0:00:09 > 0:00:14Once upon a time, this factory was the centre of an industrial empire
0:00:14 > 0:00:16that transformed Britain.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21And at the heart of that empire
0:00:21 > 0:00:26was a name that echoed around the world - Wedgwood.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Favoured by royalty,
0:00:30 > 0:00:35Wedgwood offered prestige porcelain for the aspiring customer.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40In an age of fine dining, this was the finest money could buy.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Today, tastes have changed.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Times have moved on.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Under new management, Wedgwood is looking to the future.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56What we do need now is to get a bit of the dust
0:00:56 > 0:00:58away from the Wedgwood image.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02But the wheel still turns in Stoke-on-Trent.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04GAS HISSES AND FLAME ROARS
0:01:04 > 0:01:06The kiln is still fired.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10A small group of potters are still using techniques
0:01:10 > 0:01:13pioneered by Josiah Wedgwood himself.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17You've got about ten seconds to get it level, and then it's stuck.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23A place where generations of craft and tradition are distilled
0:01:23 > 0:01:25into exquisite, handmade objects...
0:01:28 > 0:01:32There's 160 leaves on one Panther Vase.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38..and where the past meets an uncertain future.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40There were 77 people doing this job.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42There's now two of us.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Amongst the plates, the cups and the teapots,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10something more lavish is beginning to take shape.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16The iconic jasperware that Josiah Wedgwood introduced in 1775
0:02:16 > 0:02:18made his name famous the world over.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Nowadays, the same methods are used to produce
0:02:23 > 0:02:28one of the company's most exclusive pieces -
0:02:28 > 0:02:31the Panther Vase.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Based on an original 18th-century design,
0:02:34 > 0:02:41this £4,000 showcase object is a luxury slice of high-end heritage -
0:02:41 > 0:02:43the sort that helped the Wedgwood brand become
0:02:43 > 0:02:45a byword for Britishness.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50And it doesn't hurt to have a Royal Seal of Approval that
0:02:50 > 0:02:54stretches back to the 1760s.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Today, the Warrant is proudly displayed.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59This is, after all,
0:02:59 > 0:03:03the company that made the plates for the Queen's coronation banquet.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10The Panther Vase is the culmination of over two centuries of
0:03:10 > 0:03:12bespoke craftsmanship -
0:03:12 > 0:03:17of skills honed over generations,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21handed down from potter to potter,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25figure maker to figure maker,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29turner to turner,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32but it all starts with a lump of raw clay.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58When I left school, I never thought I'd be able...
0:03:58 > 0:03:59I'd do something like this,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01or was capable of doing something like this.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12They've tried different ways of making vases and it's never worked.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14This is the best way you'll ever do it.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17It's the most challenging way, as well.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28But handcrafted vases alone can't keep Wedgwood afloat.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Away from the artisan potters, the production line is busy
0:04:33 > 0:04:37turning out Wedgwood's bread and butter -
0:04:37 > 0:04:41the plates, cups and saucers for which the company is known,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44destined for dining tables all over the world.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Slightly more mid-range,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52slightly less handmade,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57but all distinguished by a certain kind of quality.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59When you say "tough", I mean, this is a relative word.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01You don't really mean tough, do you?
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I certainly do mean tough and I'll demonstrate it.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07PLATE THUMPS
0:05:07 > 0:05:09It's so tough, you can even stand on it.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Me? You mean I could, with 15 stone?
0:05:12 > 0:05:13- Certainly.- I wouldn't dare.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Be my guest.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Your risk, as well. Well, here goes.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Listen out for the crack.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24No, as safe as the Rock of Gibraltar.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29These were the glory days.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34Back then, the whole world wanted a piece of Wedgwood,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36and was willing to pay for it.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38There was a lot more people here.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40I think there was about 5,000 people
0:05:40 > 0:05:43altogether when I started.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45It was really busy.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49This particular job I'm doing, there were 77 people doing this job.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51There's now two of us.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57For decades, this factory provided employment for thousands.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Today, things are a little quieter.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15MACHINE RUMBLES
0:06:32 > 0:06:36This Panther Vase is quite a big job.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41There's a lot of things that can go wrong with it.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44The slightest little mistake, and we've lost it, you know?
