About Us

Hi! 

We’re Stuart and Nicky from Hartley & Noble.  It’s just the two of us here... a husband and wife team of two, inventing and creating pottery equipment from our workshop in Northamptonshire, England.  Stuart is an Engineer by trade, and I was a Nurse for many years. We both love to create.

We started our CNC cutting business in 2018, manufacturing all kinds of designs from sheet wood.  That Christmas, we had a chance order from a local carpenter who asked us to make 200 pottery batts.  At that point, we had no idea what a batt was.  We quickly became obsessed and realised that there was an opportunity for us to use our talents to invigorate the pottery supplies market.

We researched the materials that were commonly being used to make pottery equipment, sourced a variety of alternatives, and carried out tests to find the ultimate batt material.  We eventually found our Premium MDF. This was a game-changer for us in terms of the possibilities for its applications in the tools we create, its durability, and resistance to water and warping.  No more bendy batts or splinters!

During 2019 we reached out to the pottery community to learn as much as we could about the processes and frustrations of being a potter.  From novice hobby potters, to ceramic artists, to production potters and all that’s in between.  We were welcomed with open arms and invited into studios and community potteries.  Potters were contacting us to ask if we could design tools to help them overcome hurdles that were stifling their creative process.  There’s not a month that goes by now, that we don’t design and create something entirely new.

We believe that potters should be free to create, without being limited by inefficient tools.  All our products are tested by potters in the studio before they are released to market.

If you want to visit us then please use the map to help find our workshop.  Please call us before heading over, just to make sure we aren't out meeting customers or picking up deliveries.  

Our opening times are shown below and we are always contactable via the contact us page or the email shown below.

Mon/Fri  09:00 - 17:00
 



 

Hartley & Noble Ltd