Paul, a potter born and bred, comes from a long line of pottery enthusiasts who probably had clay under their fingernails before they could walk. His paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Deakes, was a fetler and sponger from an early age, while his maternal grandfather, Jack Newbon, started at 14 as a Saggar Maker’s Bottom Knocker. Now, if you’re wondering what on earth a “Saggar” is – no, it’s not a mystical creature, but a fireclay container that protected pottery during firing, carried on top of the head like a very uncomfortable hat. The Saggar Maker was the true hero, using his thumb to join the sides to the base, while the Bottom Knocker (aka Jack) used a mawl (don’t ask, it’s a tool) to knock the base into shape.

These days, bottle kilns are more of a vintage item – thanks to the Clean Air Act and modern tech. When Paul started at Spode at the tender age of 16, his first job was a little surprising: wash his hands. He’d tell his manager, “But they’re already clean!” to which the manager replied, “Doesn’t matter, lad. You wash ‘em again. Clean hands make clean work!” And, true to that advice, Paul has been obsessively clean ever since. His workbench? “Like a surgeon’s table,” his colleagues would say. Clean hands, clean tools, clean everything – because in the world of pottery, even the dust is a work of art!