Bernard Leach

Leach's ideal was the humble, useful pot, thrown quickly and well and fired in a wood-burning climbing kiln, with sturdy forms and quiet glazes such as tenmoku and celadon. He learned in Japan alongside friends of the mingei folk-craft movement, then founded the Leach Pottery at St Ives in 1920 with Shoji Hamada. His A Potter's Book of 1940 became the studio potter's bible. Much of the pottery's everyday standard ware was made by its team, including his son David Leach and later his third wife Janet Leach.