Clarice Cliff (née Machin) took in washing to supplement the family income, and they had seven children. Cliff was sent to a different school from her siblings, and this perhaps prompted her more independent approach to her career, and her non-standard life style by Stoke-on-Trent standards. After school Cliff would visit an aunt who was a hand painters at a local pottery company, and she also made models from papier-mâché at school. At the age of 13, Cliff started working in the pottery industry. Her first work was as a gilder, adding gold lines on ware of traditional design. Once she had
Clarice Cliff two. The "Appliqué Lugano" pattern is shown left on a wall plaque, with (inset) the printed "Bizarre" mark, and a "hand painted" range name as often seen on this ware. "Appliqué", with its more intense colouring, proved long term to be one of the most sought after Cliff ranges. The "Fantasque" range evolved between 1928 and 1934 and mainly featured abstracts or landscapes of cottages and trees, and some Art Deco inspired patterns. The first "Fantasque" landscape pattern was "Trees and House" and this sold well from 1930 until at least 1934. However, it was the slightly later, more sophisticated