Ady Pottery was founded in 1954 by Ady Krøyer, then only 21 years old, and was in full operation until late 1970s when arthritis made it hard for Ady to continue as a full-time ceramicist. But she continued to produce unique pieces until the early 1990s. For serval years starting in 1975 Ady taught evening classes in ceramics. The courses were often held at the workshop where Ady was considered to be inspirational.

Ady Pottery was started in 1954 in a basement in Rødovre near Copenhagen. In the beginning the main production was of smaller items like small bowls, jam pots and the like, which were easy to sell in the impoverished Denmark of the 1950s.

Portrait of Ady, 1963 - © Ady Krøyer

The need for more space for both the ceramics and the family, led Ady to move the workshop in 1959 out to Torkildstrup mill, located off the A4 main road between Roskilde and Holbæk. Here there was more space and customers could easily find the workshop.

Workshop at The Old Mill, 1963 - © Ady Krøyer

Ady displayed and sold the ceramics herself, often from the back door of her Morris Minor van, in towns on market days. There was also collaboration on sales with a few pottery and handicrafts wholesalers, including R. Wengler and Poulsen and Rise, Purveyors to the Royal Court of Denmark.

Newspaper Ad for the Magasin department store, 1969

Ady's plates seen at the top left - © Ady Krøyer

Ady developed further cooperation on sales with the icons of Danish design, Illums Bolighus and Magasin Du Nord, to whom she delivered direct. The cooperation with Illums Bolighus is why Ady's ceramics occasionally shows up around  the world at collectors in Japan, Australia, and the US.

Unika work, appr. 1990

Ady Krøyer was born in 1933 in Kongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen. Her father was a printer and had his printing works with a workforce of 3-4 in the basement of the family villa. The printing works is today on display at the The National Museum of Denmark’s industrial display in Brede. Ady grew up in a time of shortages during the second world war, and discovered as a teenager her talent for drawing, designing and shaping. In 1949, at the age of 16, Ady got herself a ceramicist apprenticeship at Zeuten Ceramics.

Jug and jar, inspired by Zeuthen Keramik, 1955

In the early years Ady's ceramics was inspired by, among others, Zeuthen Ceramics where Ady had been an apprentice. During the 1950s Ady developed her own style with organic round shapes and large patterns, and this became very popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The first organic series were produced in a yellow and black design, later in more complex colorful patterns on a base of satin white glaze.

Vase, made of black, 1960

The pottery was made by hand. Both the unique items and the handicrafts series were turned from the bottom up on old-fashioned turntables, and moulds were not used. The ceramics were prepared in blue clay from Højslev. The glaze gained a different expression when the blue clay was used.

The decoration was also done by hand, and a large dish could take over an hour to decorate. Ady developed her own glazing mixes, including the opaque blue glaze that was applied to the blue series from the 1970's.

Plate, 1963

After a few years at Zeuthen Ady travelled to Norway and Sweden to seek inspiration and learn new techniques. Ady went first to Norway and worked at Larholm ceramics in the town of Halden, near the Swedish border. Later Ady worked at the renowned workshop Jani Ceramics in the south Swedish town of Laholm. The inspiration from there is recognizable in some of her designs.

Employees at Jani Keramik, Laholm, Sweden. Ady sits number 2 from the left, early 50s - © Ady Krøyer

After that it was back to Denmark where Ady worked for a while at Hegnetlund pottery, producing tiles as well as mugs and pots. Here Ady worked on a pottery wheel and was familiar with the difficult art of turning a large number of identical items. After that, Ady worked at Joska ceramics in Copenhagen and finally for Lyngby Porcelain factory, before she started her own workshop in 1954.

Ady's signature in the 50s

Ady's ceramics from the 1950s may be either signed or unsigned. If signed, the signature is Ady and Denmark. In a short period from about 1960 to 1961, the signature can be Krøyer - Johansen, and then from 1962 onwards the signature is back to Ady again.

Ady's signature in the 60s