IN MEMORY OF CHRIS HARVEY

A New Zealand pottery stalwart

In March 2022 we lost Chris Harvey, who spent much of his working life at Crown Lynn, then moved to Studio Ceramics. Chris was an all-round asset to the ceramics industry, with both technical and management skills.  Personally, he was very good to me and to other researchers.  His information was invaluable when I was writing my first Crown Lynn book, and later I picked his brains about Studio Ceramics.  Chris always had a smile and a story or two – some of them unprintable.

Chris Harvey started work at Crown Lynn in Auckland as a young cadet in 1963. Like his fellow cadets, he was sent to Stoke-on-Trent in England to gain a degree in ceramics. He came back to Crown Lynn in 1970, where he learned the practical details of commercial pottery manufacturing.  After various middle-management positions at Crown Lynn, Chris was ready for a new challenge.  His Crown Lynn boss Tom Clark sent him to the Philippines, where he played a major role in setting up and running Mayon Ceramics.  When Mayon closed in 1975, Chris moved on to Royal Grafton in England, also owned at that time by Crown Lynn.

Above:  a young Chris Harvey (left) in 1963 with his fellow cadets Richard Poynter and Rod Humphrey (From a Crown Lynn publication)

 In 1984 he came back to Crown Lynn in New Zealand.  For some time he was General Manager, but by now the factory was failing and it closed in May 1989.

(I do need to point out that Chris was not responsible for the closure of Mayon, or of Crown Lynn.   Both factories were condemned by factors far beyond his control).

Not long after Crown Lynn shut down, Chris joined the newly established Studio Ceramics, which he part-owned and managed until about 2010. At Studio Ceramics he worked with Christine Harris to create the popular range of florals, increasingly sought after today.

Above: Christine Harris 'Floral Yellow Blue" ware from the earlier days at Studio Ceramics. 

 At its height in the early to mid- 1990s, Studio Ceramics was supplying about 70 New Zealand outlets, with up to 30 staff making well over 100,000 pieces a year. Malcolm Johnstone was in charge of the business operation, Chris Harvey was the technical expert and Christine Harris looked after design, decoration and marketing.

Above: Chris Harvey and Christine Harris at the Studio Ceramics factory in 1994 (NZ Herald) Apologies for the poor quality of this pic, it is a scan of a photocopy. 

 When he moved to Studio Ceramics, Chris recruited a number of the out-or-work staff from Crown Lynn.  He was able to give them ceramics jobs when there were very few around.

Above: Studio Ceramics popular 'To the Sea" range. 

After Christine Harris left in 1995, Chris and his partner Adrienne Lovell, along with Malcolm Johnstone, continued to manage Studio Ceramics. Sadly, in about 2010, Chris had a sudden devastating illness and was unable to continue working.  Before long the business was sold to Philippa and Ken Croft, who kept it going for about six years.

 In particular, I remember Chris for his great turn of phrase.  Here he is – verbatim - describing a seconds sale at the Studio Ceramics shop in upmarket Auckland suburb of Parnell: 

“And on Friday they used to sell specials, Friday was the cleanout day, and honestly, these ladies… every Friday morning they would be down here, honestly, there’d be queues of them, these little old ladies with their gold chains, on their hands and knees groveling around to pick up bloody seconds.”

Chris’s knowledge and skills commanded respect in the ceramics industry.  Crown Lynn founder Sir Tom Clark described him as a keen young man in his early days, and a ‘great guy’ in his later years.  “He’s doing a lot of the things that I wanted to do. He’s got his feet on the ground…He can see where there’s opportunities...  He is small, light on his feet… I think he has got himself into a very good position in the marketplace.”  

 Chris Harvey is survived by his partner Adrienne Lovell, their child and the three children he had with his late first wife, Margaret Harvey.  My condolences go to them and to the wider family. Chris will leave a big gap in their lives.

Val Monk
22 March 2022