If you follow my instagram account, you will know that I am an Emma Bridgewater addict. I just can't help it, I am obsessed with EB designs, so it was only a matter of time till I dragged my husband to Stoke On Trent for a day of EB madness! I thought it would be a great idea to split this into three posts, as I have far too many pictures, so here's part one, all about our journey, the factory shop, the outlet and the cafe.
As we stay in Scotland (Glasgow area), we had a 4 hour journey ahead of us, so we had to get up early to make sure we arrive for 13.30 for our factory tour (more in the next blog post). We left at 7.00 to give us plenty of time. Thankfully, there was no traffic, so we arrived in Stoke around 11.30. We had some spare time left before our EB bookings, so we popped into Burleigh Pottery as well and I might actually write about that soon, as it was such a stunning place!
THE SECONDS SHOP/OUTLET:
Anyway... We arrived at EB and I spent far too much time in the seconds shop and then in the main shop. It was still sale time, so there was plenty of bargains, but as I already placed numerous orders that week, I didn't go wild and only picked up a few things, including a personalised Zac plate with blue stars! What are the chances? I was sooo pleased! Someone must have ordered it and it had a little imperfection, so it had to be sold in the shop. YAY! Best buy of the trip! I was also super chuffed with my wine glass, as I found one with a huge discount. I hope I can get more in the future, as I am dreading paying full price for it.
The prices are the same as online and you can actually get more stuff ordering from the website, but as I mentioned before, you can also find some personalised bargains which are exclusive to the shop and some little bits and bobs that are sold out online at the time. My wine glass was double the price online and wasn't even available anymore, yet they had plenty in the factory shop, so it just depends on what you're looking for.
Here's more pictures from the seconds shop/outlet:
The shelves on that trolley were bending under the weight of all the pottery and it was making me nervous! Can you imagine if it all fell down? OMG!
So many pretty mugs to choose from. As it was the final sale, these were only £5.95 each, which is such a bargain compared to the usual £19.95 per mug.
I was hoping to find more than one wine glass on sale, but all of these were still pretty pricey.
I adore the glassware, it's so elegant!
MAIN SHOP
The main shop was just stunning and I wanted to take everything home with me! I was actually after some wallflower and pink hearts small trays but they didn't have any in, so I will just order them online. The displays were just beautiful, decorated with fresh flowers from the EB garden.
Just look at this! Emma Bridgewater heaven!
I adore the 'cherries' design and added a few pieces to my collection recently.
It's just gorgeous!
The tea towels, which I arranged for the picture, as they were all flipped the other way round, haha. It's such a 'blogger thing' to do, but I couldn't help myself.
My favourite pattern - wallfower. Isn't it absolutely beautiful? I am obsessed with it. It came out when I started collecting Emma Bridgewater and so far it has been my go to and most of my collection is in this design. I want the giant bowl I am touching in this photo so badly! Maybe next year...
One day all my cutlery will be exclusively Emma Bridgewater!
I also adore the pink hearts design. It's one of my faves too!
You can order personalised items at the shop as well and if you book the Decorating Studio, you get 15% off your personalised order!
I really want to order a personalised 'Earl Grey Only' mug now! Love it!
Some of the beautiful flower arrangements in the store. Absolutely gorgeous!
I want these in my garden!
If you're a die hard EB fan, you will know they sell bedding too! I bought two wallflower pillow cases, as I just couldn't resist!
I am also dreaming about this massive casserole pot. I only have one small enamel EB pot so far.
I adore the melamine range for kids and picnics. I have some pieces for Zac & Mia, but I also got two new plates to add to our collection. Need more bowls and beakers soon.
I wanted to get Mia the tea set, but I decided that she's too young now and I will wait till she's 3-4. She has a cheap one at the moment and I just know that when she's 3 or 4 she will actually know that this one is very special.
Polka dot is another one of my favourite patterns and one I have plenty of in my collection. It's such a classic and fun option!
Such beautiful pieces. I have the MR & MRS mugs and I love them!
I also love the look of the wooden pieces. I am contemplating ordering the recipe stand.
CAFE:
We also went to the cafe for tea and cake, as I couldn't say no to dining on EB pottery! As we booked the tour and decorating workshop separately, due to not being able to get the £30 pp deal and not being able to pre-book the afternoon tea for that day, we settled for a slice of cake each and some tea.
Just look at all those cakes! Yuuuum!
I had red velvet cake and Scott opted for gluten free chocolate cake.
Yummy!
I obviously had Earl Grey, as I am an addict.
Overall, we had such a lovely time just looking around the shop and garden and having cake and tea in the cafe. If you're driving past Stoke on Trent and don't have a booked session at the studio or the factory tour, it's still worth popping by for some food and to do some shopping.
I will be writing about the factory tour, decorating studio and the garden separately, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
I hope you enjoyed this post.
Sandra
I will be writing about the factory tour, decorating studio and the garden separately, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
I hope you enjoyed this post.
Sandra
