Where every object tells a story

They packed their bags in 1989 and left pretty but pricey Gloucestershire for a cottage in Yorkshire.

"We are both from the South and we didn't know anyone here, but it was affordable, rural and close to Bradford, Leeds and Manchester," says Anna,

who admits they were lucky that their work was portable. She is one of the country's top ceramicists and David is a successful artist.

"It was difficult at first because we didn't quite fit in and socially it's hard to meet people because our work is solitary,"

she adds.

The potter and the painter were considered exotic incomers in Sutton-in-Craven, near Skipton, but having a daughter, Hester, now 14, and taking part in the Open Studios events, where artists open their homes and workshops to the public, helped them to become part of the community.

Villagers who took the opportunity to have a nosey round their cottage during Open Studios would have experienced a visual treat.

The house is full of their own work and pieces from other artists and designer makers. "I try to support other makers and I buy ethically. I find that things really last and have more meaning that way.

"I've had the same handmade cups for 20 years and I love them as much now as I did when I got them," says Anna, who also cherishes her ceramic boat by her favourite fellow potter Nigel Lambert,

tea bowls by Mikki Schloessink and plates by Sarah Walton.

The picture on the chimney breast in the kitchen is by friend Mark Hearld and was a swap for one of Anna's pieces.

"Almost everything has been made by us, made by friends or is second-hand. Our principle is to buy things that will last," says Anna, who has furnished the tiny two-bedroom house on a tight budget.

The biggest expense was central heating, but the couple saved money by revamping the 1970s kitchen units with a lick of paint. David is a talented DIY-er and made the cupboards fitted with handles they bought while exhibiting their work in America. The table is second hand and the chairs were cast-offs from Anna's parents.

A keen cook, the only shopping addiction Anna has is for kitchen utensils from the Home store at Salts Mill in Saltaire. "They are useful, well-made and beautiful. I can't resist them," says Anna. "Apart from those it's books, pots and paintings that we spend

money on."

In the sitting room, the easy chair is from David's parents, the cushion was made by Hester and the curtains by Anna, using fabric from the Fent Shop in Skipton. The Ercol rocking chair was her mother's and the pendant lightshade was her grandfather's and was in her mother's bedroom when she was a child.

"It fell on her head in the Blitz. Lots of our possessions seem to have a story to them," says Anna, who adds: "This interior is definitely not planned or co-ordinated. If anything comes into the house we just shuffle things round till we think they look right."

Space was getting tight when the cottage doubled as workspace, but the couple now have a dedicated studio – the Junction Workshop – in Cross Hills, where they each have their own space. David works on his paintings and drawings – most on a still life theme. Anna, who has been a full-time ceramicist since leaving college, makes beautiful hand-built earthenware. Her bowls, jars and candlesticks are useable but are works of art fashioned by pinching and modelling the clay and adding relief decoration along with subtle colour and glazes. Many of them reference nature in general and birds in particular and they are highly collectable.

A tribute to her success is about to open in London. She has been chosen to feature in the new Contemporary Ceramics Gallery, which will showcase the best 50 potters of the past 50 years.

Working together isn't a problem for either Anna or David. "We work separately but we have lunch together and talk about the pieces we're doing. David is a very good critic of my work, which is really important for me," says Anna.

Their work-life balance has given them another reason to stay put. "We thought we'd move from the cottage after a couple of years but I am pleased we didn't," says Anna. "One of the reasons we have stayed for so long is that we have wonderful neighbours and our street is full of nice, friendly people.

"And the house might be small but it's plenty big enough now we have a separate studio."

For more information about Anna and David's work, visit www.junctionworkshop.co.uk. Their work is also on show at the Affordable Art Fair in London (October 21-24) www.affordableartfair.com and at Contemporary Craven Christmas at Skipton Town Hall from October

to Christmas.

n David's work is exhibiting at Bingley Gallery, Park Road, Bingley, from October 14 to November 7.

n The Contemporary Ceramics Gallery, Great Russell Street, London, is the new gallery of the Craft Potters' Association. www.cpaceramics.com