Profile on Erin Pots

Erin Pots are a small father and son partnership that recently came to my attention as makers of extremely fine, bespoke bonsai pots.

When styling your favourite trees, it is important not to neglect the problem of choosing a suitable pot that will bring out the very best in your bonsai.

The plain monotone glazes of Chinese pots can suffice but how about applying some sparkle to the overall design with something more special?

This to my mind is where Erin pots come into their own; they produce a range of pots with beautiful earthy glazes that add an extra quality to a tree without overbearing it.

Erin Pots are a partnership of Victor Harris and his Dad Glyn. They started making pots 10 years ago and decided to form a business in 1996. At first they had just one customer, Geoff from Glenbrook Bonsai. He gave them a small space for a display and took our pots on sale or return basis. their display at Glenbrook has now grown considerably. Over the last 7 years they have developed another 4 trade outlets, the main one being Mendip Bonsai Studios.

"We use all the different styles of pottery to produce our wide range of pots.
Coiling; this is where you build a basic structure from long coils of clay and then leave it to harden a little before filling with soft clay and adding detail, this method can be used for just about any style of pot but is best suited to ovals and rectangles with rounded corners.
Slabbing; In this style you roll out large sheets of clay and then cut out various sized strips to stick together, this method is generally used for rectangles and cascades, with sharp corners.
The above methods are generally used for individual pots ordered by our private customers. These styles of construction mean that each pot is a one off and although I could make two pots very similar to each other they will never be exactly the same, so this offers the customer a truly personalised pot."

"We also use Press Moulding; In this method a plaster mould is made of a pot and then this mould can be used to produce exact copies again and again. In this method sheets of clay are pressed into the mould and firmly pushed into place with a piece of rubber shaped like a kidney.
Finally we use Slip Casting. With this method a liquid clay is poured into a mould and then left for a period, during this time a skin will form next to the mould gradually getting thicker the longer it is left. When it is thick enough the surplus clay is poured off .These two methods are generally used for pots sold to the trade and available at bonsai nurseries."

For more information about Erin Pots visit WWW.ERINBONSAI.COM