Stephen and Carol Grieve started Crail Pottery in 1965. They saw the potential in a couple of near derelict buildings in Crail. They managed to buy them for the princely sum of £250. Newly married, they set up home in a caravan in the yard!!! Together they renovated the buildings while Carol also worked in a local hotel to pay the bills.
Stephen also had the small matter of teaching himself to make pots and how to fire a kiln. He built his first wheel (which he still uses to this day) and built a wood fired kiln. Slowly they began selling their wares. They lived in the caravan until their first child Jake arrived. Jake was soon joined by Ben. When their third child Sarah arrived they moved into their present home not far from the Pottery.
Here they cultivated an organic garden over looking the sea. In the summer months Stephen fishes for lobsters, crabs and fish from his small boat. Sarah joined the business after leaving school while Ben worked as a carpenter for five years before joining the pottery. The eldest son Jake is a chemical engineer, he owns a factory in Anstruther.
Crail Pottery is a real family business. The on – going story!
In 1996 Sarah,Ben and jane set up their own pottery businesses – Crail Ceramics and Crail Earthenware. Along with Stephen and Carol they became a pottery co-operative. Each business has it’s own studio space and shares the showroom and the yard.
