This time last year, a large, well-regarded company approached me to make a range of ceramics for them. It seemed like an interesting proposition until we got down to contract details and I learned that they wanted the copyright of all the designs that I gave them. This I gathered, would be like signing my business away, once a company had copyright of my designs, they could soon transfer these to all kinds of moneymaking products such as wall paper, stationary, bags and so on, without needing any form of permission from me, the artist. I declined on this particular offer, but made the decision to look into what other commercial possibilities might exist for a range of ceramics like mine.

I am all for making well designed and beautifully produced ceramics on a more industrial scale, particularly if it makes the ceramics more affordable and accessible to a wider audience. One excellent example would be the domestic range Chris Keenan designed for Habitat (now on permanent display in the ceramic galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum). Keenan’s Habitat pots are recognizably his design. The colour of glaze and signature scraffito markings have a close resemblance to his hand made studio pots, while at the same time, they feel chunkier and more durable. For me, they are a pleasing daily ware alternative to his highly polished and expensive hand made range. The Habitat pots were marketed and made to a very high standard, and it’s possible they actually enhanced Keenan’s reputation as a distinguished ceramic designer and maker.

It was my interest in developing my craft and expanding to a wider audience that brought me to Crafted.

My mentor is Adam Gilchrist of Veedon Fleece. Together we are trying to work out ways to develop my business, to free up what I do and perhaps delegate some of the work out.

I personally hand throw and decorate every single pot that I make. Painting each pot is slow and laborious, and I often find myself restricted by this method of making. Every large order leads to hours of hard work making repeat designs and the knock on effect is less time to develop new products and new designs for pots. Delegating out the hand made elements of my work is not easy, to get a thrower to make my pots is one possibility, but I am still then tied down by more hours of painting each pot. I could perhaps use transfers to put my drawings on to clay, but then the fluidity of line drawing and colour painting (something similar to watercolour and ink) could easily be lost.

The fact is there is no easy solution and together with Adam we are looking into all the possibilities.

Today I am going to Birmingham NEC to the International Spring Fair. I am meeting with a company who are interested to license some of my designs. They produce ceramic wares in China and sell their products to gift and home ware stores here in the UK, and to a wider international market. They have expressed an interest in doing a Helen Beard diffusion line of ceramics. I would act as a designer for them and they would deal with the entire manufacture and retail side of things. By licensing my designs I would keep the copyright and have control over the final product. As payment I would receive a small royalty for every Helen Beard pot that sold.

This is just one of the possibilities that Adam and I are looking in to. Perhaps if I could generate another form of income from royalties for example, could it take the pressure off the studio and allow me to take on fewer large and repetitive orders?

The workshops with the Crafted group have highlighted numerous problems with making a diffusion line. How could I separate this range form my current handmade range? Would the range be pitched to the right market? How could I be sure the quality would be satisfactory and how could I keep control of the quality? What would I set to gain from doing such a range? Would I be happy for them to market these products in my name? Shouldn’t Helen Beard be a better-known designer before embarking on a diffusion line? What price would the range be? Too cheap could devalue what I do now.

Taking all these questions on board and I head out to see what such a company can offer. Yes, I am very skeptical, but I also determined to approach each opportunity with an open mind.