Portmeirion pottery founder dies

Her range was first sold in a gift shop in Portmeirion village

A founder of successful Stoke-on-Trent based pottery firm Portmeirion has died.

Susan Williams-Ellis set up the firm, named after the Wales village which her father created, during the 1960s.

A spokesman for the group said she was a great British designer and renowned artist and she will be greatly missed.

Ms Williams-Ellis, 89, died on Monday. She had received an honorary fellowship from the University of Arts, London, for her work in 2005.

She was born on the 6 June, 1918, the daughter of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis.

She and husband Euan Cooper-Willis first purchased a small pottery decorating company in Stoke-on-Trent in 1960 before buying a second pottery business the following year.

A spokesman for Portmeirion said: "As originator of one of Stoke-on-Trent's most loved and most successful pottery companies, a great British designer and renowned artist, Susan Williams-Ellis will be greatly missed by her family, friends and colleagues."