0:06:52 > 0:06:54MACHINE RUMBLES
0:07:01 > 0:07:0644 years I've worked for Wedgwood,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08straight from school.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14In them days, everybody...
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Everybody who left school had a job.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40MACHINE RUMBLES
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Inspired by the vases of antiquity, jasperware is the product
0:07:55 > 0:08:00of years of careful experimentation by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07The result is a fine-grained, unglazed stoneware,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10which became the firm's trademark.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14It can be made in two ways -
0:08:14 > 0:08:17either coloured throughout
0:08:17 > 0:08:21or, as it is today, sprayed with a surface coating.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Later, this will allow the turner to carefully reveal
0:08:25 > 0:08:27the base colour beneath.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It's a process which requires years of training
0:08:33 > 0:08:36and experience to master.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41Painstaking and labour-intensive, these skills are becoming
0:08:41 > 0:08:45increasingly rare in an industry undergoing rapid change.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51We don't know how long the pottery industry here is, like,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53going to last, really.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55So...
0:08:55 > 0:08:57I mean, it's been OK for me,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01but will it be all right in another 50 years?
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Nobody knows, you know?
0:09:09 > 0:09:14Only a few short years ago, Wedgwood stood on the precipice.
0:09:14 > 0:09:15MUSIC: BBC News Theme
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Waterford Wedgwood, the company that now owns the world-famous
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Wedgwood pottery brand, has called in the administrators.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25The 250-year-old firm collapsed after the banks pulled out
0:09:25 > 0:09:26of a financing deal,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30and now more than 2,500 jobs are hanging in the balance.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32But salvation was at hand.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Now under foreign ownership,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39this bastion of British industry is reinventing itself
0:09:39 > 0:09:43for the 21st-century.
0:09:43 > 0:09:50On the other side of the factory is a very different world -
0:09:50 > 0:09:55one that is less about manufacture and more about taste and luxury,
0:09:55 > 0:09:59with a decidedly British flavour.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02And what could be more British than afternoon tea?
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Good morning.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Hi, good morning, how are you?
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Under the careful eye of hospitality manager Mike Keane,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19a new kind of Wedgwood is emerging -
0:10:19 > 0:10:22a Wedgwood that implicitly understands
0:10:22 > 0:10:27the value of its brand appeal and isn't afraid to use it.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30This is our fabulous tea emporium,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32where we serve a whole range of teas.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39We generally have lots of groups.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44Today we've got a group of 21 arriving from Japan.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Wedgwood in Japan is such a... It's such a big thing.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I mean, they love it. They adore it.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Of course, they shop.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55We had a group quite recently, and they were late for lunch
0:10:55 > 0:10:57because they were too busy shopping.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59But that's not such a bad thing either,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01cos they spend a lot of money.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05It's not unusual for us to have a £2,000 or £3,000 sale
0:11:05 > 0:11:07and, you know, who's going to argue against that?
0:11:09 > 0:11:14It's not just teacups and saucers these tourists are buying -
0:11:14 > 0:11:19it's British tradition, heritage, craftsmanship.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23The reality is that much of Wedgwood's output
0:11:23 > 0:11:27is now made far from home, in Indonesia.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31In Stoke-on-Trent, the skills on which this company was built
0:11:31 > 0:11:34are now part of an experience -
0:11:34 > 0:11:37something to visit and photograph.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45For the artisans and craftspeople, the job remains the same.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50This is the way it has always been done -
0:11:50 > 0:11:52the only way it can be done.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Once it's got another colour on it, you can't separate the colours,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03so you just have to be a little bit careful with this.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Too expensive for me, these are.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16You'd think the company would let me have one, really, wouldn't you?
0:12:16 > 0:12:19So it's come from...
0:12:19 > 0:12:24It's come from that to that,
0:12:24 > 0:12:29which has took a long time but...
0:12:29 > 0:12:31we got there.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43MACHINE HISSES
0:12:46 > 0:12:48THUMPING CONTINUES
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I've done 45 years,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02and I've done figure making all the time.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06I roll the clay,
0:13:06 > 0:13:07I knock it in,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12and press it up on all the moulds.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14You occasionally make mistakes
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- but it's very, very rare. - THUMPING
0:13:17 > 0:13:21It's more patience than anything, because it's such a tedious job.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29There has been lads doing it but they've never stuck it.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30You do it for a bit and say,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34"That's it. It's too much like hard work."
