It might be a 2 hours drive from our Oxfordshire headquarters, nevertheless, the pottery in Stoke-on-Trent sits at the heart of Original BTC.
While many of the old factories have long fallen quiet, our team begins its working day still before sunrise, firing up the kiln each morning. Since 1990, all our bone china shades have been made here, each passing through the hands of craftspeople who are skilled in techniques developed centuries ago.
Their knowledge gives our design team, led by director Charlie Bowles, the freedom to explore new possibilities for the material.
Ideas develop through an ongoing conversation with the pottery, where a sketch becomes a prototype and the first firing reveals how a shade will carry light.
How the Blossom collection took shape
The Blossom collection grew out of this exchange.Inspired by the plum blossom, Charlie sketched a gently tapered shade with a glossy surface and a petal-shaped cap. Our design team developed his concept in close collaboration with the craftspeople at our pottery, refining the proportions and details to create the shade for our first portable light. Its distinctive floral contours became the starting point for a growing collection.
Among those later designs was the Blossom Linear Wall Light, our first bone china wall light for bathrooms. Its elongated proportions drew the petal contours down into a sculptural shade, giving the ceramic room to reveal its character. Within the folds, the material is thinner, allowing brighter lines of light to trace the form.
A sculptural shade for the Blossom Linear Portable Light
These illuminated contours become more pronounced in the new Blossom Linear Portable Light. Developing the wall light’s shape into a complete cylinder, the shade carries the outline of its petals down through gently rounded ridges. Their soft relief lends definition to the glossy surface and brings out the warmth of the bone china as light passes through it.
“There’s a softness to bone china that makes it a very appealing material to work with, particularly when glazed,” says Charlie.
“For Blossom Linear, the column-like shape gives that quality a lovely expression. It feels refined, warm and pleasingly simple.”
Refining the bone china casting process
Bringing this long, hollow form into production called for careful work at the pottery. With the bespoke plaster mould in place, the makers began refining the casting time, establishing how long the liquid clay slip should remain inside before the excess was poured away. This determines the thickness of the shade, with small adjustments influencing both its structure and the light it emits.
The same precision was needed to help the unfired ceramic, known as greenware, hold its shape through firing. Each trial gave the team a clearer understanding of how to adjust the initial pour and achieve the proportions Charlie had drawn.
“At this stage, the design team and the pottery are in close contact,” he explains. “Together, we refine the shade so it captures the original idea and emits light evenly. The makers’ understanding of the material is essential to getting those details right.”
A rechargeable portable light for everyday use
The finished shade has a pleasing tactility that suits a light designed to be picked up and carried. The team chose brushed metal details to frame the white ceramic, their fine surface texture complementing its rounded contours. There is pleasure in the handling as well as the glow, whether moving it to the dining table or finding a quiet corner for the evening.
Inside, modern LEDs and rechargeable batteries provide dependable everyday performance. A single charge lasts up to 34 hours, depending on the dimming setting, while the IP44 rating makes Blossom Linear suitable for ambient lighting in the bathroom or dining in the garden.
From the early hours in Stoke-on-Trent to the table at dusk, the light carries the care of its making into daily use.
