Crannmor Pottery is Hilary Jenkinson and I have been creating pottery by traditional hand throwing methods for over 20 years.

My love for clay began in Thomastown during the Grennan Mill Craft Course. I then went onto the Crawford College of Art and Design and completed my Diploma in Ceramic Design and finished my training back in Thomastown doing the Pottery Skills course.

After working with a few different potters for 2 years I opened my own workshop in Ballinrobe Co. Mayo in 1994. Back then I used earthenware clay but today I use stoneware clay which is fired to higher temperatures to make it more durable.

 Throwing has always been my prefered technique because of its instancy. You begin with a lump of clay and a few minutes later you have a pot to lift off the wheel. I extrude my handles which makes them more uniform and pots are then fired to 1000 oC which is the biscuit firing. Each pot is then dipped in glaze and fired again to 1260oC. The firing is the slow part of making pots as it takes between 8-10 hours to reach temperature and the same again to cool down.

I have always preferred straight lines rather than the more traditional bellied pots and my shapes are based on the old pewter beer tankards. Although clay is a very fluid material to work with I like to give it the feeling of strength with its form. I chose the simple motif of a Celtic spiral, applied with a sponge, to decorate my Cornflower and Willow ranges.

In 2005 I relocated my workshop to Castlecomer Co. Kilkenny and I began producing my new Silk Range which was greatly inspired by travels to the southern hemisphere. This range is more simplistic in its design which fits in with the more contempory lifestyle. Although I have my three main ranges I am continually exploring new ideas with my gallery work and encourage customers to ask for the unusual. I have always had an interest in lustres which are liquid metals and look at different ways to use them on my gallery work.

 In late 2012 I relocated to the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains near Glenmalure. To coincide with the move I have created a new collection called the Willow Range. It is similar in form to the Cornflower range but the colour is softer with an off white base and a rich brown spiral pattern.

Apart from my everyday functional work I also create commissioned work and presently the majority of it is prizes for race events like aquathons acheter, running races and adventure races. I also do bespoke work to suit the customers’ requirements.

Recent commissions bowls for Druids Glen Hotel, mugs for participants in IMRA Wicklow Way Trail and Ultra run. A Lincoln hat for Daniel Day Lewis presented from Wicklow Hospice.