Our Process
ANTA, Inspired
For 40 years, we’ve been crafting hand-painted stoneware ceramics in Fearn, and throughout that time, we’ve drawn inspiration from the traditions of the past while infusing our work with a modern sensibility. We take pride in working almost entirely by hand, using the same time-honoured tools that potters of the 19th century once employed.
Specialising in spongeware - a decorative technique from the 1820s - ANTA revived this technique in the 1980s, blending it with our own tartan designs to create a distinct and unique range of stoneware pottery. Despite Queen Victoria’s fondness for all things Scottish, tartan pottery had never been made in Scotland until ANTA introduced it.
We’ve always believed that craft should be both beautiful and useful. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, we follow the words of William Morris, who famously said, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
At ANTA, we take that sentiment further, ensuring that everything we create is designed with both purpose and beauty in mind. Our ceramics are made to be used, and are freezer, oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe, combining practicality with timeless aesthetic appeal.
The Art of Stoneware
Making ceramic stoneware is like cooking on an industrial scale, beginning with the selection of raw materials. We start with ball clay, sourced from the riverbed in Devon. We blend it with porcelain and water in a large mixer, before sieving to remove any impurities. The liquid clay is then pumped into a press, where it's carefully squeezed into slabs - much like cheese in a press - before being removed from the cloths.
Next, we remove the air from the clay by forcing it through a vacuum chamber in a pug mill. This process, which works similarly to a giant mincing machine, produces clay “sausages” of varying diameters, each suited to different shapes. Once cut to the correct length, the clay is placed in a plaster mould, and using centrifugal force, a metal tool shapes the inside of each piece. After drying overnight, the piece is in a “leather” state, ready for finishing.
At this stage, we add handles to mugs, form spouts for jugs, and turn foot rings on bowls. Some designs are hand-carved using scraffitto - a technique seen on our ridged bowls and lamps. For certain shapes, we cast rather than mould, filling plaster moulds with liquid clay, or “slip.” The excess slip is drawn out, leaving a hollow shell that is then air-dried before firing.
Firing and Decorating
Once the pieces have dried, they are fired to 1000°C in an electric kiln - over four times hotter than the highest setting on a domestic oven. This first firing, known as “biscuit firing,” hardens the pieces and prepares them for glazing.
We create our own glazes, which we apply by hand. The process begins with glazing the inside of each piece, followed by the outside. This method allows us to create a dynamic contrast of colours. After glazing, we apply the spongeware decoration, a process that’s akin to painting on blotting paper, thanks to the porous, chalky texture of the glaze. Once decorated, each piece undergoes a second firing, this time in a gas kiln. The high temperatures melt the glaze, fusing it to the stoneware, and bringing out vibrant colours that change dramatically during the firing process.
It’s this alchemy - handmade, hand-decorated stoneware - that continues to excite us. The magic lies in the unpredictable beauty that emerges from the process.