Business

Business technique

Josiah Wedgwood, 1730-95, English potter, starting business descendant of a family of Staffordshire potters and perhaps the finest of all potters. In 1753 he joined Thomas Whieldon of Fenton, then one of the leading potters of Staffordshire, and in 1759 Wedgwood started his own company at the Ivy House Works, Burslem. He obtained a site near Stoke-on-Trent, where he created a village called Etruria for his workers and opened a brand new works in 1769. In that year he took into venture Thomas Bentley, who remained a valuable ally until his death in 1780. At Etruria, Wedgwood specialized in products to supplement the functional wares of Burslem. Wedgwood entered the area of pottery at a time when it was still a backward and minor business industry and by his ability, taste, and arranging abilities transformed it into one of great significance and enormous aesthetic appeal. He combined experiments in his skill and in the method of mass production with an interest in improved roads, canals, schools, and living conditions for employees.