A West Dorset ceramicist has opened her own studio and is now making beautiful vases and offering teaching workshops with the help of a Start Up Loan.
Amelia Christoffers borrowed £3,000 to help her convert a farm building into the Clay and Salt Ceramics studio near Charmouth. She used the loan to buy a potter’s wheel, materials including clay and glaze, paint for decorating and shelving for drying and displaying pieces.
She now hopes to pass on her love of pottery to others while creating her own work. Sessions will focus primarily on clay using hand-building methods, with the occasional foray into Amelia’s second skill: flower-arranging.
Amelia Christoffers has used a Start Up Loan to convert a farm building into the Clay and Salt Ceramics studio near Charmouth.
A spell as a freelance florist in London inspired her to design pots for ikebana-style arrangements – the Japanese art of minimalist floristry, translating as “giving life to flowers”. “There’s a lot of waste in the florist industry, but you don’t need huge amounts to appreciate the beauty,” Amelia explains. “You might look at a single bloom and see perfection equal to the impact of a massive arrangement. I decided then to create pots for minimal floral displays.”
Having launched in May 2025, Amelia initially ran the studio two days a week alongside shop work before taking the plunge and going full-time with Clay and Salt Ceramics in August. She offers private lessons, weekly courses and workshops, featuring both hand building and wheel throwing techniques.
She’s especially fond of group teaching: “With families, I tend to find parents love to watch their children learn, while friends have a laugh with each other. I love that emotional connection, and I find joy in sharing my knowledge with others who then say they have the pottery bug.”
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Amelia came across the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme during an internet search, and was referred to Ellie Garbett, Start Up Loans officer for SWIG Finance. “Having looked up loans online, I felt the interest rate was reasonable and that a Start Up Loan would help me to get the things I needed for a proper studio – so I wouldn’t have to say, ‘Sorry, I don’t have that yet’ – and have a bit extra in the bank as a cushion while I got myself ready.
“The application process was amazing. Ellie was so helpful in establishing that I was eligible for the loan and in getting it all approved. I can’t recommend her, or SWIG Finance, highly enough.”
Amelia offers private lessons, weekly courses and workshops, featuring both hand building and wheel throwing techniques.
Ellie said: “I wanted to support Amelia and her application for Clay and Salt Ceramics, because she came to us with a strong, well thought-out business plan, and her experience and knowledge gave me confidence this would be an amazing and successful venture.
“She genuinely loves teaching others and sharing her skills, and the way she brings people together to learn and create pottery makes this business something special and worth backing.”
Start Up Loans is part of the British Business Bank, which is the government’s economic development bank. The programme offers personal loans of up to £25,000 per director at a fixed rate of interest and free business mentoring to help anyone start or grow a new or early-stage business. SWIG Finance is the Bank’s Business Support Partner for the government-backed programme in the South West.
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SWIG Finance is a people-based lender that provides loans and support to help smaller businesses in the South and West Country grow. We base our lending decisions on potential rather than collateral, which means that we can often support businesses when others can't.
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