During our recent trade mission to New York, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce had the privilege of showcasing some of Scotland’s finest craftmanship on an international platform. As part of the International Trade Programme in collaboration with the Scottish Government, we travelled alongside Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Moray Chamber of Commerce we were able to bring exquisite handmade Scottish items to present to our partners.
Among these were individually crafted bowls by Highland Stoneware Scotland, elegantly displayed on complementary stands designed and made by Timbermedic. These pieces exemplified the best of Scottish artistry, demonstrating the skill, heritage and innovation that defines Scotland’s crasftpeople.
Highland Stoneware: 50 Years of Scottish Ceramic Artistry
Founded in 1974 by David Grant, Highland Stoneware has been a cornerstone of Scottish ceramic artistry for over 50 years. While studying at the Royal College of Art in London, Grant, with the encouragement of his professor David Queensberry and tutor Grahame Clarke, envisioned a pottery enterprise that would blend the craftsmanship of studio pottery with semi-industrial techniques. This vision led him to establish a workshop in rugged North West Highlands of Scotland, an area he knew well, having grown up in Achfary.
Originally producing plain tableware, Highland Stoneware soon embraced its artisans’ creativity, incorporating freehand-painted designs that have since become its signature. This artistic approach transformed the company into one of Scotland’s most celebrated producers of hand-painted pottery.
Now in 2025, Highland Stoneware continues to thrive from its two factory stores in Lochinver and Ullapool—Lochinver being the original location, with Ullapool opening in 1981. Each piece is still meticulously handmade and freehand-painted by a team of exceptionally skilled craftspeople. With a dedicated team of 23 employees, Highland Stoneware stands as a shining example of Scottish craftsmanship, and we are proud to support their artistry on the global stage.
To add to our being well known for skilled and varied freehand painting, since 2104 we have revived work David and Grahame did in the 1970s, melting our local rocks into beautiful Geological Glazes. We work closely with our Geopark which recognises the Worldwide status of our Geology, although we restrict our selection of material to existing Quarries so as not to disturb our beautiful landscape. Our Geological Glazes now feature in a wide range of product which is increasingly popular, being selected for the V&A in London and used in award winning restaurants. We also feature strongly in a Channel 4 series on our area – ‘Britain’s Most Beautiful Road’, which centered on the Geological Glazes.
Get to know Highland Stoneware
Q. How do you maintain the balance between traditional craftsmanship and modern production techniques?
A. There is a high level of Craft skills in every stage of our production, from the main making process, jigger and jollying, using moulds and profiles but lots of freehand asymetric cutting.
Our locally built Extruder gives a large unique range of forms, and skilled hand throwing complements the other techniques perfectly for vases, lamps and many more items.
Freedom to vary the skilled painting leads to alive and fresh individual pieces that our strong customer base have grown to love.
Q. How does working in the Highlands influence the creative process and final designs?
A. Our designs and decorating themes have evolved organically from our area. Only a few names will illustrate this. Seascape. Landscape. Fish. Rock Pools. Machair. Thistle. Cotton Grass. Puffin. And from this year Moine, a landscape range using only Geological Glazes.
Q. How does it feel to have Highland Stoneware showcased internationally, including in New York?
A. We love being showcased internationally and have exhibited successfully at many Venues including at the Javitts Centre Trade Shows in New York, where our unique extruded Salmon Dishes were a real show stopper.
Q. What does this kind of international exposure mean for Scottish craftsmanship?
A. We are very distinctive and different and all exposure to International audiences leads to new customers, sales and friends.
The Channel 4 programme was shown in Australia and the following summer several Australians came specifically to see us and be photographed in our Potteries.
TimberMedic: Crafting
a Legacy in Wood
Timbermedic is the passion project of David Melville a former paramedic in Canada who returned to Scotland after 15 years of service in Toronto. With a background as a former tradesperson and educator, David first discovered his love for woodworking around 2010 when he built a bookcase for his home library in Ajax, Ontario. What started as a personal project working out of his garage, quickly grew into a small-scale business, with David becoming well known in the local area and neighbours requesting custom pieces ranging from toy boxes to jewellery and, more recently, festive decorations.
Now based in Quarriers Village, near Bridge of Weir, David has only added to his accomplishments offering an even wider selection of inventory. He is now able to dedicate his time to fully immerse himself in his craft, continuously developing new and unique designs inspired by his surroundings while staying true to his signature aesthetic. Despite his growing success, one thing has remained constant—his workshop is still in his garage, where every piece is carefully handcrafted.
His motivation is simple, he enjoys being creative and working with the unique character of wood.
Learn more about Timbermedic
Q. What inspires your designs, and do you have a favourite piece you’ve created?
A. Often I feel the colour/grain of the wood hint at how a piece should look. As I have learned over the years, wood is never really dead and inert. Moisture and temperature are always trying to mess with wood which is why floors creak and doors jam. Wood with knots can move in unpredictable ways resulting in a box or drawer that cracks or jams.
Q. Do you have a particular technique or style that sets your work apart?
A. I primarily make bandsaw boxes which are a particular style using a particular technique. Fortunately, few artisans locally make these at the moment, but I am sure that will change so I have to keep moving forward. I’ve enrolled in a furniture design and manufacturing course which starts in August. I have unfortunately never had any formal instruction in carpentry so I look forward to discovering a whole new range of skills and techniques.
Q. How do you ensure that each piece you create maintains a unique and personal touch?
A. I sand the personal touch into each box, sand, sand and sand. I always appreciated that wood required finishing, of which a large part is sanding. In reality I never really appreciated just how important this finishing technique would be. Sanding really gives that finishing touch to a piece, you see a box go from a really nice piece to a wow piece as you do the final shaping with sanding.
Q. How does it feel to have your work showcased in New York, and what impact do you hope this opportunity will have on Timbermedic?
A. I really just enjoy making, if I can have my work exposed to a wider audience then that has to be a good thing. I really feel however that I should accompany the piece just so the interpretation is not misunderstood, I mean… who doesn’t love New York.
