Crown Lynn - Diversification of Designs

Diversification of Designs

After the War Crown Lynn began to experiment and diversify. Employees were encouraged to develop different styles. Artist Dave Jenkin came from the Elam School of Art in 1945, and later helped in setting up the design studio. He began by applying glaze effects to slipcast ornamental wares - all Crown Lynn pottery was slipcast at the time. A trickle glaze technique was developed that had a '. pleasing and varied effect'. (1) These trickle glazed pieces are still highly sought after by collectors. In 1948 the 'specials department of Amalgamated Brick and Pipe' became Crown Lynn Potteries Limited.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s Tom Clark recruited designers and artisans from England and Europe to work in the newly formed Crown Lynn Specials Department. New equipment was purchased which enabled a more extensive range to be developed. This new range included tea sets, art pottery and salad ware, and utilised a variety of innovative decorative techniques such as monogram printing, band brushing and lining. At the same time the factory laboratory discovered that certain clay, known as Matauri clay, consistently burned white when mixed with five special ingredients. This enabled Crown Lynn to mass-produce tableware decorated with transfers, and coloured tableware. This discovery virtually saved the firm, as the recent revaluation of the pound had made it very difficult for companies to export overseas. The intent of the "Specials Department" was to produce more upmarket works from Crown Lynn's existing commercial production-line wares in order to compete with the Royal Doulton works that were being imported into New Zealand at that time. Tom Clark hired among others Frank Carpay, Mirek Smisek, and Ernest Shufflebotham.

In 1961 the purchase of a Malkin pattern stamp machine and a Murray Curvex colour printing machine enabled the company to produce variations of popular overseas china patterns. "These machines bring pottery decoration to as near automation as is presently practical," said production manager Colin Leitch. "With only one operation on the machine itself, plus those engaged in bringing up and removing the ware, the Murray Curvex will put through 200 dozen pieces a day. The Malkin will do even better - 400 or more."

At the time, Crown Lynn was the Southern Hemisphere's largest producer of household pottery and in 1978 Crown Lynn was still the largest producer of ceramics in the Southern Hemisphere, exporting to Australia, the Pacific Islands, South East Asia, the USA and Canada. The factory employed 650 staff and produced about 17 million pieces annually in its natural gas-fired kilns.