A journey into the archive: Behind the pattern of Wild Strawberry

Our Wild Strawberry collection is world-renowned – quintessentially English and delightfully Wedgwood, it has captured the imagination of many since it was first introduced in the 1960s. A perfect blend of nostalgia and whimsy, it’s a collection that simply does not go out of style.

Here we take a journey back into the rich and colourful Wedgwood archive to discover the history and inspiration behind this wonderful pattern.

Historically, strawberries have appeared on a number of Wedgwood ware items over the years, featuring heavily in our pattern books. The first representation of a strawberry motif dates all the way back to the mid-1770s, in the early years of Wedgwood. 

It was during this time a strawberry and leaf motif were used and hand-enamelled direct onto a Queen’s Ware body to create one of the first iterations of a strawberry pattern. 

Journeying forward into the 1800s, the strawberry patterns illustrated in the pattern books begin to feature gold detailing, specifically on the strawberry leaf.

Onward to the 1820’s, and some of the beautiful designs and patterns featuring strawberries began to form border designs, featuring strawberries, strawberry leaves and gold applied lines – this appears to be the foundation for the trailing vines you see featured on our Wild Strawberry collection. The gold applied lines are also a trait you will recognise today, instead featuring as inspiration for the stunning gold banding finishing our teapots and teacups.

Of course the road wasn’t so smoothly paved for Wild Strawberry, in true Wedgwood manner, the 1820s and 1830s did inspire a generous splash of creativity, with flamboyant strawberry designs appearing, featuring larger motifs and different colours. Nonetheless, the designs always seem to return home to the naturalistic strawberry patterns as border designs, with leaves and tendrils wandering in an organic manner over and around the wares.