What does it really mean to make something that matters? 🏺✨

We sit down with Emma Bridgewater — one of Britain's most beloved ceramicists, entrepreneur, and now Dame — the woman who walked into a derelict Victorian pottery factory in Stoke-on-Trent and decided to bring it back to life. That was 1984. Today, over 360 people work there, and her hand-decorated pottery sits on breakfast tables across the country. 🫖

This is a conversation about creativity, community, and what gets lost when we stop making things with our hands. Emma talks about the moment she knew she had to start the business, why she still wakes up at night worried about dying crafts skills, and what she believes shopping — yes, shopping — is the most political act we can do. 🏭🌿

We go deep on the joy of making, the grounding power of creativity, why social media is driving us apart, and what it means to run a business with genuine soul for over four decades. Emma is warm, funny, fiercely principled — and completely compelling. 💛

In this episode we cover:

• The gift for her mum that started it all 🎁

• Why she chose Stoke — and why she'll never leave

• 30 pairs of hands touching every piece 🙌

• Why creativity is the antidote to anxiety

• Objects, memory and why things carry emotional freight

• What she's learned about keeping integrity over 40 years

• The simple pleasures that ground her every day 🌿

• What she'd say to anyone thinking of starting a business

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Mentions: Emma Bridgewater · Stoke-on-Trent · Laura Ashley · William Morris · Guy Hayward · British Pilgrimage Trust · Victoria and Albert Museum · Wedgwood · Minton · Spode