About Us
The Trust
The Leach Pottery is managed by the Bernard Leach (St Ives) Trust Limited. A charity set up in 2004 to develop and manage the site. (Registered charity no. 1111263. Company limited by guarantee no. 05372378.)
Learn more about our staff and trustees.
Our Vision
Our vision is that potters at all levels will engage with the Leach Pottery as part of a thriving UK community.
Through working with clay, the Leach Pottery will bring enjoyment, inspiration, new skills and increased well-being to peoples’ lives.
The Leach Pottery, with its significant historical importance and contemporary activities, will be nationally and internationally recognised as the home of Studio Pottery.
Everything we do will bring clay and the story of the Leach Pottery to life.
Our Mission
The Leach Pottery advances and promotes pottery as an art form using craft and skills to bring beauty, enjoyment and well-being to life. We do this through inspiring, making, training and teaching, engaging people, and promoting the Leach legacy.
Our Values
Inclusive: we are committed to creating a unique environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and encouraged to be creative and artistically challenged
Respectful: we respect the history we are here to preserve and promote, we value the wealth of talent we are surrounded by and we understand the need to continue developing the Leach Pottery within this rich environment
Exchange: we recognise that the Leach Pottery was built on friendship and exchange and we will continue to develop artistic diversity and ideas around this
History: we will inspire others through the ethos of Bernard Leach and the Leach Pottery's traditions.
Our Aims
Always supporting diversity and talent development to facilitate:
Being creative with clay: inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in pottery, highlighting the well-being benefits
Developing talent: provide training and opportunities to experience clay at all levels through throwing, hand-building, and production pottery
Developing national & international links: through exchange, dialogue and friendship
Valuing the handmade: building connections between makers and users
Helping the studio pottery community thrive: creating dialogue, pushing boundaries, highlighting tradition and programming exhibitions.
Enterprises
The Leach Studio is operated by the Bernard Leach Enterprises Ltd. (Company registration 05965856), a wholly owned subsidiary company of the Bernard Leach (St Ives) Trust Ltd. Profits from the activities of the Enterprises are covenanted to the Trust to support our charitable activities.
Strategies, Policies & Plan
Collections Development Plan 2018 (pdf)
Leach Pottery Privacy Notice (pdf)
Complaints Procedure (pdf)
Dignity & Respect Policy (pdf)
We are proud to be part of the Artist's Studio Museum Network and the thriving Creative Industries sector in Cornwall.
Audience Consultation - asking you
In the autumn of 202o we conducted some research with our users and the local community. More than 1200 replied. See the full report Audience Consultation 2020.