Wedgwood L. Jones Josiah Wedgwood

Wedgwood

L. Jones

Josiah Wedgwood

Anyone who has ever faced the joyful task of perusing an endless wedding gift registry knows that Wedgwood continues to be a prominent brand featured on the list of "must haves" for many a' fashionable bride-to-be. After all, Wedgwood pottery (especially dinnerware) was one of the very first recognizable "brand names" of the modern world (Dolan, 2004). Indeed, among the quasi-rich, Wedgwood has long been prized for its ability to evoke a sense of elegance and finery, if in an (intentionally) contrived way, and that fact can directly be attributed to the remarkable man, Josiah Wedgwood.

Josiah Wedgwood was born in the year 1730 into a long line of professional potters in the English village of Burslem (Encyclopedia.com). Although he began as an apprentice to his family's business which produced a kind of traditional English "peasant" pottery, (Dolan), he left after five years to begin work alone. Interestingly, it was his intense interest in science and learning that led him to his ultimate success.

As a member of a religious movement known as the "Dissenters," a group that emphasized the importance of reason, work and discovery, Wedgwood believed that scientific experimentation with new glazing and potting techniques, as well as a reliance on self-education and independence would be the way to success -- and he was correct. In fact, it was his development of new glazes perfectly suited to the popular fashion of the time for dinnerware (characterized by pictures, decoration and words) that allowed him to begin his own successful pottery works with his already wealthy cousins (Dolan).

In 1763, after coming into money through his marriage to a wealthy cousin, he entered a contest aimed at the honor of crafting the then Queen's tea service. After much experimentation (again, funded due to the marriage), he produced a service in his now famous "cream ware." When the set was chosen by the Queen, it set in motion a demand for Wedgwood's product from the aristocratic class that all but insured the future of Wedgwood.

In addition to the wildly successful Cream Ware, or "Queen's Ware" as it became known, Wedgwood would also produce two other innovations that would set its success in stone. These were Black Basalt a fine black porcelain, and Jasper. Specifically, with the Black Basalt, Wedgwood could turn out tremendous product to meet the new "neoclassic" tastes of fashionable society -- and with the innovative Jasper Ware; amazingly successful due to its durability yet delicacy combined with heretofore unachieved purity of color.

It would be a mistake, however, to imagine that the artistic and scientific merits of Wedgwood's product alone were the sole factor in its success. In fact, much of the credit for the tremendous and lasting popularity of the product line is due directly to Josiah Wedgwood's innovative business savvy. Examples of this are now famous, from the (then, unheard of) price discounts he allowed for those willing to pay for their orders "up front," understanding the cyclical nature of fads, as well as his ability to secure commissions with the "well-known" with the express intention of producing sufficient publicity to keep the overall demand for his product high. For example, when he produced a dining service for Catherine the great in his famous jasperware, he made a point to display it in his showroom before delivery, in an "advertising ploy" all but assured of great success.

Although Wedgwood's success by any measure is astounding, it was all the more so when one considers the significant suffering he endured during his lifetime. Not only did his father die during his childhood, but he also contracted smallpox at 12, endured the untimely deaths of two of his eight children, and suffered the no-anesthesia amputation of one of his legs as an older man (Dolan). Yet all of this did not deter Wedgwood from his goal of producing world-known pottery. In fact, it was only his death at 64 that finally called a halt to his tireless drive for professional perfection.