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 London stores sold it, including Harrods. Some of the other London stockists have long since closed, but the list is impressive: " 'Maple & Co., Lawley's, Bon Marche, John Lewis Peter Robinson, Selfridges, John Barker & Co., Warring & Gillow and Gorringe's'. " However, the extant order books of the period confirm that Bizarre ware was never sold at Woolworths as some have erroneously stated. Further outrageous patterns, vividly coloured, such as "Melon" and "Circle Tree" appeared in 1930. Cliff devised many ways of marketing these; in-store painting demonstrations, for which Cliff chose just the prettiest of her painters and