Belleek Pottery

Belleek Pottery Review

On the riverbank stands the visitor center of Belleek Pottery Ltd., producers of Parian china, a fine, eggshell-thin, ivory porcelain shaped into dishes, figurines, vases, and baskets. There's a factory, showroom, exhibition, museum, and café. On tours of the factory you can get up close and talk to craftspeople—there's hardly any noise coming from machinery in the workshops. Everything here is made by hand just as they did back in 1857. The showroom is filled with beautiful but pricey gifts: a shamrock cup-and-saucer set costs about ?42, and a bowl in a basket-weave style (typical of Belleek) runs ?95 and up. In 2009 the company launched a jewelry portfolio called Belleek Living, comprising designs inspired by the Irish landscape.