>



<p>Yes! My sort of five year goal is to expand my studio to have a café and a shop, and a little garden area. I&#8217;m speaking to my landlord because there&#8217;s a site that he thinks would work really well. I want it to be a whole estate of Charlotte Manser Ceramics where you can tour the studio, do workshops, become a member. That&#8217;s what I&#8217;m working towards now and I think it would be pretty cool.</p>



<p><strong><em>To find out more about the workshops, retreats, and courses at <a href="https://www.charlottemanserceramics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Charlotte Manser Ceramics</a>, visit her website now.</em></strong></p>


This Berkshire ceramicist collaborated with John Legend, and we have the goss

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