03/09/2026
This has been forwarded to us by an author that wants to write a biography about Steven Howard.
A one-eyed Staffordshire artist, originally born in Manchester spent a lifetime developing his style of painting.
He left to explore the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent at the age of 19 and started working at Coalport China in King Street, Longton in 1984. He quickly realised his destiny was elsewhere and left Coalport China within 18 months for Josiah Wedgwood in 1986 spending 12 years developing his style.
The year was 1998 and Steven Howard decided to go freelance. Was the experience of nearly 14 years enough? Time would tell. It was tough, a small fish in a big pond was undoubtedly tough. The time was to to start looking for employment to support his art.
The jobs were not exactly stimulating to an artist, but the money paid the bills and kept the wolves from the door. For many years Steven developed his style and he knew from attending artisan markets that people were collecting his prints produced from his originals in large numbers.
The timing of gaining a tenants agreement at the Trentham Estate within the shopping village was a masterstroke. Within months, Steven Howard quickly went from a sole trader to a limited company and became VAT registered. Steven Howard Gallery Limited was quickly formed.
The gallery is not like any of the modern galleries you see today. Steven Howard Gallery offers wide range of prints and at very affordable prices. Steven changed the aspect of collecting his art and offering it to a wider audience.
He did it with one eye. A stroke in August 2023 had taken the vision in his right eye. He had taken a year out to retrain and adapt to a new painting technique. The loss of an eye can be devastating to most but Steven and with the encouragement of his partner Susan decided to push on. Steven kept going, developing new originals and creating faithfully reproduced prints on various products. He refined and expanded his art, marketed relentlessly, and turned an idea into a thriving brand. He wasn't just selling art. He was selling industrious nostalgia and above all Britishness, it's tasteful period and with a modern twist, available to everyone.
In 2026 Steven's export business was growing rapidly. The interest coming from America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The news of a new artist gathered pace and visitors began to visit his gallery at Trentham. What started out as merely an idea quickly developed into reality.
A man who'd started out with two eyes, one painbrush, some paint and a blank canvas in Staffordshire had built a business from an idea.
Britain can make beautiful things! Not just functional and not just cheap. Beautiful, desirable, and better than the competition. When you see the logo Steven Howard Gallery it means quality, elegance and above all British. Steven Howard Gallery wants to grow the brand so much and to see all the products stamped with the name, into the homes of everyone who matters.
One artist. One vision. One very well-timed decision to leave the ceramic industry behind.
