When Lady Magnon and I were married, we were still both at college, where, other than the Fine Art dep't, the college also boasted a highly rated Pottery dep't (amongst others).
One day, completely out of the blue, a young potter came over to where we were sitting, and gave us the two pots, above.
'Wedding present', he said, 'congratulations'. We'd never spoken to him before, and were amazed by both his kind wishes and generosity.
His name was Peter Lau. He came (I think) from either Singapore or Hong Kong; his physical features certainly suggested as much.
We've always treasured his gifts, not only because they are attractive and useful, but also because it was so kind of him to think of us. He was a really charming young man.
I've looked him up on Google, but to no avail. I'm sure he must still be involved in Pottery somewhere.
If anyone has an 'All the world's known Potters' book, maybe you could look him up for me. I'd love to let him know that we still use his lovely pots.
27 comments:
and very nice they are too - useful as well I am sure.
simple but beautiful- maybe he reads your blog you never know!
I did find someone on Facebook, who could be him. But no reply as yet.
Lovely pots and i recognise the sentiment. I and my husband got two matching coffee cups made by his kids, they are my most treasured possession.;)
xoxo
I remember him, because someone (English) and I were sitting next to him in a cafe, when that someone started speaking in fluent Cantonese to him. I never knew he could!
I'd like to show him that we still have his pots; I think he'd be amazed! Nice guy.
How lovely that you still have them to use and enjoy. They certainly have an oriental feel to them.
I've become fascinated by the designers who were decorating commercial pottery through the fifties, sixties and seventies, as I research the stock for my Etsy shop. A blog I enjoy very much for it's knowledgeable sweep, and further links is Ray Garrod's Retro Pottery Net.
http://www.retropottery.net/
Random acts of kindness are wonderful. What a great treasure; both the lovely pots and the memory.
They are lovely. It would be nice to be able to locate him.
What a lovely story. I love when you tell those stories from way back when. Thanks you for sharing with us! Very pretty pots.
The kindness of strangers is always remembered.
The best gifts are those that are unexpected.
I agree with Starting Over, Accepting Changes.
such kindnesses give us real hope for the human race...I had such a kindness happen to me last week and I'm living on that and the fact that most people are kindly!!!
Those bowls are lovely as is the story behind them.
I love your stories. All of them. They seem to reinforce just how easy it is to make someone happy. Thanks to your gentle reminders, we receive the sometimes-required nudge.
I'll post a query on the clayart forum when I can figure out how (it has just changed server and format)
The name Peter Lau is familiar....
How wonderful that he gave you such a lovely and unexpected gift. That you still treasure them is your gift to him. I hope you're able to track him down.
That would be wonderful. My fingers are crossed!
Hi Cro, glad gz popped over, I thought she'd be the person to help with this.
My fingers crossed also.
Lovely...story too...
nothing yet- I'm putting out feelers everywhere I can think of!
It might be useful to contact the College. They are bound to have a record of him which might give you a clue as to his whereabouts. There might also be a "Friends Forever" page connected to that establishment.
Could it be the artist mentioned in this newspaper article? He gave an exhibition in 1970 and another in 1971. According to this article, he's from Singapore. But there's a 'Peter H. M. Lau' (H. M. being Ho Ming) who was one of the founders of a Hong Kong manufacturing company and donated a scholarship to an enginneering faculty in Hong Kong. I am not sure if its is the same person. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19721230-1.2.61.12
Gosh. Well done, that's him. We were together at West Surrey College of Art; I was studying Painting. I wonder what happened to him. We still have his lovely pots.
It is very likely the form his name appears as was modified to 'Peter Low Hwee Min'. His surname 'Lau' can also be spelled as 'Low' (pronounced to rhyme with 'How' rather than Low as in shorter height.) I came across a post that he held a group exhibition with his students in 2024.
Thank you for that Cheryl. It sounds as if he's still going strong. Did you see where he was teaching? I would love to know.
I have now looked-up the alternative name you gave me, and I found lots of references to him, with some photos. I shall try to contact him. Thank you!
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