Reflecting Stoke's Past, Present and Future: Mural Captures City's Most Inspirational
Plus the British Ceramics Biennial has opened, as has a new music-themed cafe in Longton and a wellness centre within Spode's creative village…
This month, we are supported by Steel Door Company, luxury steel doors to transform your home 🚪 🏠 🔨
Good News 🎉
🎨 100 Different Faces of Stoke. Brought to life by local artists Rob Fenton and Alastair Barnett, the 100 Years, 100 Faces project celebrates a century of the city’s unique heritage, community, and creativity. The large-scale public artwork is set to reflect the past, present, and future of Stoke-on-Trent with portraits that honour the people who have shaped the city’s cultural identity. The mural will be on view from Sunday 14 September. Can’t wait? Check out the behind-the-scenes video now, which features interviews with Rob and Alastair, and read our more in-depth piece on this exciting new artwork here.
🧘♂️THE KNOT’S PERSON OF THE WEEK – Jennifer Ellis 🧘♂️
Pivot Therapies Wellness Centre has opened at Spode’s Creative Village – and the woman behind it is University of Staffordshire graduate Jennifer Ellis. The new wellness centre has moved into a dedicated facility offering physiotherapy, acupuncture, Pilates, Reformer, Yoga, and other wellness-focused workshops. The studio hosts a mat work studio, Reformer Pilates studio, and two physiotherapy clinics. “Spode has such a strong sense of community, and I wanted to create something that reflects that,” says Jen. “This isn’t about pushing people to their limits. It’s about helping them feel stronger, more at ease in their bodies, and more connected to themselves and others.” The studio is now welcoming new faces to join the class waitlist. Why not give it a go?
🚑 Arnold Clark Donates Van to Air Ambulance. The car dealer has donated a Ford Ecosport to Stoke Air Ambulance that will help the charity deliver lifesaving support. The car will transport essential medical equipment, supplies, and personnel, ensuring the charity can continue to provide critical care when every second counts.
🏺 British Ceramics Biennial is Go! A clay sculpture by comedian Johnny Vegas called Just Be There made in collaboration with sculptor Emma Rodgers is among the attractions at the British Ceramics Biennial, which opened at Spode Works yesterday. You can also check out Award, which showcases new work from 10 UK-based artists, and Fresh 2025, an exhibition casting some much-deserved spotlight on 25 artists in the UK and Ireland currently at pivotal moments in their careers. There’s the inaugural edition of Clay Films, too, all until 19/10, 10am-4pm.
🥬 Allotment Holders Celebrate Century of Growth. Allotment plot holders came together for a competition to mark 100 years of gardening excellence in Stoke, with Dolly’s Lane and Buxton Street winning Most Awesome site and Fenpark triumphing in the Most Community site category. Entries showcased the city’s centenary alongside vibrant vegetable plots, floral displays and creative designs. Want an allotment? Roots is coming to Stoke soon – more info here.
🎹 Music-themed cafe Opens in Longton. Fancy trying out a new place for a brew? Then pop into The Sound of Coffee on Market Street, which opened yesterday. In addition to hot drinks, it serves up sandwiches and locally made cakes against a backdrop of posters, instruments, and other musical memorabilia.
💯 Stoke-on-Trent and Jingdezhen Confirm Ties in Centenary Year. China’s porcelain capital and the origin of the word ‘China’ to describe fine porcelain wares has reaffirmed its cultural and academic ties with Stoke in a cultural concordat signed between the University of Staffordshire and Jingdezhen Ceramic University last weekend to mark the opening of an exhibition on the enduring legacy of the Willow Pattern. Curated by Professor Neil Brownsword and Professor Tiejun Hou, it will run at Spode Museum until 29 March 2026.
🏠 Spacious 5 Bed Detached Property on Bluebell Drive, Newcastle (Property of the week with Heywoods). Designed with both scale and practicality in mind, the property offers expansive living space and well-proportioned bedrooms, two of which are en-suite. A bright and flexible reception space will work well for formal dining, study, or a second sitting room, and there’s a utility located just off the kitchen. Highlights include the spacious lounge with French doors opening onto landscaped rear garden, and there’s a double garage with generous driveway parking too. Being located in Seabridge, the property offers easy access to local schools, shops, and leisure amenities. Want more info? Go here.
Check out this executive home in Seabridge, Newcastle
🥨 Good Vibes Only: A word from Helen, writer at The Knot
Since Stoke’s centenary celebrations began in January 2025, the city and its residents have been busy commemorating the century since King George V bestowed city status on our fine city on 5 June 1925 in recognition of our contributions to the pottery industry. We broke a record in July by hosting the world’s largest afternoon tea and gathered for a massive procession with more than 1,000 community participants, The People’s Parade, a month earlier.
As we swing into September, the fun isn’t over yet: yesterday, the British Ceramics Biennial opened for its ninth iteration at Spode works, featuring six weeks of free exhibitions, screenings, and talks. We also reaffirmed our ties with another landmark ceramics city, Jingdezhen, which once produced porcelain for China’s imperial courts. Seeing the name Jingdezhen again reminded me of a piece I wrote back in 2017 about a Hong Kong pottery brand called Latitude 22N. The owners were so impressed that I was from Stoke-on-Trent and professed that it was something of a dream for them to visit and get properly acquainted with our many ceramics manufacturers. I’ll admit that I haven’t always felt proud of where I’m from, telling people I was born “near Manchester” or “from Staffordshire” but now I always make a point of saying I’m from Stoke-on-Trent. I walked out of that interview with a smile and resolved to recognise my roots and the global legacy the city has left whenever I could.
With our city currently undergoing regeneration right now – Goods Yard is poised to roll out its retail element, Bethesda Methodist Chapel will open as a cultural hub in 2026, and public realm developments are taking place in Longton, Burslem, Tunstall, and Stoke – there are even more reasons for us Stokies to hold our heads high. What makes you most proud to be from Stoke? Let us know in the comments below!
Really Good News 🎉 Your favourite news from the last week
🥨 Should We Become A Unitary Authority? Two local politicians argued the for and against on this hot debate and we shared the results of our recent poll…
👩🎨 A Century in Portraits: you enjoyed our in-depth story about the mural too
🏚️ Property of the Week from Heywoods: Knotters clicked onto this fab home
The Knot Interviews: We interviewed Tim Heatley from capital¢ric about developments at Goods Yard, Spode and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ⛅️ 18° (9°) Tue 🌦️ 18° (11°) Wed 🌦️ 18° (11°) Thu 🌦️ 17° (9°) Fri 🌦️ 16° (9°)
Sat ⛅️ 16° (10°) Sun 🌦️ 16° (10°).
Sunrise 08/09 ☀️06:30 Sunset 08/09 🌅 19:42