Jean Powell (1926-2021) was a Wales-based ceramic designer. I only came across her work this week – I can’t remember exactly where now – but I was struck by its beauty and technical expertise.
After meeting at Wallasey Art School during the 1940s, Jean and her husband Rhys (Taffy) (d. 1994) moved to the heart of Denbigh, North Wales in the following decade. It was there that they founded their pottery studio at Craig Bragdy, (Welsh for ‘Rock Brewery’ – an indication of the property’s original 18th century purpose). Their company was named after this home and studio.
The couple started out creating small items such as salt and pepper shakers; however, they soon progressed on to hand-made ceramic murals and eventually to swimming pools – as they create today. Two of Jean’s sons, Shon and Nick now run the company.
In the early 1960s, the Powell family moved to the 400-year-old Brookhouse Mill which gave them more floor space, which was essential for them to be able to produce their large-scale murals.
Over the subsequent 50+ years, Jean and her family developed an extremely successful international business. Even into her 10th decade, she still visited the Craig Bragdy factory and swimming pool design room as part of her daily routine.
It was back around 1979-80 that she designed the tiled base of the pool at the Empire Hotel in Llandudno. Though a modest project, it was the beginning of an important future activity for the company. Jean remembers:
We were asked for a mermaid design for a client, but I wasn’t sure how risqué it could be, so I drew hair and seaweed to cover [the breasts]. But I soon received a message which read, ‘More revealing, please’, so off came the seaweed! Nuvo Magazine
Jean Powell penned a book, Earth, Fire and Water – a collection of stories about her life, her art and the people she worked with around the world.
Find examples of her tile designs for sale at Blondes Fine Art.
Additional image credits:
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