About Us
Gary Hambleton Studio Potter
I was born in London UK 1958 and immigrated to Australia in 1973.
I started at Courtland’s Pottery in 1974 where I was taught by Barry and Grenville Courtland. Courtland’s produced a large range of Terracotta Garden Pottery in its earlier years and salt glazed stoneware early last century. A family business with skills past down over the last 160 years in Australia. I was lucky to get my training there!
In 1979 I started work at Austware Pottery making stoneware being paid by the piece “piece work” until September 1985 when I was asked to be the resident potter at the Old Cheese Factory in Balingup. Over the next three years developing my own style of work. I built The Old Stables Pottery “My own pottery” in 1989 where I made a wide range of domestic stoneware and one off pieces until 2004, when I sold up and moved to Nepal to live with my wife Tara and son James. In Nepal I spent time working with potters in remote villages learning how pots have been made with primitive technology for thousands of years, “Amazing”.
On one of our trips back to Australia I spent a summer working at Happs Pottery. In 2010 I moved back to Australia with two more kids Jason and Isha to start again. I now am working from a small studio at home in Bunbury.“Inspiration” comes easily from a rich history of form, texture and colour, and from just about every culture on earth plus a love and passion for what I do. After all these years I am still like a little kid at Christmas waiting to see the results and surprised from the next kilm load.I love my work and hope you do to!