Creative ceramic signs

Seeing ceramics on historic shopfronts is one of the joys of walking down a high street – so how can this tradition be updated ? Ceramic used on shopfronts are important heritage features within our towns and cities – often dating back to one of the golden ages of ceramic – the Victorian period. Cornwall Council have been developing support in their Cornwall Shopfront Design Guide for building owners around the county to renovate, improve and update their shops, cafes etc in a way that uses local materials and reflects a sense of place.

In St Austell Parasite Ceramics produced a pilot scheme, working with students from Cornwall College, Creative Metalwork, Naomi Bailey and Martin Redstone Associates to create a new ceramic hanging sign for a local cafe.

Experimenting with the china clay and other minerals the results of this Pilot Study are being shared so that others can learn from the result, and hopefully commission more ceramics as part of modern streetscapes.