From Burberry to Burleigh: What might a former fashion boss bring to a heritage Potteries brand?
The bright news for Burleigh came a month after a £120m government support package was announced for the ceramics sector following the collapse of firms including Royal Stafford in Burslem.Yates, who worked as a china cup handler at Dunoon in Stone for 34 years, believed her lobbying for industry recognition, external made Burleigh more appealing to investors."Because of this campaign, we've built interest with people again and it's highlighting the pottery industry, the ceramic industry where people know they can invest in it," she said."That heritage, the production, will continue for the future within Stoke-on-Trent where it's supposed to be and not be shipped out abroad."She described pottery workers as "very humble", but that the decline of their industry amid a lack of investment had "made people lose trust in it". "People are so happy - the comments that you see on social media - they're so happy that it's been saved," she added."It isn't a vast factory, but it's so important to the continuation of the heritage in the Stoke-on-Trent.""It's just a great day for the workers," Williams added. "I'm absolutely over the moon, really pleased that Chris took a step forward and I want the team to really succeed."
