It is arguably the most instantly recognizable pottery in Britain, possibly the world. Known as jasper ware, it commonly features white sprig decorations on an unglazed, pale blue porcelain, the eponymous color of the company that started it over 250 years ago.
In the workshops of Josiah Wedgwood & Sons today, however, one of the chief inspirations of the globally renowned maker of fine china and porcelain is not from the northwest England city of Stoke-on-Trent, where Josiah Wedgwood and his company were born, nor is she British.
Adding her own unique touch to Wedgwood's timeless "stoneware" is Japanese contemporary ceramic artist Hitomi Hosono, who has been plying her trade in Britain for over 11 years.