Decorated earthenware. Our love of clay and colour. 

The pots in our shops are all made by us both by hand.

Our glazes and colours are lead free and our decorations are all fired with the glaze and permanent.

The shapes.

All our shapes and forms are made by hand, mostly on the wheel, but also slab built, press moulded and shaped with a jigger and jolly.     (watch a throwing video).

The tin glaze and decoration.

Once the pots are dried, they are biscuit fired to 980°.

They are then covered with a tin glaze (the tin oxide is an opacifier that makes the glaze white).

Our decorations are then brush painted, free-hand, onto the un-fired glaze surface. We use metal oxides and prepared ceramic colours to make our bright patterns. 

Once decorated, the pots are the refired to 1046º to melt the glaze.      (watch a decoration video).

Slipware and trailed decoration.

Once the pots have been made, they are left to dry to a "leather hard" state.

They are then dipped into colored slips (liquid colored clays) and decorated with brushes and slip trailers.

When completely dry, the pots are biscuit fired to 980º.

after cooling, the pots are dipped into a transparent glaze and refired to 1023º.       (watch a slip trailing video).

Patricia Neal.

I was born in Paris and at a very early age I discovered my passion for painting and drawing.

From 1973 to 1976 I studied three dimensional arts in the "lycée d’arts plastiques", rue Ganneron in Paris 18ème, in the ceramic decorating section with Jean Hury as my professor.

I followed this with a year at the Beaux Arts de Paris studying drawing and mural arts.

In 1977 I moved to the Lot in Lamothe Fénélon, where I had my first job as a ceramic decorator at the  "Atelier du Tournefeuille".

I set up my own workshop, " L’Atelier du Roc" in 1981 and learnt to throw my own work.

In 1991 we opened "Faïences Patricia H". in Souillac, where I started our common production with my husband Bob . 

Bob Neal.

I was born in Kent in England and from the age of 15 I started to learn to make pots with Dougal Bricknell et Tony Foard at "Fusion pottery" in Boughton Monchelsea near Maidstone.

After a years foundation course at Medway college of design in 1980, I continued with four years of ceramic studies.

During my studies I spent time working with Mike Goddard in his workshops in the Lot, France. On leaving college in 1985, I set up my first workshop, "Poterie de Bourzolles", with Mike Goddard just outside Souillac.

In 1991 my wife and I opened "Faïences Patricia H". in Souillac. A whole new range of decorated earthenware was born from our collaboration.