Baltic Trader Polish Pottery

Boleslawiec Polish Pottery is hidden away in the Needlemakers, a little undercover collection of shops in Lewes. Off the main track by quite a step, it’s a huge collection of Polish pottery, all blue and white, made in a style particular to Boleslawiec, a south-​west Polish town on the borders of a deep forest. The technique is based in hand stamping, which gives rise to beautiful repetitive patterns in a deep royal blue glaze, and has been going since around 1830.
Some of the patterns will be familiar to you — I’ve seen the peacock eye pattern on a few things before. According to the information (which is posted around the shop) these are associated with the German Art Nouveau movement. Some of the patterns are clearly a modern addition though, like the five-​pointed star pattern of white on blue, but they go very well with the older, more traditional ones and look brilliant. Although the pottery looks very delicate, it’s actually extremely hard wearing and durable — due to a high kiln temperature and a fine glaze, it can withstand dishwashers, microwaves, freezers, ovens and Agas.
The prices are surprisingly low for handmade, imported pottery — a large mug comes in at about £10, while teapots are between £15 and £25. Ovenproof pie dishes are around £15. There’s a very friendly atmosphere in the shop as well — a knowledgeable old lady presides behind the counter and there are notices up everywhere actively encouraging people to handle the pottery. This is definitely going to be on my rounds for gift-​shopping, and future browsing next to their delicious smelling café…