My Blue Tit and Catkin mugs

I visited Heraldic Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent recently to see my brand new mugs being produced. I found watching the various processes the mugs go through in order to create the final product really inspiring, so I thought I'd share my experience with you here!

First of all, the design is split into five colours - blue, yellow, light grey, dark grey and black. Each section of the design is then transferred onto a film and exposed onto silk screens ready for printing. Here's what will end up being the yellow layer getting exposed onto the screen.

Can you see the Blue Tit's yellow tummies starting to take shape?

All of the sections are then printed in layers to create the full image. Here are the completed prints drying...

The transfers are then cut into sections and dipped into a water bath, which releases the transfer from the backing paper. Here I am having a go at applying a transfer to one of the mugs - the incredibly skilled staff at Heraldic make this part look easy, but I can assure you it isn't! I soon handed back to the experts, who you can see here skilfully applying my logo to the bottom of the mugs.

Once the transfers are applied to the mugs, they are ready for firing; this process fixes the image to the surface.

And here's the final product!

My mugs are made from English fine bone china, hand decorated in Stoke-on-Trent, and they're available now in my Etsy shop if you'd like to take a closer look!