He joined Royal Doulton as a Tableware Modeller in 1990, gaining hands-on experience of styling and modelling tableware shapes and prototypes. Richard subsequently completed an MA in Ceramic Design while working for the business. And he is clearly adept at combining theory with practice - his postgraduate thesis was on rapid prototyping in the ceramic industry, focused on speeding processes from design to marketing.

It seems to work - Richard has been involved in the Neptune, Touch, Fusion, and Symmetry shapes (then partnered with Richard Williams), as well as more recent projects such as Serenity and Water Lily.

Richard discusses his passion for tableware, its very shape and form.

	What drew you to Royal Doulton? I wanted to work on commercial designs rather than be a studio potter. And this business offered the constant challenge of three famous brands - Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, and Minton. The beauty of it is, I work in a small Design Studio with the support of a world-class manufacturer. So, as a Designer, I get the best of both worlds.
	You were teamed with Richard Williams - tell us about how you both handled the briefs for Fusion and Symmetry? Fusion was the first bone china shape we developed together. The brief? To create a contemporary, everyday shape that was multifunctional enough to meet the demands of emerging multicultural cuisines and tastes. I think we succeeded! For example, the plates had wells with twice the usual depth to accommodate pasta, Chinese, Indian…The vegetable dishes were truly radical in design - the lids contained the rim so dishes could be used alone. And there was just one beverage pot for tea or coffee. So it was everyday, not every year. You could say we brought the bone china out of the closet. We took it a step further with Symmetry, making it at once classic and contemporary. Here we used bone china and turned it into a clean pure ellipse shape for modernity, but with a pedestal foot for classic grandeur. I use Symmetry at home.
	So where do you get the inspiration, the creative spark, from exactly? It's the research…the perspiration, so to speak. You attend the global round of trade and design shows and keep an eye on trends. And it's the whole lifestyle thing - interior design and cars as well as, more obviously, Wedding Shows. It gives you a complete picture. That prompts the sketch work to look at all the permutations, all the possibilities.
	You also introduced CAD (Computer Aided Design) to the business? Yes, it complements the pen and paper work. Especially with the development of the shape. You can experiment with different looks, and adjust handles or spouts very quickly. You can achieve the optimum design at a fast pace, and then email the markets for feedback so the product evolves. Instant communication or feedback is indispensable.
	So that would explain how you come up with tableware as distinctive as the forthcoming Echo range? Echo was devised as something tactile, experimental, and humorous. After all, we were targeting young people. So we created a limited range of outsize fine china pieces that were intriguingly textured and shaped, yet always practical, like the salt and pepper pot leaning together.
	Where do you see Royal Doulton tableware designs in five years' time? We really value the enthusiastic feedback we get about the final product - so we like to keep in touch with the latest trends and thinking, which is always exciting. It'll be a gradual progression of how we've worked in recent years, producing more opportunities for leading edge Royal Doulton tableware like Serenity and Water Lily.