The Perfect Gift: The Story of the Gravy Jug

I was first commissioned to make a Gravy Jug in December 2018; the lovely Joanne Kent from Royal Oak Furniture in Grassington, a beautiful furniture shop in the Yorkshire Dales, was selling my work and a customer of theirs asked if I could make a 500 ml Gravy Jug. I had been making my 500 ml breakfast cups for a few months and thought I could adapt the design for a Gravy Boat. I photographed the Sandy Beige Jug in February 2019, packaged it up and sent it to its new home in the beautiful part of England.

I loved the jug aesthetically, but it was also my favourite object to make on the potter’s wheel. I first launched it in my Etsy shop in October 2019. During the first COVID Christmas, I realised the Gravy Jug was slowly becoming one of my most popular items. Customers loved to give it as a unique gift to family and friends. In November 2021, it was featured in the Country Living Christmas Gift Guide, which was an incredible honour.

As you can see from these photographs above, taken in October 2019, the design of the jug has only been adapted in one way: the spout. I adapted the spouts to make them more substantial and defined during this time. I used a two-stage process to create this new object. I wanted the Gravy Boats to be both beautiful to look at and also have an effect spout for pouring Gravy. The images below show the new spout from different angles.

In December 2023, I launched my first Earth Brown Gravy Jug to complement my three signature colours. This gives customers a range of natural colours that draw the peaceful charm of the British landscape into their homes. My Gravy Jug inspired the launch of my first collection, Wine and Dine. You can read about it in Centre-Piece: The Fruit Bowl, and if you would like some delicious recipes to use, read Savour the Favours.