Bone china porcelains are as quintessentially British as Marmite breakfast spread. At the end of the 18th century, Englishman Josiah Spode developed a technique to incorporate burned-up animal bones into porcelain, giving the resulting china its signature crisp white hue. More than two centuries later, another young Briton, 28–year-old Richard Brendon, has brought a thoroughly modern perspective to the craft without forgetting its roots. Brendon produces all his bone china in Stoke-on-Trent, England, where Spode himself was based.
 
In 2010, while still an art student, the precocious talent’s final project caught the attention of trendy retailers in London and Paris, establishing him as an up-and-coming luxury designer. Brendon now oversees nine collections, including the recently launched cut crystal bar collection, his first non-ceramic endeavor, and a hand-painted, Art Deco-inspired line of tableware called Arc. He is currently working on a custom line of bone china dinnerware called Bespoke. Amidst all that activity, Brendon recently sat down with The Financialist to talk about his meteoric rise, his design ethos, and his dual role as entrepreneur and designer.
 
TF: Where does your interest in ceramics come from?
 
RB: I think I got the creative genes from my mom. She went to art school and then trained as a chef and worked as a caterer.

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