Malta’s Oldest Pottery Shop ‘Villa Bologna’ Has Just Landed In London
Malta’s oldest pottery brand ‘Villa Bologna’ has just landed in London, having just opened a shop on Portland Road.
Villa Bologna Pottery has a long-standing tradition of producing exquisite ceramics on the island of Malta. Working from the converted stables of one of the country’s most beautiful villas, it has been run by the same family for four generations.
This month, they brought a bit of Maltese sunshine to West London, opening a shop on Portland Road in Holland Park.
Each of Villa Bologna Pottery’s designs and motifs – from its romantic and organic-looking Scroll to the vibrant Aldo Fish – are inspired by Malta itself: the prickly pears and the sun-drenched fruit are really part of the local narrative, they are all part of the spirit of the pottery which really is the soul of the Southern Mediterranean.
Here, the brand’s distinctive hand-painted designs – from plates hand-painted with fruit, fish and stripes to pineapple and dolphin lamps – can be found.
Every piece is cast using handmade plaster moulds and is air-dried in the Mediterranean sun before being fired and decorated by a team of skilled painters, many of whose history with the pottery goes back decades.
The backstory…
Founded back in 1924, the pottery continues to support Malta’s highly skilled craftsmen, producing beautifully designed and entirely handmade earthenware designs that have come to define the country’s ceramic style, full of vibrancy and joy that the islands are known and loved for.
In 2020, Sophie and Rowley Edwards took over the running of the pottery to give a new lease of life to a wonderful tradition.
Sophie, whose mother, Suzanne Sharp, is Maltese, spent her early childhood on the island. Growing up she always remembered the pottery with great affection and the villa and its pottery were interwoven with so many childhood memories.
Rowley and Sophie got married at Villa Bologna in 2017 and, having been working in East Africa for five years they decided to move to Malta.
In June 2022, Sophie and Rowley then decided to bring the Maltese magic all the way up to London, next to Holland Park.
Here is where Villa Bologna Pottery can be found:
LONDON
102 Portland Road, London, W11 4LX
Open Monday – Saturday 11:00 – 18:00
MALTA
30 Triq San Anton, Attard, Malta
Open Monday – Saturday 10:30 – 17:30
For further information please contact: [email protected] +44 7521494461
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