John Jelfs, who started out as a marine engineer, first encountered hand-thrown pottery whilst going ashore in India. There he saw an old man throwing lengths of drain pipe. The sight of this incredible skill intrigued him, and the seed was sown. He went to Cheltenham Art College, where his wife Judy also trained, and they started the Cotswold Pottery in 1973. The pottery quickly became established and John was elected a Fellow of the Craft Potters' Association in1979, a distinction that puts him among the leading 100 studio potters in the country. His work is represented in several public collections, including that of The Victoria and Albert Museum, and he and Judy regularly exhibit in leading galleries in Britain and abroad. They are members of the prestigious Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen.
