Hornsea "Concept"

Hornsea Concept was introduced in 1977 and designed by Martin Hunt in collaboration with Colin Rawson as the intended successor to Hornsea’s hugely successful Contrast range. Where Contrast had a stronger, more masculine feel, Concept was designed to be softer and more refined, with elegant contoured shapes, subtle ridging and a rich cream body that relied on polishing and selective glazing to create its distinctive finish.

The range took three years to develop and introduced a completely new shape family. Brian Heckford notes that it included practical refinements to aid manufacture, such as foot rings and dimple feet, while still achieving a graceful, almost sculptural appearance. The layered ridges, rounded forms and carefully judged proportions give Concept a look that is both modern and decorative, and it is easy to see why it became one of Hornsea’s most admired later ranges. Teapots and coffee pots are especially recognisable for their elegant form and distinctive swan-like finials.

Concept proved highly successful and by 1983 had overtaken Contrast as Hornsea’s best seller. It was manufactured under carefully controlled conditions, with early demand so strong that much of the production was exported to markets including Canada, Australia, the USA and the Far East. The range also earned major recognition for Hornsea, including a second Design Council Award for the company, followed later by the RSA’s Presidential Award for Design Management.

Over time the range was extended well beyond its original tableware pieces to include serving items, vases, planters and other coordinated accessories. Although usually seen in its plain cream form, Concept shapes were also used for decorated plates and helped form the basis for later related ranges. This broad family resemblance is part of the charm of Hornsea collecting, though it can sometimes make accurate pattern matching important.

As a discontinued Hornsea Pottery range, Concept is now mainly available through the pre-loved market and is often sought by customers looking for replacement china to complete, extend or match an existing set. Availability can vary by piece, with teapots, lidded items, serving pieces and some of the more unusual accessory shapes often proving harder to find than standard plates or cups.

Concept is sometimes confused with Hornsea Swan Lake, as the two ranges share very similar shapes. A helpful way to tell them apart is that plain Concept usually has the softer matt or biscuit-like exterior with more glaze to the working surfaces, whereas Swan Lake reverses that effect with a glossy outer finish and a softer matt interior.