Gardening News

back to news index .....
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2008 coverage
April.08

Brooke Pottery exhibits at Chelsea for 10th Year

Potter, Alexander Macdonald-Buchanan, who owns and runs the Brooke Pottery, will be exhibiting for the 10th year at the 2008 RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Based in the beautiful North York Moors countryside, The Brooke Pottery will be exhibiting a collection of giant, handmade glazed urns. The urns are of classical design with a strong contemporary edge. The display will include the mighty ‘Brooke Oblong Planter’ – the largest pot ever made at the Brooke Pottery. It stands 1.03m tall x 1.29m long x .69m wide.

The new Brooke Oblong Planter started life on paper in November 2006.  A wooden mock-up model was then made from which a plaster cast mould was formed, into which the clay was coiled and pressed to build up the structure of the pot. 

After ten days the mould was broken, the pot then fettled (finished off by tweaking smoothing and trimming), left to dry for six weeks and then fired for a preliminary 17hrs on a low heat (150 degrees centigrade) to get the moisture content to under two percent.  Biscuit firing then takes place at 1100 degrees centigrade.

The Kiln takes two days to cool down, then the pot comes out and is ready to be glazed with the Brooke Pottery’s own recipe glazes, which come in signature colours of cream, green, blue, acid yellow and black.  Final firing of the newly glazed pot is for 26 hours to 1070 degrees centigrade.

Alexander has recently contributed to a joint show of contemporary ceramics at the Joanna Bird Gallery in Chiswick. Recent commissions include two large urns for the Orangery at Lord Beaverbrook’s Cherkley Court in Surrey, the Grosvenor House Hotel, London and Isabel Goldsmith’s luxury hotel, Las Alamandas, in Mexico. Works have also been commissioned for private homes and gardens in America, Hong Kong, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland and Sweden.

Interior Designers such as Nina Campbell  Colefax & Fowler, Henry & Zervudachi are amongst the eminent interior designers that Alexander collaborates with; as well as world famous garden designers Arabella Lennox-Boyd, Mary Keane and James Alexander-Sinclair.

© Reckless Gardener Magazine 2005 - 2008 Mill Cottage New Media