Christmas Open Studio at Eastnor Pottery

by Sarah Monk | Nov 13, 2025 | Exhibitions, News

Herefordshire Art Week

Having had such a wonderful Herefordshire Art Week here at Eastnor Pottery in September, we’re delighted to be participating in the h.Art Christmas Open Studio Weekends 29 & 30 November and 6 & 7 December 2025.

Three good reasons to visit Eastnor before Christmas!

Not only will myself & (my husband and fellow potter) Jon Williams be opening our festive studio but, our friend and neighbour, blacksmith Andrew Findlay will be opening Eastnor Forge too!

For those of you who haven’t visited Eastnor before, The Pottery and Forge are within 100 metres of each other, occupying independent historic buildings on the Eastnor Castle Estate.

Andrew Findlay – Eastnor Forge

Andrew has 40 years experience as an artist blacksmith and shaper of metal. He has completed a plethora of residential and commercial decorative metalwork projects worldwide. The distinctive style and appearance of his work comes from many years of risk taking, experimentation and learning through doing.

Check out his runner bean bird baths, gingko leaf sculpture and organically inspired garden furniture. Fire-irons, bronze key fobs and letter openers make for wonderful stocking fillers.

Jon Williams – Eastnor Pottery

Jon will be showing his interactive and decorative one offs constructed entirely from sections made on the potter’s wheel. Some pieces are intended to live outside, others are designed to be handled, shaken, tapped or submersed in water – all inspired by nature and natural forms.

Sarah Monk – Eastnor Pottery

I will be exhibiting a wide range of slipware pieces, from small buttons to the largest of flower bricks! I’m very excited to be turning our lovely studio into a grotto of ceramic delights. This is a perfect opportunity to find that one of a kind Christmas gift or simply soak up the festive atmosphere around our studios.

A portrait photo of Jon Williams sat at a potters wheel, hands clasped together resting on the wheel, he is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a black t-shirt, he has curly hair.

Sarah Monk wearing a blue cardigan, sat at her workspace table turning around to look at the camera, she is holding a pottery tool and smiling.

A portrait photo of Andrew Findlay, wearing his blacksmiths apron and wearing a black cap. He is looking at the camera with a slight smile. He is stood and both arms are leaning on an anvil and hammer set in front of him.

The Forge and Pottery will be open 10am – 4pm with festive refreshment on offer in both settings. If you can’t make one of the h.Art weekends, Eastnor Pottery Studio shop is open all year round 10am – 4pm Tuesday – Saturday…right up until and including Saturday 20^th December.

h.Art map reference: 107

Eastnor Pottery, Home Farm, Eastnor, Near Ledbury , Herefordshire, HR8 1EW

What 3 Words:

clubbing.glitz.revolting

Directions:

Eastnor is located 2 miles East of Ledbury on the A438. Ledbury – Tewkesbury road. Once in the village follow the pink Herefordshire Art Week signs.

I look forward to seeing you

Sarah x

A bowl and spoon set. The bowl is green on the outside with painted black spots, inside the bowl is cream and brown. The spoon is matching.

Three iron blacksmith poppy heads on metal sticks.

A ceramic sculpture of a light green pear and it's core.

‘The Printed Garden’ at Waterperry Gardens.

by Sarah Monk | Sep 14, 2025 | Exhibitions, News

The Gallery at Waterperry Gardens

What I’m up to next…. ‘The Printed Garden’ at Waterperry opens on the 20th September and I’m making floral sgraffito pieces for The Gallery at Waterperry to compliment the gorgeous prints. 🌼🌸🌻🌺 It was great to meeting gallery curator Kate when I was exhibiting at Craft Festival Cheltenham back in March where I got hear of her plans… sounds rather wonderful! 😊
I’ll be sending a colourful collection of espresso cups with saucers, bowls & spoons, cream jugs, tea mugs and of course, a few of my popular flower bricks in various sizes.
Thank you for the invitation Kate!

A slab built butter dish made by Sarah Monk. It's rectangular in shape with a lid and tray. It's cream in colour with brown sgraffito flowers etched on to the sides for decoration.

Freshly thrown cereal bowls made by Sarah Monk Ceramics

A yellow slab built flower brick decorated with etched flowers. It contains fresh flowers; daisies and pink cyclamen.

What I’ve been making.

I made a little reel on my Instagram page making one of my slab built butter dishes for the exhibition. Please take a look here!

The Gallery is housed in a restored 18th Century barn, the Gallery at Waterperry Gardens near Oxford offers affordable, contemporary art and craft.

Opening Times

The Gallery is open every day and free to enter.

Easter – October 10:00am – 5.30pm
November – Easter 10:00am – 5.00pm

A white flower brick with etched terracotta flowers and displayed with real forget-me-not blue flowers. This piece is on display on a white table in the studio of sarah monk.

A cereal sized bowl held in the palm of a hand there's a spoon held in the other hand. Both pieces are white and terracotta with green splatters. The bowl has etched flowers a bit like daisies.

A white plate made by Sarah Monk. It has a pie crust rim and sgraffito etched daisies with wiggley stems.

Herefordshire Art Week: h.Art

by Sarah Monk | Aug 28, 2025 | Exhibitions, News, Pottery Studio Life

Eastnor Pottery Open Studios

It’s not to go until artists and makers all over the county open their doors for Herefordshire Art Week 2025. This marvellous Open Studios event takes place 6 – 14 September and involves 428 artists exhibiting in 138 venues and Eastnor Pottery is proud to be taking part once more!

What will I be exhibiting?

