Poole Pottery "Fraiche"

Poole Pottery Fraiche was introduced in 1998 and was designed by Anita Harris, with the design adapted for airbrush by Alan Clarke. It belongs to Poole’s late 1990s period, when the factory was producing a number of soft, painterly designs on white earthenware.

The pattern has a fresh, delicate feel, with pale blue and green tones softly airbrushed across the surface. Small leaf details add gentle decoration without overwhelming the simple shapes, giving Fraiche a calm, contemporary look.

Alan Clarke’s airbrush work was important to several later Poole designs, and Fraiche shows that softer side of the technique particularly well. Rather than using bold outlines or heavy pattern, the colour is applied in subtle washes, creating a light and almost translucent effect.

Fraiche was not one of Poole’s longer-running ranges, and it is not a pattern we see especially often. For many customers, it is a design they are trying to keep in regular use, particularly when replacing cups, saucers, plates or other everyday pieces from an existing set.

Availability depends entirely on what becomes available through the pre-loved market. As with many softly decorated Poole designs, slight differences in colour depth and placement are part of the pattern’s character, especially where the airbrushed finish varies from piece to piece.