‘Sophie Conran for Portmeirion’ covered sugar bowl in original white colourway. Designed by Sophie Conran in collaboration with Kevin Millward and Julian Teed, made in China for Portmeirion, launched 2006. Slip-cast porcelain, after hand-thrown prototypes

Sugar bowl and cover, white, ridged, slip-cast porcelain

Supported by Portmeirion Group UK Limited

‘Sophie Conran for Portmeirion’ has been hugely successful for Portmeirion Group since the launch of the range in 2006. The design has won many awards and (at the time of acquisition of this gift from the makers) still sells in over 50 countries worldwide.

Sophie Conran, the well-known interior designer, cook and writer is a member of a famous family of designers. She collaborated with Julian Teed, then Portmeirion’s Creative Director (retired 2019), and with the potter Kevin Millward who hand-threw the prototypes. The selected shapes were then slip-cast in porcelain, retaining an echo of the original thrown lines. The range is versatile, chip- and heat-resistant and has evolved over the years to include many new forms and colourways.

To remain competitive, and rather than introduce new specialist machinery and porcelain clay to the Stoke-on-Trent factory (which specialises in earthenware and vitreous bodies), Portmeirion decided to produce the Conran range in China while maintaining direct oversight to ensure quality.

The Sophie Conran range continues to prove extremely popular. Sophie has described it as giving ‘a nod to Japanese serenity and a wink to English eccentricity’.

C.43:1, 2-2019