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Where and what did you study and what year did you graduate?
Diploma Art and Design (Ceramics), 1978, Bendigo College of Advanced Education.

Where did you head after graduating?
I was a ceramics tutor and technician at Riverina College of Advanced Education in Wagga Wagga and a teacher and technician in ceramics and photography at Preston TAFE in Victoria.

When did you launch your own business?
I started my business in 1994.

How would you describe your business to someone who didn’t know you?
I manufacture and design high quality and functional pottery tableware, cookware and homewares.

How would you describe the products you design to someone who hadn’t seen them?
They are beautifully coloured with clear and matte gloss and crystal finish glaze. All pieces are stylised and refined contemporary forms.

What are the most challenging parts of being a designer running a small business?
As a single operator, it is often a challenge to make everything that is ordered to the client’s schedule and to ensure that cash flow is sufficient to pay the bills as well as purchasing materials and giving yourself an income.

What inspires your design projects?
Natural objects inspire my forms.

What are the next steps for you?
I would like to have some of my smaller top selling products manufactured in a larger volume. This would mean that instead of making them all myself I would either employ people or have single pieces made by another maker or manufacturer to fulfill my demand. This could lead to export sales and possibly large scale production for a global market.

Christopher Plumridge received a Design Victoria scholarship to participate in Springboard Stage One.

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