We made a quick trip over to Northern Ireland to visit the Belleek Pottery Factory. Eventho Northern Ireland is in the Northern Part of the Island, it is still affiliated with England. You actually cross an International border, but there are no checkpoints. Of course, when Brexit goes into effect, no one knows what will happen. It is an entirely different country than the Republic if Ireland, which is where we have been until now. The Republic of Ireland uses Euros, Northern Ireland uses pounds, just like England.
Belleek Pottery is all handmade at the factory. It is very expensive, but absolutely beautiful.
This river is the only thing that separates Northern Ireland an the Republic of Ireland near Belleek
Belleek Pottery
These bowls and plates look so fragile. Amazing that it started out as a lump of clay
After it is formed, the artisans start to do their handiwork. Every piece is marked by each workman in such a way that if there is a blemish or flaw, they can look back and see who all made it. Most of the people have worked here for many years. Not much turnover.
This woman is putting on and lacing all of the strands together
Kiln
She paints the same color on each piece, then starts over with another color
After leaving Belleek, we went back into the Republic of Ireland
No comments:
Post a Comment