Wonki Ware

I live in a small town called George along the Garden Route in South Africa. I started a small studio in the town centre about 10 years ago purely to keep myself occupied while my children where at school. We lived on a farm at the time and had to travel quite a distance everyday so I thought it would be good idea to work in my pottery studio in the morning, collect my children and go back to the farm in the afternoon. I happily started working and slowly attracted the attention of the local community. Before long my little studio became a meeting place for other potters and people that enjoyed being creative. About the same time a young Xhosa man named Artwel started arriving every morning looking for work. I did not have much money at this stage to pay him, but he was willing to do anything, so I started teaching him about clay. I devised a method of making pottery that Artwel could duplicate from my shapes that I had originally created. To our delight he started producing very sensitively worked platters and bowls. I began developing patterns that were relatively easy and simple to reproduce but at the same capturing a sensitivity in pattern and design. Another person that became invaluable to our team walked into the studio one day and painted a plate and I knew I had to have her join our team. Les, Artwel and I became a formidable pottery team. Our energy and enthusiasm had people from all over the country popping into buy our pottery. The word had spread from Cape Town to Johannesburg and before long we had orders that we could not keep up with. At about this time Janice joined our team and became our first agent and before long we had our pottery showcased in some on the most prestigious stores in South Africa.

We have been in operation for about 10 years and are presently employing 40 people from disadvantaged backgrounds. They are all now skilled employers and are valuable, contributing members in their communities. Our skilled potters are now training new comers in the art of making Wonki Ware and I feel confident that this is being achieved successfully. It is with pleasure and pride that I feel I can hand over this side of the business to my employees.

Wonki Ware is a product that got developed purely by chance. It was born from a collective energy of 3 people whose excitement and enthusiasm were boundless. It still amazes me today what we unintentionally created. The vibrant, warm spirit of Africa is clearly visible in our pottery and I thank our potters and South Africans for their enthusiasm and love for what we do.



Love Di Marshall