ABOUT US
Collecting Hazle Ceramics has been a passion of ours for many years. We live and work in a wood cabin up a track in rural Dorset where we help care for animals kept for grazing wildflower meadows and as pets.
Marilyn & Honey |
Marilyn & Henry |
- A Piece of Britain began in 2008 and was re-launched in 2010 with an integrated Blog.
- The Blog is now the place for Hazle News plus other articles and comments.
- Our sister site Hazle Ceramics Guide started in 2006 and was made public in 2008.
- A Hazle Ceramics Book is being prepared by Marilyn after an invitation from Hazle. Husband Chris does the technical work for this and these websites which Marilyn designs and edits.
ABOUT HAZLE CERAMICS
Hazle Ceramics at Barleylands Craft Village near Billericay |
Hazle Painting at Barleylands |
- These scale models of real British heritage buildings made in England from Cornish china clay and painted with authentic, historic themes really are A Piece of Britain!
- Hazle Boyles began making the ceramics from her Brentwood flat in 1990, having given up her job as an Art & Design teacher. With much of her childhood in Canada, on her return to the UK she fell in love with British buildings and social history. Hazle was especially fascinated by the myriad of small shops and the people behind them, which were so different to vast Canadian shopping malls.
- When first introduced, Hazle Ceramics' main range A Nation of Shopkeepers won the British Giftware Association's Best New Collectable Award for originality and value and have since been commissioned by major organisations such as The Bank of England, Kraft Foods and Diageo.
ERIC KNOWLES ON HAZLE CERAMICS
Antiques Roadshow Star & Ceramics Expert
Eric Knowles with Hazle at her 15th Anniversary in 2005
Eric Knowles with Hazle and painters at Hazle Ceramics 15th Anniversary Event
Carol Whaley, Hazle, Eric, Sharon Stroud, Cara Hornett, Sandra Peach & Judy Brett
In 2004 Eric Knowles discovered Hazle Ceramics and was surprised they are still made in England. Outsourcing to the Far East is not a viable for such a British product but the labour-intensive and traditional methods reuqired, including hand painting, are costly and challenging to maintain here.
- Eric in Collect It! magazine, August 2004
"I find Hazle Ceramics' Nation of Shopkeepers range charming and innovative. Lots of people are doing miniature buildings but these are interesting architecturally... As a collectable I can see them lasting in their charm and they will be contested for by future generations."
- On ITV's This Morning series Investing in Collectables, September 2004
"I think Hazle Ceramics make a wonderful range of these model buildings."
- At Hazle Ceramics 15th Anniversary, September 2005
"With my lifelong interest in buildings these spoke to me on first sight... Unique and affordable they give a good three-dimensional effect without taking up much space."
- In A Month in the Life on Eric's website, September 2005
"Splendid miniature pottery shop fronts and buildings of architectural merit..."
COLLECTORS ON HAZLE CERAMICS
- Mr MA from Hampshire
"I think Hazle Ceramics make a political statement. That is political with a small p. Small is beautiful. Traditional versus modern architecture. Individual shops versus clone towns."
- Ms MT from California
"Looking at Hazle Ceramics in our US home makes us feel we are back in London."
- Mrs KB from Devon
"We have a fantastic architectural heritage and the ceramics portray this beautifully. And our social history is depicted with an almost endless list of themes."
- Mr CC from Florida
"The hand painted aspect, not a clone mass production, is a big plus for me. Hazle Ceramics began as a labor of love and still retains that today."
- Ms AS from Connecticut
"Hazle Ceramics capture what we love about England and its villages, which somehow continue to escape being overtaken by hyper-modernisation."
- Mr DH from Essex
"I was attracted by the olde-worlde charm, bringing back memories of village shops where personal service was the key and everyone had time for a chat."
- US Tourist turned Collector
"This isn't a souvenir - this is a piece of England!"
A PIECE OF BRITAIN CUSTOMERS
- AC from St Albans, UK
"Thank you for the Village School ceramic I received today. It was beautifully and carefully packaged. Thanks for the kind note too."
- BR from New York
"Just wanted to let you know I received my plaque and couldn't be more pleased."
- ST from Toronto
"Regarding receipt of my beautiful pieces... I have all three now and they are just perfect. I love my purchases and am also so happy to receive emails from you about Hazle Ceramics. I know you are working on documenting the entire collection and I cannot wait for that."
- LP from New Zealand
"Your website is amazing! I love the additional photos and info. I've been a Hazle collector for a long time and am interested in more unusual pieces so finding your site was great for me."
- BE from Arizona
"Thank you so much for advising me of the Boots ceramic and that there was only one left. I bought it before it got away. I appreciate your sending me the information so quickly."
- LE from Adelaide
"I have only just found your fantastic website. I was finding it difficult to get information and background on new pieces. Thanks for your time explaining the availability of Prezzo designs."
- MD from South Carolina
"Thanks so much for additional information on The Nutshell. It is special to me since I'm an American born in Bury St Edmunds in 1958. My father was an Air Force pilot stationed there. I visited Bury in 2000 and walked by this pub not realizing it was the smallest in England."
