Championing Craftsmanship | Richard Brendon

Your love for ceramics started early, how did your degree in Product Design add to your love of this versatile material? 

I did my Product Design degree at Kingston University in SW London – not only was it a brilliant place to study, but the course leaders were real industry professionals who had hands on experience of working in design as a job. Throughout the course students generally fell in to two categories – “makers” and “designers”. Learning about ceramics felt different for me – yes we made product with our hands, but to me it sparked my interest in the skills, the people and the industry over centuries.

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Portobello Road has played an important role in your story, from inspiring your first collection to the location of your London Studio. Are you still inspired by what you find there? 

During my degree I had a part time job at a pub on Portobello Road. It was walking through the market that I discovered piles and piles of discarded antique saucers which the traders struggled to sell. Some were incredibly old, detailed and beautiful – all made in England, most made in Stoke-on-Trent, the birthplace of British ceramics. I got to know a few of the traders, and learned that over the years (many pieces were around 200 years old) cups tend to break due to frequent handling, having boiling water in them and generally being in frequent use, but saucers on the other hand tend to simply sit on the table without disturbance, so survive. This leaves behind what I call ‘orphaned saucers’ with no matching cup and no real use in the modern world. Some of them are unbelievably beautiful, and all of them demonstrate what the British ceramics industry is capable of in terms of design and craftsmanship.

I travelled to Stoke-on-Trent and created a reflective cup to place on these antique saucers so that the original pattern would be reflected by the cup, and they would look like they belonged together. I hoped that these beautiful antiques would once again be appreciated, become part of people’s lives, and we could continue to enjoy the incredible skill and craftsmanship that they demonstrate.  I have less time now to visit the market, instead we source from dealers and traders all over the country, there are still lots to be found but of course the really exquisite pieces that I’m most interested in are pretty rare!

This is still a treasured part of my portfolio, and is called the Reflect Collection.

How are you enjoying life in Somerset? Having grown up in London, has living in the countryside inspired you in a different way? 

My wife Lulu and I moved to Somerset a couple of years ago after having our son, Freddie. The quality of life in this part of the world is so high, it’s really a lovely place to be and to raise a family. The really inspiring thing for me is all of the makers, craftspeople and artisans who work absolutely tirelessly to create produce of the highest possible quality. On my doorstep are The Westcombe Dairy, Julian Temperley’s Somerset Cider Brandy Company and Mulberry to name a few. Really incredible centres of innovation and craftsmanship in totally different disciplines. This is incredibly inspiring to me, as I always strive to create products with purpose and integrity.

Where is your go to destination for some R&R? 

Ordinarily I would say home, but there is a lot of DIY and gardening to do at the moment, so instead I will choose the South of France. The produce, the pace, the landscapes and the wine – it always seems to give me what I need when I need it!

You supply tableware to some of the finest hotels, retailers, and restaurants in London, where is your favourite place to enjoy an Old Fashioned? 

That’s a difficult one! We are spoiled, really, because there are so many incredible bars in London, both independents and tucked inside hotels. For the number one, it has to be Ago Perrone’s bar at the Connaught. It might not be the most original answer, but I can’t deny that it’s absolutely the best Old Fashioned I’ve ever had… though I’m happy to keep looking!

Richard Brendon was launched in 2013 and has become a by word for timeless design and the very finest artisanry. Working with extremely skilled craftspeople, the brand delivers bone china and crystal collections used and admired by the world’s elite. 

What inspired you to launch Richard Brendon 11 years ago? 

I launched the brand almost by accident. Lucia Van Der Post of the FT saw my reflective cups early on and wrote about my design, which caught the attention of a few international retailers. I didn’t intend to start a business in that moment, but was suddenly packing and dispatching orders to Liberty London, Lane Crawford and Le Bon Marche from my dad’s living room table. I wanted to keep the momentum going, so decided I had better do it properly!

Your collections are designed to be loved and used, how do ensure that pieces can be enjoyed for generations to come? 

Being loved and being used aren’t always the best ingredients for longevity, with anything really, but fortunately bone china is among the strongest ceramic materials you will find anywhere. It was developed in Stoke-on-Trent in the 18^th Century and all of our bone china products are still made there today using the same essential formula. Looking after bone china is straightforward and no special knowledge is required – the more you treat your products with respect, the longer they will last.

With glassware the story is slightly different, of course. We work with some of the best glass makers in the world, but of course proper handling is required to keep them looking their best.

