| The Clarice Cliff
Collectors Club was founded by Leonard Griffin in 1982, and it originally
had just 34 members! His research in the Staffordshire Potteries enabled
him to trace over twenty five of Clarice's paintresses. Their memories,
with new information on the designs and shapes Clarice produced, formed
the basis of the club's regular Review
publication, which was issued from 1982 onwards.
In the following years the club developed
to serve both the ardent collector of Clarice's pottery and those with
just an academic interest. By 1988 Leonard had found so much information
that with American enthusiasts Louis and Susan Meisel he produced what
became the 'definitive book' 'Clarice Cliff:
The Bizarre Affair' . It brought about a new era of Clarice Cliff
appreciation, led to the CCCC Conventions in Britain, Christie's ALL Clarice
Cliff auctions, and several exhibitions.
In 1995 Leonard was consultant and
writer for 'The Rich Designs of Clarice Cliff' and was then asked
to produce a book just on Clarice's teapots. 'Taking Tea with Clarice
Cliff' was issued in 1996 and went through two hardback editions, and attracted
thousands of new enthusiasts to Clarice. Interest was by this time so high
that for 1998 he issued 'The Fantastic Flowers of Clarice Cliff' which
is published in Britain by Pavilion, and in America was taken by Abrams.
For 1999, Clarice's Centenary year,
Wedgwood who own the Clarice Cliff name, planned an exhibition celebrating
her achievements and asked Leonard to be the official consultant for it.
Through the CCCC. over 600 pieces were assembled and displayed at the Wedgwood
Museum at Barlaston. Leonard's centenary year book, 'Clarice
Cliff: The Art of Bizarre' linked to the exhibition and included
many pieces from it. In it he updated the whole story with a mass of new
information and at 70,000 words long, it was the most comprehensive work
ever published on Clarice Cliff.
Today, the club membership runs at
over 500, with devotees from America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
South Africa. But throughout the years since 1982, the club's aim has remained
unchanged: it has always been to educate members about Bizarre pottery,
inform them of trends in prices and rarity, and enable them to meet to
share their mutual interest. Clarice's prolific output means new designs
and shapes are still being catalogued. The Reviews were replaced in 2005
by a more efficient on-line collector’s area, featuring news in the Clarion,
and Pattern Post, and several archive areas. It features articles on all
her output illustrated with archive material, and many use our ‘Fantasque
Flash’ technology to show the ware from all angles.
Collectors have the chance to meet
and to learn from each other at our Conventions. Often held in Stoke on
Trent, they have also been staged in Wales, Berkshire, and even the Art
Deco Burgh Island Hotel in Devon! During the Stoke Conventions members
visit places Clarice lived and worked and until recently met her "Bizarre
Girls" who held their Annual re-union with us. Sadly most of these women,
who were friends to many members, have now passed away.
In 2002, our Twentieth Anniversary
year, we had a major event kindly hosted by Christie's South Kensington.
We brought the original Clarice Cliff writers Peter Wentworth-Sheilds and
Kay Johnson to London from their home in Illinois in America. They were
working for Stanley Kubrick on films such has 'Clockwork Orange' and 'Space
Odyssey' when they became fanatical about Clarice's work. They soon assembled
a major collection and researched her story between 1969 and 1975. As well
as finding some of the Bizarre 'girls' they also met Duncan Grant and even
once spoke to Clarice herself on the telephone. Their ground breaking book,
published by L'Odeon inspired most of today's collectors in the years before
'Bizarre Affair' was published in 1988.
Peter and Kay gave an interesting,
in-depth lecture about how the Clarice Cliff story evolved in the seventies,
their exhibition at L'Odeon, and the fabrics, wallpapers and borders they
designed which were issued by a London store. Seeing Kay's pictures taken
on the set of Clockwork Orange at the time put it all into context.
Our most recent 25th Anniversary
event was a celebratory Convention staged over a weekend in August. Saturday
we were in a 1933 ‘packing shop’ at Burgess
Dorling & Leigh in Burslem, with lecturers from America, Australia
and Britain who held collectors spellbound. Some members brought nearly
all their collection to display, and the true Cliffies went down to the
canalside shard ruck to dig up the breakages of Clarice’s pottery from
70 years ago!
On the Sunday we had another of our
renowned Chetwynd House Garden Parties thanks to Professor Flavia Swann
and her partner John, who live in Clarice’s former home. We toasted Clarice
and the CCCC on the lawn of Chetwynd House and Flavia served a delicious
home made buffet which members enjoyed in the splendidly re-created garden
made famous in 'Fantastic Flowers of Clarice Cliff'. Stalwart Clarice Cliff
Collectors Club member Terry Abbotts had a stall of hand painted ware in
Clarice Cliff style; on Saturday he had painted Blue Crocus in front of
amazed members!
We have also held local meetings,
in Canada, New Zealand and Australia over the years, and Australian membership
grew faster than any other in 2007, so we are truly an international club.
Our phenomenally successful website,
was creatively developed by club member and keen collector Andrew Hutton.
Initially, as a complementary source of information for new Clarice enthusiasts
and students, but now we focus our attention on it, with the Open
Forum discussion board, and the member’s area. Collectors can now
satiate their interest in Clarice from anywhere in the world, on the Web.
With its instant feedback, claricecliff.com is an important and established
part of the club. To enable us to serve whole new generations of collectors
who discover Clarice's pottery we developed a full internet membership
area, (membership details link) and this gives details of our plans for
the future after celebrating 25 years of the CCCC in 2007.
Annual on-line membership includes:
Twenty on-line Newsletters a year
Unlimited, free, use of our club Review
archive, a mass of material published over 25 years
Complimentary catalogues for Clarice
Cliff auctions
Access to members only areas on claricecliff.com
Member discounts on items in the Clarice
Cliff store
Offers at additional cost:
-
Invitations to Conventions, the next
to be in 2008 with major surprises and new features!
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Invitations to Chetwynd House Garden
Parties
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Annual club badge in metal and enamel
For
details of how to join the club please
CLICK
HERE
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