This article is about the company. For other uses, see Wedgwood (disambiguation).
Wedgwood
Industry
Household goods
Founded
1759
Founder
Josiah Wedgwood
Headquarters
Stoke-on-Trent
,
England
Owner
Fiskars
Parent
WWRD Holdings Limited
Website
wedgwood.com
Typical "Wedgwood blue" jasperware (stoneware) plate with white sprigged reliefs.Wedgwood pieces (left to right): c. 1930, c. 1950, 1885
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759[1] by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd.[2] It was rapidly successful and was soon one of the largest manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery, "a firm that has done more to spread the knowledge and enhance the reputation of British ceramic art than any other manufacturer",[3] exporting across Europe as far as Russia, and to the Americas. It was especially successful at producing fine earthenware and stoneware that were accepted as equivalent in quality to porcelain (which Wedgwood only made later) but were considerably cheaper.[4]
Wedgwood is especially associated with the "dry-bodied" (unglazed) stoneware Jasperware in contrasting colours, and in particular that in "Wedgwood blue" and white, always much the most popular colours, though there are several others. Jasperware has been made continuously by the firm since 1775, and also much imitated. In the 18th century, however, it was table china in the refined earthenware creamware that represented most of the sales and profits.[5]
In the later 19th century, it returned to being a leader in design and technical innovation, as well as continuing to make many of the older styles. Despite increasing local competition in its export markets, the business continued to flourish in the 19th and early 20th centuries, remaining in the hands of the Wedgwood family, but after World War II it began to contract, along with the rest of the English pottery industry.
After buying a number of other Staffordshire ceramics companies, in 1987 Wedgwood merged with Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood plc, an Ireland-based luxury brands group. In 1995 Wedgwood was granted a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth II,[6] and the business was featured in a BBC Four series entitled Handmade by Royal Appointment[7] alongside other Warrant holders Steinway, John Lobb Bootmaker and House of Benney. After a 2009 purchase by KPS Capital Partners, a New York–based private equity firm, the group became known as WWRD Holdings Limited, an initialism for "Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton". This was acquired in July 2015 by Fiskars, a Finnish consumer goods company.[8]
^"Pottery firm marks 250th birthday". BBC. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
^"Fiskars UK Limited - Wedgwood | Royal Warrant Holders Association". members.royalwarrant.org. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^"BBC Four - Handmade: By Royal Appointment, Wedgwood". BBC. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
^"Fiskars Corporation has completed the acquisition of WWRD and extended its portfolio with iconic luxury home and lifestyle brands". Press Releases. Fiskars Corporation. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
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