A one-off, hand painted trophy vase, created to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, is being auctioned to raise money for Dougie Mac.
The exclusive piece is the work of Master Potter, Jon French, from Loveclay Ceramics in Stoke. Over the last few months Jon has painstakingly dedicated more than 100 hours to create the porcelain trophy vase, which is ground laid with a royal blue background and hand painted with 22 carat gold. Now Jon is generously donating the one-of-a-kind piece to Dougie Mac to be auctioned on the hospice’s eBay site and hopes it will raise vital funds to help local families.
Jon is a Master Potter of over 37 years. Having worked for Wedgwood as a Master Craftsman for over 30 years, for the last seven years he has been teaching ceramics skills in his own studio and at the Loveclay Ceramics Centre in Stoke-on-Trent.
Deborah Vickers, Head of Business and Community Fundraising at Dougie Mac, said, “Jon has invested so much time in creating this stunning piece and we’re thrilled that he has chosen Dougie Mac to benefit from its sale. We’re planning to auction the vase on our eBay site to allow us to open up the sale to as many buyers as possible, especially as we know that Jon has a worldwide following. The money generated from the sale of the vase will enable us to continue our wide range of specialist services for children, young adults and adults facing a life-limiting condition in our local community.”
Jon said, “I wanted to create a special piece to mark the historic coronation and I knew that I wanted it to benefit the local community of Stoke in some way. Dougie Mac is such a well-loved local charity, which has supported so many people across the local area, so it seemed to be the perfect fit. I really hope the vase raises lots of money for Dougie Mac to help the hospice continue its amazing work.”
The Coronation trophy vase will be auctioned on Dougie Mac’s eBay page from 8pm on Friday 19th May – www.ebay.co.uk/str/thedougiemac