Pomona

Named after the ancient goddess of fruit, Pomona is an outstanding decoration. The romantic shape was inspired by the generous, rounded forms of seed pods and gourds and was designed by Susan Williams Ellis in 1982. Each cup and plate comes patterned with one of the 7 main luscious fruits taken from hand-coloured books of the 1830s.

The Pattern originally consisted of 11 main motifs: Hoary Morning Apple, Biggareux Cherry, L'Imperatrice Plum, Teinton Squashed Pear, Grimwoods Royal George Peach, White Dutch Current, Fruit Garland, Hazelnut, Queen of Sheeba Gooseberries, Wilmots Early Red Gooseberry, White Sweet Water Grape and Raisin de Carnes black grapes. The pattern proved popular with the public and the design was soon altered and refined to reflect the feedback from their customers. The White Dutch Current was changed to Redcurrants and the Hazelnut disappeared from the range. Gooseberries too only had a short life as a featured pattern in the range but are still used today, without the name showing, as a filler patterns on items such as the Soup Tureen. It was from the original Gooseberry motif that the Leaf Border was taken. In 1994 two motifs were radically changed. The Plum was revamped and became the Claude Reine Plum and the cherry, which was considered unripe and inedible, was altered to the more inviting black Late Duke Cherry. In 1998 the Teinton Squashed Pear was replaced by the Princess of Orange Pear but this decision was reversed in 2003 when the Teinton Squashed Pear returned to the range. Also in this year the Roman Apricot replaced the

Redcurrant. After considerable success in the United States, Strawberry Fair was introduced into the UK as a new and separate range using the same leaf border as Pomona. A bright and cheerful motif it was felt that it would introduce a taste of summer to the popular fruit pattern and the Strawberry has now begun to replace the plum especially in the tableware ranges.

The next big change happened in 2004 when the company decided to follow the success of the Botanic Garden leaf border, which had been used as a common theme through out that range, to introduce the same idea through out Pomona. Plates, bowls and other items which had traditionally been manufactured without the

border now had the border introduced. It was felt that it made the design more complete and is now standard on all items.

Current Pomona Range

The Pomona range of table and cookware really is nature at your fingertips and brings the orchard to your table, with its bountiful representations of seasonal fruit-fullness. Pomona is the perfect accessory for those serious about both cooking and about eating!

Portmeirion's colourful range is an explosion of fresh fruit and colour. Luscious representations of summer and autumn include zesty lemons, ripe plums, juicy apricots, sweet cherries, rosy red apples and pears. These wonderful images look ready to eat, placed on a simple white background within this wonderful range of ceramics and accessories.

The fruitier the better! Side and dinner plates are accompanied by a huge range of tableware and cookware shapes including an array of new serving pieces including low, salad and mini bowls, oval cookware items, a comport, and sorbet dishs. The extensive range of traditional cookware items includes flan, lasagne and gratin dishes, casseroles and soup tureens.

New Fruits

A new fruit introduced to the Portmeirion Pomona range in 2005 was the Damson. Only appearing on the 10", 8", 6" plates, Oatmeal Bowl and Mandarin Mug at present, it offers an alternative motif to the exsisting 6 main motifs

and combined with Strawberry Fair or Apple Harvest allows the Pomona collector to extend their collection to a 8 place setting without having to duplicate motifs. Damson is available as part of the standard Pomona collection
To learn more about Strawberry Fair please visit our Strawberry Fair Information page

Apple Harvest

Another new pattern introduced in 2004 is Apple Harvest. A small, yet complete, stand alone range this fresh new pattern is evokative of British Summers. Combined with either Damson or

Strawberry Fair it allows the Portmeirion Pomona collector to extend their collection to 8 place settings without having to duplicate motifs and offers an alternative motif for more pieces.
For more information about Portmeirion Apple Harvest please visit our Apple Harvest Information page

Grow Your Own fruit

If you are interested in the traditional fruit varieties which appear on Pomona, and would like to try growing them yourself, they are available from specialist Nurseries in the UK. On our Links Page we have included some links to Fruit and Flower Nurseries.
Visit Fruit and Flower Nurseries Links