I’m making lots of slipware pieces inspired by nature, ceramic history and the softness of clay.

Wheel thrown cups, plates and bowls. Large flower bricks, aswell as some miniature ones too! They are constructed from soft slabs of terracotta clay.

Slips and colourful underglazes are brushed and splattered on my surfaces, building layers of decoration and colour. Sgraffito flowers are freely etched into the clay, making pieces pleasingly tactile.

In a nutshell – I make little pieces of art for the home, to use and cherish.

Who else will be exhibiting?

Jon Williams (aka my husband and fellow potter) will also be showing his interactive and decorative one offs constructed entirely from sections made on the potter’s wheel. Some pieces are intended to live outside, others are designed to be handled, shaken, tapped or submersed in water.

If there was a common thread through both of our work it would be the notion of playfulness, both in creation and fired outcome.

Inside the studio at Eastnor Pottery. To the front of the photo there are some freshly thrown cups and saucers made by Sarah Monk.

Large fresh pink peonies diplayed in an oval flower brick made by Sarah Monk. The flower brick is cream with bold painted blue flowers.

h.Art Opening times at Eastnor Pottery

We’re open 11am – 5pm throughout – come join us for a complementary cuppa and peruse our pots.

Introduction to the Potter’s Wheel Classes

Each morning at 11am, we’ll be running one of our very popular and entertaining Introduction to the Potter’s Wheel Classes. If you are interested in booking please tap the link!

We look forward to seeing you!

Sarah x

Shelves at Eastnor Pottery filled with the work of Sarah Monk Ceramics. A pottery mug hangs on a hook in the forefront, it's teal with drawn flower motifs, green handle and cream and brown inside. Set behind the mug there's an oval flower brick thats cream with flowers etched on the outside. It contains a display of small fresh flowers. There's a shelf above which contains from left to right, a large teal plant pot with big brown dots, a small green cereal bowl with small brown dots, next to this there's 2 cereal bowls; 1 yellow with etched flowers and the other white with etched flowers. on the edge of the picture there's a corner of a teal flower brick withy etched flowers.

A distant view of Eastnor Pottery as seen from Eastnor Triangle, in the centre of the village.

Craft Festival Cheltenham March 2025

by Sarah Monk | Mar 14, 2025 | Exhibitions, News

A busy start to 2025!

I got straight back to the studio in January, getting new designs underway for Craft Festival Cheltenham! I’ve been making some cups & saucers, juicers, jugs and of course, some of her very popular flower bricks!

I’m paricularly excited about a new idea I’m going to trial too…. which are kind of flower frog teapots. So I’m interested to trial the response!

Who will be at Craft festival Cheltenham?

100 professional crafts exhibitors selected for quality by Craft Festival. See exhibitors here!

Plus an interesting lineup of speakers:

Kate Humble – Broadcaster and writer
Sarah Bayliss – Registered nutritionist
Katy Bevan – Publisher and editor

These will be engaging discussions that will inspire, inform and celebrate the intersection of creativity and well-being.

Flower frog teapot by Sarah Monk in yellow with sgraffito flower design and polka dot handle, spout and lid.

Clay fower frog teapot in the wet cly making stage. It has a lid with holes pierced in to hold flowers. The teapot is on the worktable in Eastnor Pottery, the studio of Sarah Monk Ceramics

Tickets

Craft Festival takes place at Cheltenham Town Hall from Friday 21st March – Sunday 23rd March 2025 and advance tickets can be purchased online for £7 or on the door for £9. Children go free plus there are also some free family activities too!

Opening Times:

Friday and Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 10am-4pm

This is the third time Sarah I’ve exhibited at this fabulous event and I hope you can join in the fun!

Come and say ‘hello’, I’m in the main hall, stand no. 73.

Yellow sgraffito pottery on the display shelves at Eastnor Pottery made by Sarah Monk Ceramics

Sarah Monk holding a board of freshly thrown terracotta pouring bowls.

Trio of hand thrown pottery coffee cups, teal with brown dots, yellow with sgraffito flowers and white with blue dots made by Sarah Monk Ceramics

Find a Maker Week, December 2023

by Sarah Monk | Feb 15, 2023 | Exhibitions, News

Hello everyone. This week I been celebrating #findamakerweek on Instagram! Here I am in my studio at Eastnor Pottery, which I share with my husband and fellow potter Jon Williams (behind the camera).

Find a Maker is an online directory and community of professional crafts people & galleries. It’s run by the famous and well established Craft Festival team.

On Monday 4th December 2023, I chatted LIVE on Instagram with founder, Sarah James MBE. It can be found on the CraftFestival Instagram page here!

work in progress studio shot of slipware bt Sarah Monk Ceramics

Yellow slab built vase by Sarah Monk Ceramics with oxe eye daisies.

flower brick work in progress ata eastnor pottery by sarah monk

Talking of Craft Festival….. I shall be exhibiting with them again at Cheltenham from the 8th – 10th March 2024 Tickets can be purchased online nearer the time.

It takes place in the iconic Cheltenham Town Hall, Imperial Square, GL50 1QA

If you are coming to Cheltenham do come and say hello, I would love to meet you! 🙂

Sarah x

Ceramic Birds Installation at Hellens Manor

by Sarah Monk | Jul 3, 2021 | Exhibitions

In June I exhibited some slipware ceramic birds for a site-specific installation created in the beautiful grounds of Hellens Manor in Herefordshire. I named it ‘The Birch Perch’ ! It consisted of 10 humorous hand modelled birds (some sitting in nests) sitting along a real birch tree! Something to discover in the woods and make you smile! 🙂