Hi,

I’m Claire. I teach pottery to small classes of adults, school children and family groups in my studio in Constantine, near Falmouth.

This October, a fire broke out in my kiln shed while I was working elsewhere. The alarm was raised by a kind person walking the footpath and the fire engines duly arrived from Falmouth and Helston to quell the smoke and flames.

Audry and Dorothy were rescued by the firefighters and another kind person kept them safe until they were taken to join Blackie in her stately chicken palace!

My eternal thanks goes to all those anonymous people who stepped in to help. To the person who rang 999 , to those who found a hose pipe before the fire engines arrived and the firefighters who may have saved my house from ruin. THANK YOU.

After a brief pause - to recover from the shock - my classes are now up and running and their pottery will be fired in the kiln at Potager. Thank you Mark. I’m not offering to do all the glazing - that’s what people come to learn to do in my classes!

My household insurance will not cover Business Equipment kept in a shed - I am appealing to any kind person to contribute a few pounds towards the purchase of a kiln and a pug mill, Raku kiln, burner and tongs, glaze materials and shelves.

Without a kiln and a pug my classes cannot continue and my band of faithful potters young and not so young, beginners as well as those with more experience, would have to find somewhere else to start afresh.

I am exhausted at the thought of all that wedging I’ll have to do without my wonderful pug - that I’ve had for 30 years or more. I was telling my class the week before how I couldn’t have all my groups each week without it to help me get clay ready.

The cost of new equipment could reach £15,000 but even second hand is likely to be a few thousand.

Please help if you can.