Cardew Club News » 2005 » May

It’s time now to start looking at your diary and clearing a space for June 11th, which is when the Teapot Designer Rally will be taking place. The event will be held at The Cardew Teapottery in Bovey Tracey, Devon, and will provide an opportunity for collectors and club members to not only meet fellow enthusiasts but meet the designers of their favourite teapots too.

There will be a special Prototype Auction and a Designer Forum with a question and answer panel, giving you the chance to ask the designers all those burning question about their inspirations and aspirations. All those attending are also encouraged to bring their teapot along for a ’signing’ and a prize draw, for which everyone will get at ticket on arrival.

The Dresser teapot expected to fetch somewhere in the region of £200,000 at auction this month, has not been sold. It was revealed that since the item was a ‘unique’ British piece and had a value of over £30,000 then an export license would be applicable. This put off overseas buyers, who were unwilling to bid once they heard the news.

There were 15 phone lines set up for potential UK bidders, but no bids were received. If a UK resident had started a bid and the sale went to a foreign buyer, then the British institutions would have had to match that price in order to keep the teapot in the country.