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Cut the excess off.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Then I get the waggler and I waggle the figure out.
0:13:45 > 0:13:46The waggler.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Everybody laughs at the waggler.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16The process dates back to 1764.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20It's still done exactly the same today as when Josiah was doing it.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26I'm turning it round very slow.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34What this is actually doing now is, every time it goes,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37then it pulls the pot towards the tool and it'll cut.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46So it's shaving away,
0:14:46 > 0:14:50and eventually it will cut that down to the base.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03You've got to get it just... just right.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Sometimes it'll cut where you don't want it cut,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14so you have to adjust the tool a little bit, you know?
0:15:46 > 0:15:47Over at the tearoom,
0:15:47 > 0:15:52Mike's coach party of Japanese tourists has arrived.
0:15:52 > 0:15:53Hello.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Are you having afternoon tea?
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Yeah, would you like to come on through?
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Hi, it's just through here.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02This way here.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05'More often than not, they've only got about an hour with us,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08'so we want to make sure that, for that hour,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11'they're sat down and able to enjoy the time with us.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17'Usually, when they arrive, the cameras are out, sort of,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20'immediately, and they're taking photographs.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22'So, yeah, it's big for them.'
0:16:24 > 0:16:28I often get referred to as "the flamboyant man",
0:16:28 > 0:16:31which, I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33but I kind of take it as a compliment.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Hi. Is everything OK for you? Yeah? All good? Good.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I worked in theatre for about 15 years,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42yeah, which I enjoyed immensely,
0:16:42 > 0:16:47but I think, instinctively, I felt a need for change.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50You would like more tea? Certainly. Yeah, absolutely.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51Would you like any more tea?
0:16:51 > 0:16:54'It's certainly a touch of theatre. You're here on show.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57'I think we're like swans. I think, on the top,'
0:16:57 > 0:16:59erm, we just keep smiling,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02but underneath we're paddling away like billyo.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09The concept of afternoon tea is... It waned at one point.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11You know, coffee shops became very, very popular
0:17:11 > 0:17:14and the world of tea has, sort of, declined slightly.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17But afternoon tea's become very, very popular again,
0:17:17 > 0:17:18because it is high-end.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21It is luxury. It is quite special and quite unique.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27We have a tearoom in India, and Far Eastern countries,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30but this is the only one actually in the UK.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34The aspiration is to expand on that, though.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Selling the Wedgwood tea experience around the world
0:17:39 > 0:17:42is just the beginning.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44In 2015, the company was bought
0:17:44 > 0:17:49by the Finnish luxury giant, Fiskars,
0:17:49 > 0:17:55and, in its gleaming new offices, a new Wedgwood has been crafted.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59This quintessentially British institution is becoming
0:17:59 > 0:18:03a 21st-century superbrand,
0:18:03 > 0:18:09drawing on its past to create a bright new future.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Its new president, Ulrik Garde Due,
0:18:11 > 0:18:16is the man heritage brands turn to when they need a modern makeover.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22He's already worked his magic at Burberry and Louis Vuitton.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25Now it's Wedgwood's turn.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Well, what you are seeing is the jasper range in
0:18:28 > 0:18:31more contemporary shapes,
0:18:31 > 0:18:37and elaborating on our iconic blue colour or blue colours.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41And taking those into, also, other colour schemes,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43where you really mix and match,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48and you even have a moving colour target within one item,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51which already, there, gives it a much more modern feel.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57What we do need now is to probably get a bit of the dust
0:18:57 > 0:18:59away from the Wedgwood image.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04Make sure that, also, the younger audience understand
0:19:04 > 0:19:06the craftsmanship that we do.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09I see this brand very much going into
0:19:09 > 0:19:12more of an English or British lifestyle brand.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Come on in, Marcus. Have a seat.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20This new Wedgwood will be about more than just cups and saucers.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24It will be a lifestyle experience.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Scarves.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- OK.- These ones here. - Those are amazing.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34- Have we looked at the logo placement, here?- Not yet.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Have you seen this?
