Rachel in the Dales Pottery
Rachel in the Dales makes handthrown stoneware pottery using white and dark clays. She is a small batch potter, balancing her pottery making with family life. Her studio is based at their home in Settle, and her ceramics are reflective of the surrounding Dales landscape.
Her homemade glazes are made from local natural materials foraged in the Three Peaks area of the Yorkshire Dales, and are inspired by this beautiful and unique landscape. These natural materials include: the burnt ash of local plant material (nettles, thistles, docks, common hogweed, rushes, wood from Ribblehead Forest), greywacke gritstone dust from Dry Rigg Quarry at Helwith Bridge and iron ochre responsibly foraged from the skirts of Whernside.
- Wax burner
- Standard mug, Latté mug & Espresso mugs
- Sheep’s Wool mug
- Teapots (small, medium, large)
- Milk jugs & Water jugs
- Sugar bowls
- Dinner Sets & Dinnerware plates (dinner, luncheon, side)
- Children’s dinner sets (ducks, tractors, steam trains, cows)
- Diddy mugs
- Pasta bowls, Soup bowls, Berry bowls & Serving bowls
- Three Peaks mugs
- Butter dish
- Salt pig
- Garlic pot
- Yarn bowls
- Beaker
- Vase
- Circular/rectangular soap dishes
- Garden ash tray
Rachel forages for plant materials with permission from local farmers and landowners. She then dries and burns these plants, and collects and processes the ashes to create her ash glazes. All of her Ribblehead Forest wood is locally sourced from a young lad through their church, and the ash is then harvested from their woodburner at home. She sources Greywacke Gritstone dust from ‘Mic the Manager’ at the local Dry Rigg Quarry near Horton-in-Ribblesdale. The dust is classed as a waste product from the drilling process and would otherwise be responsibly disposed of, but for Rachel, the dust makes a perfect and pure glaze.
Her iron ochre is collected from a natural spring in sight of Whernside summit. It is layered under or over an ash glaze, and produces some stunning results. She also mixes iron ochre with a homemade base glaze, producing a warm cream when fired in oxidation or a pale stone grey blue when fired in reduction. In addition to these foraged materials, Rachel also includes real Swaledale wool in some of her makes. The natural colours of the glazes reflect the geology, flora and fauna of the Dales, and many of her pieces are imprinted with seasonal plants and flowers.
Rachel sells her pottery through direct commissions, and also through her website, Instagram and Facebook. She stocks her pottery at the local Gingerbugs and Co (Ingleton), The Little Gallery (Stainforth) and Town End Farm Shop (Airton). As her studio is from home, she does not have open hours, though appointments can be made.
Rachel offers Intro to Wheelthrown Pottery Lessons and occasional Natural Pottery workshops, as well as local school workshops. These are on hold, however, during the current Covid-19 situation.
Trade memberships / Awards / Qualifications
Heritage Crafts Association
Contact
7 Northfields Crescent, Settle, North Yorkshire, BD24 9JP
Telephone: 07903 010241
Email: Rachelinthedales@gmail.com
Website: www.rachelinthedales.co.uk
Social Media
Facebook: facebook.com/