OUR LOCATION
St Ives, Cornwall, has long been at the heart of the studio pottery movement shaped by the legacy of Bernard Leach and the Leach Pottery. The town has long been a centre for makers, collectors, and enthusiasts, attracting visitors from around the world to engage with its rich ceramic heritage. For over thirty years, St Ives Ceramics, founded by former Leach Potter John Bedding, has continued this tradition, offering a space where the history and contemporary practice of studio pottery can be experienced side by side.
Our story
St Ives Ceramics was opened in 1990 by potter John Bedding on the site of the former Harts Ice Cream Factory in Fish Street. Developed initially as John’s working studio, the space was fronted by a small gallery showing his own work alongside that of potters he admired. At a time when ceramics were often treated as secondary to painting in local galleries, St Ives Ceramics was founded to give studio pottery a dedicated setting, one designed to present work clearly, thoughtfully, and as primary exhibits in their own right.
As the gallery’s reputation grew, John relocated his workshop to the Gaolyard Studios, a cooperative space for potters established in 1998, allowing the Fish Street premises to expand fully as a gallery. Today, St Ives Ceramics presents a wide range of contemporary studio pottery alongside the CBS Collection, a significant group of works by master potters of the twentieth century.
CBS COLLECTION
St Ives Ceramics CBS Collection was established to place museum-quality studio ceramics into active circulation, allowing historically important works to be seen, handled, and lived with rather than held at a distance. Formed as a partnership between John Bedding and art consultant Kate Chertavian, the collection brings together exemplary works by leading studio potters past and present, at a moment when studio ceramics have gained international recognition as an art form in their own right.
The collection grew from a belief that the vitality of ceramics lies in their continued use and exchange, and that understanding deepens through proximity rather than preservation alone. Presented as a rolling collection within the gallery, CBS sits alongside contemporary exhibitions as both reference and complement. It includes significant works by figures such as Bernard Leach, Janet Leach, David Leach, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper, William Marshall, Colin Pearson and Richard Batterham, as well as a dedicated body of work from Mashiko, Japan, including pieces by Shoji Hamada, his son Shinsaku, his grandson Tomoo, and Tatsuzo Shimaoka.
By keeping these works accessible, the collection allows visitors to encounter, take home, and live with studio ceramics of lasting historical importance, a rare chance to connect with the living history of studio ceramics.
SHOP BY ARTIST
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- St Ives Ceramics Artists
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- CBS Collection Artists
GALLERY SPACE
“The exhibition space is much larger than it appears from the outside, offering a labyrinth of rooms filled with an extensive collection of ceramics. What makes St Ives Ceramics stand out is its commitment to historical pieces of museum quality that are for sale, and also the vibrant work of contemporary potters.” Trip Advisor Review 2023
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