Clarice Cliff to decorate some of the old defective 'glost' (white) ware in her own freehand patterns. For these she used on-glaze enamel colours, which enabled a brighter palette than underglaze colours. She covered the imperfections in simple patterns of triangles, in a style that she called 'Bizarre'. The earliest examples had just a hand-painted mark, usually in a rust coloured paint, 'Bizarre by Clarice Cliff', sometimes with 'Newport Pottery' underneath. To the surprise of the company's senior salesman Ewart Oakes, when he took a car load to a major stockist, it was immediately popular. Clarice was joined by young painter Gladys
Clarice Cliff in March and May. These dates are recorded in the Royal College of Art archive and were also remembered by Gladys Scarlett (in 1982 ) as she was briefly left alone at Newport to paint the new 'Bizarre' ware. From 1927 Cliff was actually credited for shapes she designed, such as her "Viking Boat" flower holder, though her modelling for the factory is recorded in trade journal as far back as 1923–24. The shapes from 1929 onwards took on a more 'Moderne' influence, often angular and geometric, and some are what was to be later termed Art Deco. Abstract and