When you choose Denby you choose items crafted by real people with incredible stories to tell about their work and why they love what they do. Read their stories and get a glimpse of what life is like inside our Derbyshire pottery.
Roger, Engineer.
My name is Roger Squires and I have been working in Denby’s Engineering Department for over 50 years. I was previously an apprentice at Rolls Royce in Derby and I was able to transfer the remaining few months of my apprenticeship to complete at Denby.
My working day starts at 6.30 am by checking the Fitting Shop white board for notes made by the last shift which finished at 10 pm, or by anyone who may have been called out in the night. Sometimes the whiteboard might tell us what the previous shift has done and ask us to check a machine is running as it should. Afterwards we then check the computer for any jobs which are scheduled in from the works. Sometimes jobs require two of us and we both have to reprioritise our work to get an urgent project completed. These days I don’t get call outs at night – there were times when I would have been working 7 days a week in the past.
My work has always been unpredictable unless I am finishing a project from the previous day but a new problem might occur which has a higher priority so I go back to the bigger project later - but every day is different.
Alice, Flatware Glazing.
My name is Alice and I have worked at Denby Pottery for two years. After leaving school I completed a B.A. in Textile Design specialising in print design.
I work in the Flatware Glazing Department at Denby and my working day starts when I collect my overall and safety boots from my locker and walk over to the production line where I ‘trim’ and ‘tow’ pottery. Towing is the removal of glaze from the outer band of a fully glazed plate to allow the bander to apply the edge coat glaze and trimming is the separation of two glazes on the front and back of a piece of pottery so they don’t merge in the kiln.
I’m the third generation of my family to work for Denby - My mum and nan both worked for Denby’s sister pottery at Langley Mill. My job suits me as it allows me time to think, gives me free time for all my hobbies as I work a shift pattern of 4 days at work and then have 4 days off. I find it rewarding to be part of a brand which is a long-standing institution and I enjoy the camaraderie with colleagues.
Shell.
I joined Denby in December 2021 having previously driven buses for Nottingham City Transport. It was a change of pace which was inspired by my mother-in-law who works in the Denby Shop at Denby Pottery Village that prompted me to look at working at Denby – it also brought me nearer my wife’s family. Along with my wife, we are keen foragers and enjoy seeking out wild delicacies which we create into wonderful recipes in our Denby dishes.
After a break from working directly with the public I realised I actually missed it, so since filming with the BBC’s “We are England”, I have left Denby and now work as a Lifeguard at a nearby swimming pool. I'm enjoying my new job of keeping the public safe but miss the great friends I made at Denby. My wife and I continue to collect and enjoy using our Denby Halo pattern.
Andy, Handler.
My name is Andrew and I’ve been at Denby for 27 years. I work in the small holloware department and I have various jobs from applying handles onto pots to inspecting items when they come out of the drier. I remember being shown around the pottery for the first time, and seeing 3 people sticking the handles onto pots, and I thought, wow!
I find turning pots the hardest and this took the longest to learn. There are some very talented turners in the team and I’m still learning from them! Everyone helps each other and is very nice and friendly. When turning, the pot spins around at great speed so you have to be controlled in order to create the right shape. It’s a challenging task and can take years to master.
I have the Greenwich range at home. I make my own homemade marmalade, lime curd and lemon curd so I have that for my breakfast on toast on my Greenwich dinner plates, every weekend.
I’m actually retiring in July this year and I’m going to miss Denby a lot. I will miss the people, the product and the Christmas dinners! I’ve enjoyed when we’ve had visitors as well – such as the time we had Princess Anne visit. People are always fascinated by what we do and Denby has such a great history of making tableware.
Sue, Hand Painter.
My name is Sue and I’m a Production Operator at Denby. At the moment I am looking after dipping our mugs, and in particular, the double dipping technique. Some pieces need double dipping which means they get rinsed and then dipped, leaving a small gap at the top of them. Our Halo and Blue Haze mugs are double dipped to get that beautiful glaze effect.
I originally applied for a position in our warehouse but knew I would like working here in the pottery, so later moved to decorating. After that, I moved to our large holloware department where I learnt how to trim, tow, rinse and hand paint - discover our pottery dictionary here.
My favourite part of my job is the hand painting. I find it quite therapeutic, and I can listen to the radio and focus on painting patterns (and singing!).
I like our neutral ceramics the best as they go with any décor, such as our Natural Canvas range.
Dean, Operations Director.
My name is Dean and I’ve been at Denby since 1999. My first role at Denby was Quality Manager. My next position after that was Group Compliance Manager, then Technical and Compliance Manager and Head of Manufacturing, and I’m now the Operations Director. When I first started, I was working on collections such as Reflex Blue, Boston Blue, Imperial Blue which is still a classic range now, Boston Spa, Daybreak and Harlequin.
The people at Denby are all so great, they make Denby very special. It’s always been a friendly and welcoming place to work and has a family feel. For instance, in the engineering team, I’m working with the grandchildren of people I was working with 20 years ago.
When I first joined Denby I was surprised at how much time it takes to make our ceramics, as I had come from a fast-paced engineering background. If we make a change to a decorated design, it’s got to go through 36 hours in a kiln before we know the outcome!
Studio Grey is my favourite design and what I use at home. It goes with everything, I use it every day, and it’s easy to dress it up for more formal meals. You can use it for a TV dinner and a dinner party!
Denise, Handler.
My name is Denise and I’m a Handler at Denby. I started at Denby about 20 years ago in department 9A, in banding. In that role I used to paint the edge of plates, saucers and some bowls. About a year later, I moved into fulfilment where I packed up orders and then went into glazing where I was responsible for hand trimming pots. I’m now a handler and work on attaching handles to our mugs – it’s my favourite job!
When I arrive in a morning, I find my station and get set-up. I use a slip bowl with liquid clay in and ensure the handles are lined up and ready. The machine starts at 8am and I work on around 1,700 pieces a day. I’ve taught a lot of people how to do it - it can take up to a month to master handling perfectly.
I think my favourite is still Regency Green and in particular, the Craftsman Mug. It’s a classic with a lovely shape and a nice chunky handle.
Neil, Production Supervisor.
My name is Neil and I’m a Production Supervisor at Denby, in the final inspection department. I’ve been at Denby for 29 years now and live locally. My dad also worked here for over 30 years.
There are lots of new patterns being introduced all of the time, so I’m the go-between, and work with the new product teams to make sure that what we are passing is the best quality. Every range differs and we look closely for cracks, blue spots, body holes and colour variation – a blue spot is contamination of the colour on the white glaze. We have a selection of colour tiles to work to in order to ensure the colours are correct.
We train everyone how to use the back stamp machine and how long to foot polish for. All of our items are foot polished for the same amount of time, about 2 seconds. It’s very fast in order to remove the fine kiln dust. We hope to finish around 160,000 pieces this week!
Halo is my favourite pattern. It used to be Imperial Blue as it’s iconic to Denby, but now I think it’s Halo. No two pieces of Halo are the same! And no two days are the same in inspection as there are so many different items.