6. 1913–14: A New Beginning

We consider the practical difficulties faced by Moorcroft in his first year at the new factory, built to a tight budget and at high speed. The move to full production was inevitably slow, and the consequential financial pressures were compounded by continuing disputes with Watkin about the market value of stock which Moorcroft bought from Macintyre’s. Drawing on contemporary documents and ledgers, we examine the design of the new works and its informed compliance with the ‘Regulations for the Manufacture and Decoration of Pottery’, enacted in 1913. Its distinctiveness, though, lay not just its compliance, but in its working environment, quite different from both industrial manufactories and smaller-scale art potteries. Closer to a studio, it was defined and energised by Moorcroft himself, who played an active role in all aspects of design and production, management and marketing, supported in this by his wife, Florence Lovibond, one of the first Women Factory Inspectors. This unique atmosphere was immediately noticed by reviewers, and written about in terms which implicitly linked it to the Arts and Crafts movement. We contrast it with Fry’s Omega Workshops, another variant on the Morris legacy, established at the same time. Moorcroft’s enterprise is seen to be both more personal and less exclusive, with a mission to create an ‘everyday art’ for more than a select few.