0:19:36 > 0:19:37What is this?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Chocolate.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Chocolate, OK.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Beautiful. Wedgwood chocolate.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48- Yeah, but, of course, life is sweet. - Yeah.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59A new chapter is beginning in the Wedgwood story -
0:19:59 > 0:20:03one that repackages generations of craft and tradition
0:20:03 > 0:20:05for a newer, younger customer.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12But, for the workers on the factory floor, the question is,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15how long can this craft last?
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Children today, they don't seem to want, like, hands-on.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24They more like working with computers these days
0:20:24 > 0:20:26and things like that.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36We've asked for trainees but they come for a couple of weeks,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38and then they say, "No, I don't want it."
0:20:38 > 0:20:41They'll have to bring somebody in before long to train up.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43We're all getting on.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49If Wedgwood wants to keep its heritage at the heart of the brand,
0:20:49 > 0:20:54it will need to create a new generation of artisan potters,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58otherwise, the exacting skills needed to make this vase
0:20:58 > 0:20:59could be lost forever.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05You've just got to concentrate on getting the right shape,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07all the right sizes,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10because, of course, everything's got to fit together,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14so it's got to be really spot-on.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29MACHINE WHIRS
0:22:01 > 0:22:03DISTANT LAUGHTER
0:22:22 > 0:22:26You've got about ten seconds to get it level,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29and then it's stuck.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42HE BLOWS AIR
0:22:51 > 0:22:53HE BLOWS AIR
0:23:02 > 0:23:04THUMPING
0:23:07 > 0:23:10You've got to be spot-on, cos you can't leave any fringe,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13nor creases or whatever, in them.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21There's 160 leaves on one Panther Vase,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and I put them on a damp mat,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27and that's where they'll stay till the ornamenter uses them.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39It's something that you've got to have a lot of concentration for,
0:23:39 > 0:23:42cos every piece... every piece is slightly different.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01If the ornaments are a bit drier than the piece of ware
0:24:01 > 0:24:03or vice versa,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06when it dries out completely, it'll crack and come off.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23The vase is nearing completion.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33The panther figurines that give the piece its name
0:24:33 > 0:24:35are cast in liquid clay and attached.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39For Josiah Wedgwood,
0:24:39 > 0:24:45this was the neoclassical design that would become his hallmark -
0:24:45 > 0:24:49a touch of antiquity for those who couldn't quite afford
0:24:49 > 0:24:52the real thing.
0:24:52 > 0:24:58Then, as now, the final stage of the process was the most risky -
0:24:58 > 0:24:59firing.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05It was done in the bottle ovens in the old days,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09with the coal and straw and everything.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11They'd fire it up,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14maybe for a lot longer in those days,
0:25:14 > 0:25:18until they thought it was ready, and then pull it out.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26It'll fire at 1,180 degrees for 18 hours,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30and then it'll cool down for about 12-14 hours,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32and it'll change colour as it's firing.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34GAS HISSES
0:25:34 > 0:25:36FLAME ROARS
0:25:59 > 0:26:02You never know until it's fired, until you open the kiln door,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05whether it's all right or it isn't all right.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14When it's right, it's a very good feeling.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34Josiah Wedgwood may have helped design this vase,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37but he probably wouldn't recognise the company he founded
0:26:37 > 0:26:39over 250 years ago.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47As this national institution attempts to reinvent itself,
0:26:47 > 0:26:52the Panther Vase might begin to seem a touch out of place -
0:26:52 > 0:26:57quaintly old-fashioned -
0:26:57 > 0:27:01but the heritage it represents is part of Wedgwood's DNA.
0:27:07 > 0:27:14It's a physical link between the past and the present -
0:27:14 > 0:27:18perfect for the kind of customer who wants some British prestige
0:27:18 > 0:27:21on their well-appointed mantelpiece.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25For the artisan potters,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29continuing a tradition that goes back centuries,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31it represents something else -
0:27:31 > 0:27:35the simple knowledge of a job well done.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39There's no room for error. Everything's got to be perfect.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41It is a good achievement when you see them on the shelf.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I always think, you know, "I did that."
0:27:47 > 0:27:50It's nice when you actually see the piece go from here,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52through all the different stages,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56and end up over at the other side there when it's finished.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03I think it's the end product, when you know what you've done to it.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05You know, them are my figures on there,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09and it's going to be sold anywhere in the world.