In 1878 Arthur Shorter in 1878 and his partner James Boulton set up a pottery company in Copeland Street, Stoke upon Trent.

Their products were solidly in the main-stream of Victorian taste  especially majolica wares of all types: jugs, bowls, flower pots and tableware.

In 1926 Arthur Shorter died and over the next few years his sons felt freer to develop their firms' products along more adventurous lines most. The Shorter factory itself, still the most traditional in its output, produced colourfully painted household ware and also became well known for Toby Character Jugs.

The Clarice Cliff Bizarre ware was never produced at these works. 

Shorter & Son backstamps

A.J. Wilkinson, Burslem

In 1881 the old Central works in Burslem passed into the hands of Wilkinson & Hulme and then, in 1885 to Arthur J. Wilkinson, who was the brother-in-law of Arthur Shorter.

In 1891 Arthur's brother-in-law A. J. Wilkinson died in an accident and Arthur Shorter was asked to manage the A.J. Wilkinson pottery in Burslem.

A few years later he bought the firm and in then in 1898 Arthur's son Colley joined him. His younger son Guy, who became manager at Shorter's in 1900, joined his father and Colley at Wilkinson's in 1905.

A.J. Wilkinson produced earthenware for the home markets but later on manufacture was confined to white graniteware for the United States.

Wilkinson also introduced, with considerable success, gold lustres on the graniteware.

The mark was the royal arms surmounted by the words ROYAL PATENT IRONSTONE and beneath, in three lines, ARTHUR J. WILKINSON. LATE R. ALCOCK, BURSLEM, ENGLAND.

In about 1896 the company A. J. Wilkinson took over the Royal Staffordshire Pottery, Burslem and soon left the old Central works.

The two bothers, Colley and Guy Shorter were made directors of Wilkinsons in 1916

Bizarre Ware - Crocus pattern - at Wilkinson's works 

During the 1930's, and to reflect changing tastes, the patterns and shapes produced by Wilkinson's were to vary greatly, and in 1935/6 the Bizarre umbrella name was dropped; pieces then being marked Clarice Cliff. With the outbreak of war in 1939, creative output of the factory ceased, with much of the workforce being drafted into the Armed Forces.

Wartime restrictions on decorated pottery were to continue into the 1950's and the factory was never to produce pottery in the style or quantity of the pre-war period. Much of the design work was to pass into other hands, with Clarice and Colley spending less time at the factory and more time travelling and promoting the wares of A. J. Wilkinson.

In 1920 the Shorter family acquired the Newport Pottery which was next door to the A.J. Wilkinson works in Newport Lane, Middleport, Burslem.

By 1931 there was a workforce of up to 1000 at the Newport Pottery, with 150 boys and girls trained in the decorating shop, producing the Bizarre Ware modern shapes and designs.

an early Bizarre Ware mark - over stamped the Newport Pottery Co. Ltd. mark

Bizarre Ware - Crocus pattern - at the Newport Pottery works 

In 1916, the year that Colley and Guy became directors of Wilkinsons, Clarice Cliff, aged 17, started work there as a decorator and after three years she was apprenticed to the eminent artist John Butler as a modeller.

In 1925 Colley Shorter, much impressed by Clarice's work, provided her with her own studio next to his office. He also sent her on a modern design course at the Royal College of Art and a trip to Paris to observe the arts scene there. Allowed to experiment with old Newport Pottery shapes, she produced her new bold geometric designs, so expressive of the Art Deco age.