Waimea Craft

Press, 25 July 1985, Page 34

Waimea Craft

Waimea Craft Pottery, at the corner of the Richmond by-pass, brings together one of those communities of artists and crafts people for which Nelson is famous. A popular stopover place for busloads of tourists, the co-operative features pottery, weaving, woodwork, printed and painted fabric, glassblowing and leatherwork that is noted for both its artistic excellence and commercial appeal. Now run mainly by the only potter there, Paul Laird, the centre was started 21 years ago by his father, Jack, and mother, Peggy, who built it up as a craft-based industry using current technology. It became a general gathering place for potters who worked and trained there. Up to 15 people in various crafts using modern indus-

trial techniques were employed there, and from this Richmond Pottery and Ceramics was set up. That group was broken up about six years ago with the introduction of the Craft Tax, and Richmond Ceramics became Teal Ceramics. “We were left with a few empty buildings and August, last year, saw the demise of Teal,” Paul said. “So we decided to partition off into separate workshops, and put out a prospectus which attracted numerous crafts people on a rented workshop base. “The ' different crafts make utilitarian items and not just the purely decorative kind. There is a definite trend toward useable articles as long as they are well designed,” Paul said.