Emma Bridgewater

Career Bridgewater began designing pottery in 1985 from her flat in South London. She had been searching for an idea for a business, and when she was unable to find a cup and saucer she liked for a gift for her mother, she decided to start a pottery business. She created a spongeware design for a mug, jug, dish, and bowl in earthenware, found a model maker in Stoke-on-Trent to make molds, and had 100 of each design manufactured. She set up a kiln and taught herself to glaze and fire pottery. In her first year in business, she sold about .

In 1996 she bought Eastwood Works in Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent, which as of 2023 produces all of the company's pottery. The Daily Telegraph said she "single-handedly revived the country’s earthenware industry".

Personal life Bridgewater married Matthew Rice in 1987. In 2025 she was made a Dame.