We have comprehensive care instructions on our website which will show you the best practice to keep your products looking their best.

You put huge emphasis on crafted and considered design, what is the process of developing a new collection? 

Over the years we have developed strong relationships with incredible craftspeople and innovators who have committed themselves to creating the very best materials you can find. It all starts with an understanding of the material, and collections are developed from there based on either a client’s needs or an element of inspiration from a historical source. Recently we have created bespoke bone china collections for hotels such as The Corinthia London and The Raffles Hotel at the Old War Office among many others, and this is always a collaborative process with the client. Other collections, such as our Optic glassware, have been on my mind for years, taking a glassmaking technique which dates back as early as the 15^thCentury and bringing it in to the modern day.

The production of pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, England dates back to c.17th Century, why are these potteries still the best in the world? 

There really is no replacement for centuries of acquired knowledge and innovation. The Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent were the original home of British ceramics, but also the birthplace of bone china, which quickly became treasured all over the world. The quality is still there in Stoke, but unfortunately the decline of industry in the UK over the past 50 or so years has made it incredibly difficult for many of the oldest manufacturers to survive.

We are proud to work with what we believe to be the best manufacturers in Stoke on Trent and the quality of the product that they produce is a testament to the hundreds of years of innovation that have got us to this point.

Your products are truly ‘handmade’, tell us more about this process and why it is special?  

I am constantly learning and taking inspiration from innovators who have come before me. I make sure to always prioritise the quality of the product so, where people do things best, I make it my job to find the best people, where machines do something best, we will find the best possible machine. One example of this is our Jancis Robinson Collection where we now have two versions of the same glass, Precision which isa more robust glass made by one of the best machines in the world, and the Original glass, which is gossamer thin and can only be made by hand.

You are clearly concerned that these potteries and their highly skilled craftspeople are under threat. What needs to be done to put this heritage British industry on the right path? 

The struggles that the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent are facing are similar to the struggles of so many other craft industries in the UK, globalisation, a lack of care for quality or provenance and a lack of investment in training and technology to drive the industry forward. The solution has to involve strong impetus and dedication from people across the whole industry as well as the government.

Was it a natural progression to expand your collection to include crystal and cutglass? 

It felt very natural moving from working with great bone china makers, to great glass makers. I was very fortunate with the relationships I made early on, and learned a huge amount from these early partners. They were able to teach me things that it had taken generations to learn.

Why is the traditional craft of mouth-blown glass so important to you? 

As I mentioned earlier, there are skills that machines are not yet able to master, which means that you have to work with master glassblowers. The traditional craft of glassblowing is incredibly highly skilled, and the results can be truly staggering. Every time I use a Jancis Robinson Original wine glass, I feel a sense of connection with the glassblowers, but also the history that got us to this point. The same is true for cut crystal, the industry has managed to innovate to such an extent that we no longer require lead in the glass in order to create beautiful cuts which reflect the skills honed over generations gone by. This kind of development is so exciting and allows us to continue to create beautiful product with meaning and intention.

All bone china and glassware is created to enhance our enjoyment of the food and drink that we consume and this is something that is always at the front of my mind any time we are developing a new product or collection.

What do you love most about working on bespoke commissions? 

Bespoke commissions come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but ultimately it helps me to understand the changing world of food and drink, as well as working to create something which really speaks directly to the client’s needs. Sometimes we will take inspiration from an architectural or botanical element of a property, but sometimes design can take on more of a free flowing persona to communicate an occasion or a sentiment. I work with some of the finest retailers and hotels in the world and it is always a pleasure to be a part of what they do.

You have just received The King’s Award for Enterprise which recognises outstanding achievements in Innovation, International Trade, Sustainable Development and Promoting Opportunity, you must be very proud of this achievement? 

I am incredibly proud, especially of my team, without whom it would not have been possible. I surround myself with driven and talented people who care about what we do, and together we achieve a huge amount for a small business. It is exciting work and we love doing it together. I am looking forward to visiting Windsor for the reception, too!

With a busy and rewarding first decade, what can we expect to see from the brand in the next ten years? 

Good question! We have so many big plans for the next ten years, but really the goal is to continue to grow and develop the brand so that more of our incredible products can be part of more people’s experience of their favourite food and drink. We always want to grow with integrity, it’s how we have done it so far and it’s how I want to continue.

‍Richard Brendon‍

Founder, Richard Brendon

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