The Cornish Effect
Around this time last year, we took a trip to Cornwall, enjoying some unseasonably good weather and combining work with pleasure.
Cornwall has always been a popular bolt hole for artists and sculptors and in recent years has become especially well-known in collectable circles as the birthplace of Troika Pottery.
Founded at Wheal Dream in St. Ives, 1963, Troika's innovative wares met with immediate success and its mixture of rough-textured and smooth-glazed wares have a contrasting and stylish appeal that fits well in modern homes.


From left - The Sloop Inn, favoured haunt of Troika founders Benny Sirota & Leslie Illsley. St. Ives Beach, and Wheal Dream - the original St. Ives site of the Troika pottery
Although Troika's popularity declined after the pottery closed in 1983, in recent years the Cornish pottery has undergone a notable revival, rising dramatically in popularity and price. Troika pottery now shows every sign of maturing into a genuine collectable, and has consistently been one of the most popular potteries on the Perfect Pieces site.
The (Not So) Young Pretender
Troika's revival has contributed to an increased awareness of Cornish pottery and has probably helped to increase the popularity of another Cornish ware, Carn Pottery. Founded in 1971 by a young John Beusmans, Carn is based fairly near to Troika's original St. Ives home in Nancledra, near Penzance.
The Carn Pottery, Nancledra, An Old Cornish Tin MineBeusmans' Carn pottery is easily recognisable by its characteristic blue-green wash, and his designs clearly reflect both the natural and the man-made elements of the Cornish environment, including such varying influences as sea shells and tin mines.
Like Troika, Carn pottery is made in moulds, but its decoration is far less varied than its older competitor - at least on modern pieces.
Carn pottery is still in business today and relatively high volumes of newly-manufactured pieces can be found in gift shops, garden centres and the like throughout the St Ives/Penzance area. Carn has also started to feature at antique and collectors fairs - often in considerable quantities.
Rarer, early pieces of Carn hold much greater interest and are sometimes decorated with unusual, boldly coloured glazes. Unfortunately, these more interesting pieces have become extremely difficult to find and are rarely seen for sale.
When Is Cornish Not Cornish?
One brand that is sometimes mistakenly assumed to have Cornish origins is Cornish Ware. Its blue and white stripes certainly conjure up images of the Cornish seaside, but in fact it originally hails from the T. G. Green pottery in Church Gresley, South Derbyshire - and has no link to Cornwall at all!
Introduced after World War I to utilise spare production capacity, Cornish Ware proved a fantastic success and continued to be made right up to the pottery's closure in 1964 (indeed, production continues today under new ownership).
Cornish Ware is probably one of the most easily recognised types of kitchenalia, providing a huge range of collectable and usable pottery for kitchen ware collectors.
All three of these potteries contrast hugely with one another - perhaps showing just how powerful the marketing appeal of England's sunniest county is - after all, "Derbyshire Ware" doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it?
Best Wishes,
Perfect Pieces
Newsletters
Here you'll find a list of our past newsletters. They feature information on different potteries, some of our featured stock and information on antique fairs and general news from the antique and collectors world!
Happy reading!
- Happy Christmas from Perfect Pieces!
- Christmas Offers & New Stock!
- Late Summer Offers & New Stock Updates...
- A Visit To York & More Special Offers!
- Summer Is Here! Summer Antique Fairs, Special Offers & More!
- Summer Is Approaching - Antique Fairs, New Stock & A Special Offer!
- Springtime & Bunnies - Antique Fairs & New Stock!
- Special Offers, Antique Fairs & New Stock!
- Spring Antique Fairs & Rabbits Galore!
- Happy New Year!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Unique & Collectable Christmas Gift Ideas!
- Will The Sunshine Hold For September?! Antique Fairs & PenDelfin Rabbits
- Summer Continues...Retired PenDelfin & Troika Pottery Galore
- Summer Sunshine At A Norfolk Antique Fair
- Summer Sunshine & Cornish Treats!
- PenDelfin Rabbits Galore!
- Troika Pottery, PenDelfin Rabbits & Puzzling Pottery Marks!
- Are We Going To Have Snow This Easter?!
- Happy Valentine's Day!
- Welcome To 2013!
- Happy Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Countdown To Christmas!
- Troika Pottery - A Popular Cornish Collectable!
- Denby Pottery
- Antique Fairs, New Stock & More Rain!
- Antique Fairs, Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, New Stock & Lots Of Rain!
- Summertime News & More Pottery Marks!
- Happy Easter from Perfect Pieces!
- Spring Fairs & Mothering Sunday - It's March!
- February News - Antique Fairs, New Stock & PenDelfin Rabbits!
- Happy New Year - Welcome To 2012!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Make This Year A Collectable Christmas With Perfect Pieces!
- Happy Halloween - Halloween Treats From Perfect Pieces!
- Perfect Pieces On The TV!
- Summer Holiday Reads - Antique & Collectable Book Reviews!
- Antiques Worldwide This Summer!
- Sunshine & Gales Calls For Blustery Antique Fairs!
- Royal Weddings & Easter Eggs!
- Steaming Around York
- Bruges: Chocolates & Curiosities
- Welcome to 2011. Doesn’t time seem to fly?!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces
- Burra Bears - A Unique Piece Of Shetland
- Lord Nelson Memorabilia And Collectables
- Steaming Into Autumn
- Antiques In The Summertime
- Pottering Around Antique Centres
- Father's Day Gift Ideas 2010
- A Flying Visit To Limoges
- Spring Is Here - Time To Get Out More!
- West Country Potteries
- February, Fairs & Valentine's Day
- Only Two Weeks Until Christmas...
- Collectables Don’t Have To Be Clutter
- Seeing Double? Not Necessarily...
- Errington Reay: A Real, Live, British Pottery
- Books, Books & More Books...
- Identifying Pottery Marks - Where to Start?
- Learning About Antiques & Collectables
- Happy New Year and welcome to 2009!
- Perfect Pieces Christmas Sale & Shipping Dates
- Thanks, Jean: A Look Back At 51 Years of PenDelfin
- A Visit to Newark International Antiques Fair
- Antique & Collectors Fairs: Are They Worth Visiting?
- Carlton Ware at the NEC
- A Potted History: Charlotte Rhead
- Troika Pottery: Stronger Today than 25 Years Ago?
- Springtime from a Tyneside pottery
- Poole Pottery: Phoenix from the Ashes?
- Daytime TV, Retro Glass & Bamboo...
- Merry Christmas from Perfect Pieces!
- The Enduring Appeal of the Supernatural - Still Popular Today?
- Understanding Pottery Marks
- Three Techniques: Many Styles - A look at three important decorating techniques
- Children's Wares For Grown-Up Collectors
- A Tale From The Lakes
- The Cornish Effect
- From Buyouts To Bunnies...
- From Switzerland to Stoke: Crown Devon's European Import
- Pottery Marks Guide and Pottery Valuation & Appraisal Service
- A Lustre Alternative - Matt Glazed Wares, Art Deco Style
- Truda Carter - Poole Pottery's Greatest Art Deco Designer?
- Odd Ones Out - Three unusual pieces from Wedgwood, Pendelfin and Troika
- Antique Pottery Price Guide Goes Live, and a look at three contrasting 1930s pieces.
- Focus on Carlton Ware - One Shape, Many Patterns
- Wedgwood: The legacy of Keith Murray
- Wonderful Wedgwood Lustre, and a couple of true British Collectables
- A rare Crown Devon Musical, some 1930s Maling lustre, and an early Poole Jug
- A look at the enduring appeal of Poole Pottery's 1950s Freeform Range