kemsing Archives - Simon Olley

January 28, 2019

Gifts for Labrador lovers

As a designer and potter, I’ve found over the years that I get fixated on particular ideas or themes, none more so than that of my Black Labrador, Uly. I have found Uly to be a great and constant source of inspiration for my original pottery designs. Every one of my creations is an original, thrown on my potter’s wheel (though sometimes I sculpt my work too), I then illustrate them individually by hand and apply ceramic slips or glazes for colour and design. They really do make the perfect gifts for Labrador lovers, simply because they are so unique.

I’ve been drawing and designing all of my life. At school it was always my passion and so a career in graphic design and illustration was a natural direction to take. My interest on ceramics and pottery was also fired-up in childhood, I threw my first pot aged 9 and went on to do clay sculpture ay secondary school. Ceramics is such a wide ranging art, it has allowed me to combine making, sculpting and illustration talents alongside the more technical skills of glaze chemistry and kiln firing. My Labrador ceramics are some of the results of my years of practice.

Most of my Labrador pottery is based on the life and times (sometimes imaginary) of my own Black Labrador. I found having a dog to be a real joy, especially working from home as I do. Never a dull moment, Uly is always here to add some excitement, we aim to go for a good walk almost every day – to the woods or up on the beautiful North Downs – there is really plenty of choice in this part of Kent.

You can browse and purchase Simon’s ceramics in his online Etsy shop at OlleyPottery.com

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019

Sending pottery and ceramics by post

I handmake pottery with a dog/Labrador/gundog theme, quite a lot is sent to places such as the United States, for this reason I had to investigate the best ways to safely send my work abroad. I got to know my local Post Office, picking up leaflets on delivery methods, package sizes, weights and prices. I felt more confident about sending pottery and ceramics by post once I knew what could be achieved, what the cost would be and that I could pack and deliver my orders securely.

Packing: I’ve found 5, 6 and 10-inch boxes most useful and I like to double-box. I wrap and pack my pottery item into a close fitting box, then put that into another larger box with shock-absorbent packing between the two. Items must never touch (eg. a teapot and its lid).

Sending to UK: Royal Mail 1st or 2nd signed-for is great for smaller work and includes compensation of up to £50. A 6-inch cubic box nicely takes a ceramic mug and weighing under 1kg costs just £3.95 sent 2nd class signed-for. More valuable items may need Royal Mail Special Delivery, the guaranteed next day service being good value for packages up to 2kg at just £11, including £500 compensation. I’ve found Royal Mail is also great for larger, heavier items sent within the UK.

Sending abroad: Royal Mail International Tracked and Signed allows me and my customers to track worldwide deliveries, taking less than 10 working days to the USA. Parcels can have a WxHxD total of up to 90cm and weight up to 2kg. With careful packing you can get small and medium-sized ceramics within these restrictions at a delivery price of between £13 and £22. Larger or heavier than this and the likes of DHL is required who offer (for an extra fee) insured worldwide deliveries of ceramics. With moderately priced items I’ve found other countries’ import duties to be inconsequential, although if due it will be the buyer who pays them.

Please note the prices and details above were correct as at January 2019, please check at your Post Office for current prices, here is a link to Royal Mail’s price finder.

You can browse and purchase Simon’s ceramics in his online Etsy shop at OlleyPottery.com

April 7, 2017October 1, 2018

Olley and Uly

Dog names should be simple…

But there is sometimes totally understandable confusion over the names of me and my dog. If you are one of the people who has got our names mixed around, do not worry, you are not alone!

To set the record straight, my surname is Olley (though it wasn’t my first surname – I was adopted as a baby).

My Black Labrador’s name is Uly. It wasn’t quite his first name either (he was adopted by me aged 6 months).

Uly’s first name was Ulysees, given to him by his French owner who lived in our village. When I bought him at 6 months as his owner’s circumstances changed I quickly decided that the name Ulysees was too much of a mouthful to be calling out over the fields (especially with French style pronunciation which sounds like “Oo-leece”. So it was shorted to Uly. We pronounce it English style, which means something like “You-lee”. French style would be “Oo-lee” (which is also acceptable).

Uly’s Kennel Club name is Bok Bouncer. I believe Bok (or Bjork) is Swedish for Birch (as in the tree – the breeder has Swedish connections). Bouncer is self-explanatory I think 🙂

You can browse and purchase Simon’s ceramics in his online Etsy shop at OlleyPottery.com