Three local companies have unveiled special products to mark Stoke-on-Trent’s centenary.
Moorland Pottery’s Centenary mug features a miner’s wheel, a duck, the canal and the Stoke Knotty Train.
It will go on sale soon alongside centenary plates and other specially designed merchandise – including tea towels, posters, tote bags and pin badges – at Gladstone Pottery Museum and the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, both in the city.
Moorland Pottery Co-founder Jon Plant, who was a was a guest judge in an episode of the latest series of Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down, teamed up with Stoke-on-Trent City Council for the special range.
He said: “When asked to design a mug to celebrate the centenary, I thought what are the key elements that enabled Stoke-on-Trent to get city status? What were the catalytic components to spark the creation of a special and unique place? What binds it all together and makes it possible?
“The answer is quite simple. Clay, coal and water and of course not forgetting the wonderful people of Stoke-on-Trent who made it all possible.”
Proceeds from the sales from this range will be used to support centenary events throughout the year.
Meanwhile, Titanic Brewery, also based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, has unveiled a limited-edition Century Anniversary Ale – a traditional 4.7% ABV amber ale – to mark the occasion.
It will be available in bottles, cans and on cask in pubs across Staffordshire with a proportion of every sale going to the Titanic Brewery Foundation, which supports charities across the region.
David Glenwright, from Titanic Brewery, said: “We are genuinely honoured to be working with the city council to produce this commemorative ale, celebrating both the city’s centenary, and our own 40th anniversary. When Titanic Brewery was established in 1985, founder John Pazio had a simple goal, to create great beer to bring together wonderful local communities.
“It is this same goal that drives us to this day, and whilst our beers may be enjoyed by drinkers around the world, we make sure they know their pint was proudly shipped to them from The Potteries.
“Stoke-on-Trent’s 100th Anniversary is a momentous occasion, and we’re excited to raise a glass or two of Century Anniversary Ale and say ‘Cheers!’ to 100 years of this incredible city and its people.”
Interiors company Curtains & Comfort, which started out in Tunstall but is now based in Alsager, has launched The Centenary Chair Collection in tribute to its hometown.
The collection features six bespoke chairs – each one inspired by the character, culture, and creativity of one of Stoke-on-Trent’s six towns.
John Steele, the second-generation owner of Curtains & Comfort, who has a painful spinal condition, said: “This collection is close to my heart, not just because of my back, but because I wanted to do something for Stoke-on-Trent. This city built the world’s finest ceramics, it painted and crafted beauty with its bare hands. And yet it’s been forgotten. These chairs are my way of saying, ‘We are still here. And we still make beautiful things.’”
