Questions  
     

About the videos

Q. How would you describe these videos?
A. They will give you a very good idea of the day to day working of a small English country pottery. I have not gone into mind boggling technical detail. What you will have is a broad overview of how pots are made, all the way from delivery of the clay and right on through to the finished pottery. You will also come to understand why I love being a potter.

Q. If I buy one or more of the DVD's, will I like them?
A. That will depend on what sort of person you are. Most people seem to enjoy watching other people working particularly if the person they are watching is also enjoying what they are doing. Making pots is a fairly slow process and although the videos are edited down so that any one part does not go on for too long it is long enough to allow you to appreciate the amount of work involved. So much of what we see on TV is high speed, sound bites, get as much in, in as short a time as possible. These videos are a very pleasant break from that frantic world. They are informative. calm and generally relaxing.

Q. What if I want to know more about some detail in one of the videos?
A. You can E-mail or write to me and I will do my best to answer any of your questions.

 

About ordering

Q. Are the videos available in normal video cassette format?
A. No. DVD format only.

Q. Will they run on my DVD/TV?
A. Click here for the answer to this question.

Q. Do I need to buy all six?
A. No. And there's no strict order so you don't need to watch them in strict order (see also 'which to buy?'). However, if you do buy all six at once, you get six for the price of five which is a nice saving.

Q. Can I buy now, online?
A. Yes, that is the purpose of this site. We accept most credit or debit cards (see full list here).

Q. How quickly will I receive my order?
A. UK: Royal Mail say "We aim to deliver all first class items the next working day". Overseas: Royal Mail say "5 days following the day of posting. Our network is designed to dispatch everything from the UK the day after posting. We can't guarantee delivery times because delivery standards vary from country to country and may depend on whether an item is to be delivered to a city, town, or an outlying district". Click here for more information.

Q. Do you accept cheques?
A. We only accept cheques in £sterling, from a UK bank. If you prefer to send a cheque, ensure you clearly indicate which DVD's you require, and include your name and address details. (Our address is at the bottom of the page).

     
Q. Did you enjoy making these videos?
A. Yes and no. It all started more than seven years ago and neither my son Paul who did the filming and editing or myself had any experience at all so it was a case of learn from the ground up. At first it was trying to find out what was the best affordable video camera to buy and then getting all the other accessories and learning how to get the best out of all the technical equipment. I have to say here that if we had had any idea of just how complicated it was to be we would never have started at all so that is the no part. You could say that we started because we were just too dumb to know what we were letting ourselves in for.

The yes part is the satisfaction gained from overcoming all the obstacles. Taken all at once it could drive you crazy. The trick is to work out a general plan of what needs to be done and then tackle the problems one at a time Paul is the one who is now expert with the camera and computer work. I just make the pots. Oh, and I see to the business of finding the right people to set up this web site and work with them to get our message across to you. Then there is the job of producing the DVD’s and secure banking so that you can pay online and know that it is safe to do so. All in all, once the boring chores are sorted out it then starts to become enjoyable. Yes it is very enjoyable.


Q. You have produced six videos, do you intend to make any more?
A. We have thought about making a video that would show some things of local interest. A look around the town and some of the local events such as the antiques street fair when all the roads are closed off to traffic and filled with stall holders. We have taken a video camera to the top of the clock tower to get a birds eye view of Harleston as well as video of some interesting local characters.

There is still a lot more that could be filmed here at Millhouse Pottery as well as the work of other local craftsmen.

But producing a DVD is very expensive so the answer to your question is, I don’t know for sure but it is a possibility.


Q. Is it actually a course on pottery?
A. Yes and no. Yes because you will see my pots being made all the way from the basic clay and right through to completion. No because it is more than just a step by step guide on how to make pots. It is a broad view of what is involved in the life of a potter.

Q. How long does each DVD run ?
A. Typically 1 hour 50 minutes - the approximate running time is given on the appropriate page.

 
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