Portmeirion

One of the most celebrated producers of pottery from the Staffordshire region, Portmeirion china is an icon of 20th-century ceramics. Originally based in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Portmeirion continues to thrive today thanks to the brand's consistent clientele.

Portmeirion began in the early '60s when Susan Williams Ellis and her husband Euan Cooper-Willis assumed the management of A.E. Gray, a boutique pottery company in the heart of the pottery-rich city of Stoke-on-Trent. This small shop was designed merely for pottery decoration, but when they added to their holdings a larger facility the following year that allowed for actual pottery production, Portmeirion pottery came into being.

Over the subsequent years, Portmeirion produced a remarkable range of patterns and lines, from Malachite, one of the earliest, to Magic Garden, released in 1970. A high level of innovation continues to the present day, with Portmeirion china still being produced in its original Stoke-on-Trent location and new fans of the brand gathering antique pieces today.

Quick Facts

• One of Portmeirion's most celebrated patterns comes from the Botanic Garden range, which debuted in 1972. A line within this larger range, the Botanic Blue line, is still in high demand today
• The company is known today as the Portmeirion Group, as they acquired both the Spode and Royal Worchester brands in early 2009
• One way to assess the age of your Portmeirion piece is by the bottom stamp: if it is in the shape of a trophy, the piece is probably an early design. If the shape is an oval instead, your piece is more modern