Jack Laird (potter)

For the American television producer, writer, director and actor, see Jack Laird.

Jack Laird OBE
Born	Jack Denis Laird (1920-08-29)29 August 1920 Watford, Hertfordshire, England
Died	New Zealand
Alma mater	Chelsea School of Art University of London
Known for	Pottery
Spouse(s)	Peggy Marjorie Biggerstaff (m. 1943)

Jack Denis Laird OBE (29 August 1920 – 7 August 2009) was a New Zealand potter.

Early life

Laird was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, on 29 August 1920. He married Peggy Marjorie Biggerstaff in 1943. Following World War II, he studied illustration and graphic design at the Chelsea School of Art on an ex-serviceman's scholarship, and began to specialize in pottery while undertaking postgraduate study at the University of London. In 1953, Laird moved to Jersey where he taught art at a grammar school. In 1959, he emigrated to New Zealand to teach extramurally, based in Palmerston North, at Victoria University of Wellington. He became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1975.

Pottery in Nelson

In 1964, the Lairds established Waimea Pottery in Richmond, New Zealand, near Nelson. There, Laird trained a generation of Nelson potters, including Royce McGlashen, Darryl Robertson, John and Anne Crawford, and Laird's son Paul. At its peak Waimea Pottery employed 17 potters. Later, Laird designed tableware for Temuka Pottery.

In the 1984 New Year Honours, Laird was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to pottery.

Laird died suddenly in 2009.