V&A Wedgwood Collection

09/10/2026

The colours of autumn 🍁🍂 🍃

This beautiful vase was designed by Harry Barnard (1862-1933) who began working for Wedgwood at Etruria in 1896. Barnard was a designer, modeller, decorator and author who developed a range of slip decorated art wares and ornaments for Wedgwood.

This particular vase was created in 1898. It is a trial vase covered in flowing leaves and foliage in wonderful autumnal, earthy colours. The techniques used include hand-painting, enamelling and gilding.

Image: Vase, glazed earthenware, designed by Harry Barnard for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Etruria, 1898, WE.14733-2014

02/10/2026

I’d rather be gardening 🌿🌾🌻

Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) was a designer and watercolour artist who designed for Wedgwood for a short time from 1936.

This wonderful lemonade jug shows Eric Ravilious’ ‘Garden Implements’ design which includes various garden tools, a greenhouse, plants, and even a sleepy cat. What's not to like?

Image 1 & 2: Garden Implements jug designed by Eric Ravilious and produced by Wedgwood, 1940, WE.14900-2014

28/09/2026

Schools: Fire their creativity!

Bookings are open for our KS1 – KS2 School Workshop, Josiah Wedgwood: Staffordshire Superstar for the 2026-7 academic year.
In collaboration with World of Wedgwood, your learners will discover a story of creativity with an interactive gallery tour, immersive factory visit and pottery experience.

For more information and booking details, click the link

Spark curiosity with a visit to World of Wedgwood and the V&A Wedgwood Collection! Our in-person school workshop for KS1 & KS2 offers cross-curricular learning and unique creative activities to inspire creative confidence. For KS3/4, explore our online resources and opportunities to get involved wit...

21/09/2026

Families: Summer Round Up!

As the evenings get darker, we're reminiscing on six weeks of crafting, making and creating inspired by iconic Wedgwood design. From fairy wings to bottle kiln cards, puppets to stamp making we explored a range of techniques and materials in our Craft Club workshops.

For the first time, we invited families behind the scenes into our archives to explore Victorian pattern books in Majolica Makes, exploring themes of Victorian food, the natural world and our personal favourite, mythical beasts!

Come and join us this October half term for more free craft workshops. In Craft Club, we will be making spooky puppets based on Daisy Makeig-Jones’ Fairyland Lustre pattern. We will also be making magical wings in our Majolica Makes spooky myths workshop.

Outside of our events, ask one of our friendly team members at the front desk to try our new family backpack, ‘The Time Travelling Salesman’ which sets challenges and games around the gallery to complete.

Craft Club, Tuesdays and Thursdays 11.30 – 13.00, 13.30 – 15.00
Majolica Makes, Wednesdays 13.00 – 15.00
Backpacks, Free to use 7 days a week
Play Space, Open 7 days a week.

13/09/2026

Want to look behind-the-scenes at the V&A Wedgwood Collection? Now is your chance!

Behind-the-scenes: Collections - Wednesday 16th September 11:30-12:30

At V&A Wedgwood Collection we are in the midst of a project to unpack and catalogue our stored collections - more than 65,000 objects. For one week only join us on a guided tour free of charge through our collections storage to learn more about how we care for the collection and the creativity behind the objects we are unwrapping.

Behind-the-scenes: Archives - Thursday 17th September 11:30-12:30

At V&A Wedgwood Collection we hold over 100,000 documents in our archives which is described by UNESCO as one of the most complete ceramic manufacturing archives in existence. For one week only join us for a session free of charge in our archives exploring the highlights of the collection and the material that tells the stories of the everyday people involved in the production of Wedgwood ceramics.

Free entry // Please book your space via this link: https://www.worldofwedgwood.com/content/behind-scenes-collections-archives

10/09/2026

Feeling autumnal yet? 🍂

We're getting that cosy feeling here at the V&A Wedgwood Collection with these plates designed by Wedgwood Art Director Victor Skellern (1909-66) in the 1930s.

Directly inspired by wood engravings, these plates are part of the 'Forest Folk' series depicting woodland animals like squirrels, owls, and woodpeckers on Queen's ware with a green celadon glaze. Skellern took much of his design inspiration from the natural world. Which is your favourite?

Image 1: Plate, Queen's ware, Etruria, 1937. (WE.14893-2014)
Image 2: Plate, Queen's ware, Etruria, 1930s. (WE.14894-2014)
Image 3: Plate, Queen's ware, Etruria, 1930s. (WE.8478-2014)

09/09/2026

New article! 📢

Designed to appeal to the Victorians’ eccentric tastes, the brightly coloured ceramic ‘Majolica’ was made in a wide range of unusual shapes.

From Sardine Boxes to Punch and Judy, explore ten of our weird and wonderful majolica designs in the new article: Victorian Majolica Masterpieces.

To read, please follow this link: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/majolica-masterpieces-10-weird-and-wonderful-designs

04/09/2026

Have you seen our new map which showcases the Wedgwood factories?

The map at the start of the galleries plots where all the Wedgwood factories have existed across Stoke-on-Trent over 250 years of history.

Josiah Wedgwood I's first rented premises were at The Ivy House Works and the Brick Works in Burslem between 1759 - 1772. Josiah Wedgwood I's custom built factory, The Etruria Works, sits just outside of Stoke town, and opened in 1769 along the Trent & Mersey Canal. The current factory sits to the south of the canal in Barlaston, which has been the home of Wedgwood after a large-scale move from Etruria orchestrated by Josiah Wedgwood V between 1936 - 1940.

The new map links to our current 'Unpacking Wedgwood' display, which is focusing on the history of both Etruria and Barlaston, shown on the lids of these trinket boxes within the display.

There will be one more change coming soon to the galleries to continue telling the stories of the two factories, have a guess in the comments at what it could be?

03/09/2026

📢 Job opportunity 📢

We are seeking a Cataloguer to work on an exciting project at the V&A Wedgwood Collection.

Part of the V&A’s ambitious plans to enhance digital access and expand research and programming, 'Unpacking the V&A Wedgwood Collection' will enable future generations of visitors and researchers to benefit from this significant collection of ceramics, art and archives. As a cataloguer, you will unpack and document an amazing variety of objects, helping tell the story as we go.

If this sounds like the role for you, follow the link to see the full job description: https://vam.current-vacancies.com/Jobs/Advert/4306314?cid=3279&rsid=24732&js=0&LinkType=1&FromSearch=False

28/08/2026

Rethinking jasperware.

Since 1775, Josiah Wedgwood’s (1730-95) iconic jasper body has been consistently reinterpreted to intersect with different tastes and fashions.

In 2001, the company commissioned British ceramicist Vicky Shaw (b. 1962) to produce a collection of work for the 100% Design exhibition in London. The brief was to design and make a range of one-off contemporary pieces using jasperware.

Shaw designed and made a variety of press-moulded bowls and utensils, each with a screen-printed decoration which explored abstraction, colour and pattern.

Image 1: Bowl, jasperware, screen printing, designed and made by Vicky Shaw for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 2001 (WE.19245-2014)
Image 2: Pot with utensils, jasperware, designed and made by Vicky Shaw for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 2001 (WE.19251-2014)
Image 3: Bowl, jasperware, screen printing, designed and made by Vicky Shaw for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 2001 (WE.19248-2014)
Image 4: Bowl, jasperware, screen printing, designed and made by Vicky Shaw for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 2001 (WE.19246-2014)
Image 5: Bowl, jasperware, screen printing, designed and made by Vicky Shaw for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 2001 (WE.19264-2014)