Because of my visa problems, I was not, to my great dismay, permitted
to travel from Prague to England.  Instead, Kevin Sharkey
and Robin Marino – the new CEO of MSLO – made the trip to
Stoke-on-Trent in England without me.  They had a fascinating visit to
the potteries of our business partner – Wedgwood.  Please enjoy these
stunning pictures that Kevin took of just some of the gorgeous things
that they saw on this field trip.  I’m very sorry to have missed it.

In this beautiful and stately cupboard are the Martha Stewart designs for the company - sold at Macy's and now at Harrod's.

This is one of Wedgwood's iconic table decorations - it's for sweetmeats, which is candy or sweet confections.

The Wedgwood Museum is a wonderful place for visitors - it will be completed in 2009 in time for the 250th anniversary of the potteries.

Lunch for our group was carefully planned, beautifully cooked, and so lovely.  It was served in the tea room.

Giant meringues, small tea cakes, and other goodies were served.

The meringues were baked with sanding sugar.

a pretty assortment of homemade cupcakes

an English “sponge”

The centerpieces for the luncheon tables were set atop Martha Stewart china.

Kevin took many inspirational photos in the museum - this is Agateware.

a beautiful, early shell plate in a pale sandy color

A bisque compote of large size - we want to manufacture these again.

a bisque game pie dish

an extraordinary tea pot

octagonal painted bowls- made as a gift

a monteith, or punchbowl, with Benjamin Franklin's portrait in transfer

a gray Jasperware covered urn - so fine and beautiful

a “cauliflower” teapot mold

Kevin wants two of these pastille 'burners' - they were used as the antique version of an 'air freshener.'

molds and molds and molds throughout the pottery

These are applied decorations to affix to Jasperware.

More

More

more and more

These are extraordinary portraits of historical figures for Jasperware, which was made in blue, gray, black, red, green, pink, beige, and yellow

Can you recognize Jackie and John Kennedy?

leaves and plants

Kevin estimates there are several thousand decorations in just this one room!

Not to forget the horses and other animals.

an over-sized chess table in Jasperware

production of china cups

teapots

before firing in the kiln

after firing and before glazing

This worker is making some of the Jasperware decorations from clay.

the molds for the jasperware

Jasperware vases before being fired.

applying a design on dinner plates

This is the frog set made originally for Catherine the Great - Czarina of Russia - the set can still be ordered today.

An artisan creating the Dancing Ladies bowl - one of these in blue was given to me by Wedgwood.

applying the 'dancing ladies'

The ladies are so graceful and exquisite - the workmanship is superb and perfect.

Another great view of the application - each bowl is a major work of art.

a cupboard of colors used in the decoration of Wedgwood

Queensware at its finest - named after the English monarch, who proclaimed Wedgwood as the official pottery of the Royal Family.

color chips for Wedgwood china

This photo shows the artisan carving the domed, pierced body, the dried clay, the glazed object, and the decorated fired product - so amazing a process - so complex and interesting!

some of the tools used to create and engineer the Jasperware

drying shapes

Kevin decided to order two pastille burners for his new apartment.

These square boxes are the molds used to shape the pottery.  There are thousands of these molds in the factories - the Bart Simpson cup should not be used in the pottery, I think!

more molds

lids drying - hundreds of them

Martha Stewart cups before firing - this is one of my favorite patterns and the one chosen by Tony O'Reilly to use at Castlemartin.

The yellow color burns off in the kiln, leaving a silver decoration on white china.

our Green Moss plates before firing

Our Robin's Egg blue china

another of the Martha Stewart china patterns

A great deal of hand work goes into each piece.

A Martha Stewart collection advertisement hangs in the factory.

one of the kilns in the firing rooms

spraying the glaze on the painted and decorated china

entering the kiln

Robin Marino - our company CEO and Kevin - studying eighteenth century pattern books - Josiah Wedgwood, Joshua Reynolds, and others who did amazing work.

Kevin also wants these candlesticks in black basalt.

This is Josiah Wedgwood's house in Stoke-on-Trent.

Look at the beautiful window details.