Shaping Clay and Community

Hatt Reiss is a woman with a vision. Her newly built community pottery studio in Chagford provides open access to all, regardless of income or socio-economic background. I visited Hatt at her light-filled studio to chat with her about her inspirational non-profit enterprise, ‘Dartmoor Makers’.

Hatt was born in Chichester in 1980, but her story really begins years earlier, stemming from the lives of her two great aunts, Joy and Betty Whately from Godalming who settled in Gidleigh after the war and lived out their lives there. In old age, these two spinster sisters became increasingly eccentric, and were much loved by all their friends and neighbours.

Joy came to Plymouth during the war to nurse shell-shocked victims, and fell in love with Dartmoor. The girls’ father, a Godalming solicitor, died at the end of the war and with nothing to keep them in Surrey, Joy persuaded her elder sister Betty to move to Dartmoor. The two sisters bought a fairytale cottage in Gidleigh with no running water or electricity at a cost of £500. They kept chickens and grew vegetables and pumped water from a well. They named their new home 'Donkey’s Corner'.

Betty was a smoker and Joy found the cottage ‘too stuffy’, so every April she moved out to the Summer House, a wooden structure which could rotate to catch the sun. In October, as the nights drew in and the swallows left for sunnier climes, Joy would move back into the cottage. She was quite tall and used to shop for clothes at jumble sales, mostly wearing yellow wellies and men’s clothes. She bought an army surplus motorbike and would ride around exploring the moors.

In old age, Betty became bedridden and Joy nursed her. But disaster struck. During a particularly bad winter, Joy fell and broke her hip and was taken to Moretonhampstead Hospital. Betty had to move to Okehampton, and sadly died before Joy came home.

As a child, Hatt made frequent visits to Devon, and became very close to her Great Aunt Joy. Hatt's face lights up as she reminisces: “I had a special connection with Joy. I loved it here in Devon. Donkey’s Corner felt like home.”

The little girl grew up, and one of her first jobs was as a domiciliary care-worker in Brighton. This was tough work which fuelled a profound concern for vulnerable members of society and an awareness of the devastating impact of social isolation on health and well-being: “It was so shocking,” she says. “Sometimes I was the only face people would see in their entire day. I'd have fifteen minutes to make sure they'd taken their meds, I could make them a cup of tea, but there was no time to sit and share that tea with them. Just soul-destroying.”

Back in Devon, Joy - the much-loved and eccentric old woman of Gidleigh - died. Hatt’s mother inherited Donkey’s Corner and made it her home. Hatt’s mum is Stephanie Reiss who now runs Artisan in Chagford, a beautiful, welcoming shop which showcases the work of over fifty local makers.

By 2020, Hatt was living in London on a canal boat with her daughter Rosa. She was a social caseworker, providing care in the community. Covid struck, and Hatt decided to sell her boat and move to Devon. Rosa was due to start school, and it was time to leave London life behind them. Hatt now lives with Rosa in a converted barn which is part of Donkey’s Corner. “It’s a perfect arrangement,” she explains. “Moving here during Covid really gave me a sense of why Joy and Betty came here, escaping the madness of global collapse and retreating to the green wilds of Dartmoor.  What incredible women they were!

Hatt turned forty the same year she moved to Devon: “I made a decision to change my life. I'd always loved pottery. The studio is a special place, unique, dedicated to making things in three dimensions. It's like stepping into a different realm. But pottery can be so exclusive. You need expensive equipment and a separate room because it's so messy. I wanted to share the magic of a studio with the community.”

Hatt formed a Community Interest Company (CIC) along with two like-minded individuals, Nicky Scott and Kit Moore, as the two other directors required to form a credible social enterprise. A CIC is a special type of company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders. Its assets are locked and can only be used for its social objectives.

She explains: “I set up the studio as a CIC in order to make sure that profits go into bringing the community in. I’m still finding my feet. Mum’s shop Artisan is a separate CIC supporting local artists and makers, but we have similar aims. It’s great to collaborate on fulfilling our charitable aims in providing access to art for all. The nugget is we want to do good things in our community.”

The state-of-the-art studio at Dartmoor Makers boasts five wheels, and is currently serving about thirty children a week coming through in three groups of ten with a virtual 100% rebook rate. “We’ll have a big official launch in the Autumn,” says Hatt. “At the moment, we’re just seeing how the space works. A friend says I'm just going at the same pace as clay - not too fast, shaping and developing as I discover how best to do things. I want to run holiday clubs, and I’m keen to have classes for grown-ups too. Artisan and Dartmoor Makers are working with the Chagford Hospitality Network which is a group providing holidays for people seeking asylum, and the Memory Café, as well as the Chagford Youth Project. I’m grateful to the Chagford Community Trust who are supporting Dartmoor Makers by offering us a subsidised rental on the premises. This initially started off with a rent free period while we set up the studio, and is continuing with a reduced rate while we find our financial sustainability into the future.”

Hatt’s experience as a case-worker, witnessing time and time again the tragic consequences of social isolation, has fanned the flames of her passion to support vulnerable individuals: “The area we want to focus on is loneliness and social isolation. So many mental health challenges stem from isolation. We want to support social prescribees through the NHS. This is about prescribing social activities instead of medication. We have a teaching space upstairs for cleaner activities. It’s available for hire and could be used for classes like watercolour painting or knitting circles, felt-making, therapy groups etc. I believe in the value of people coming together and connecting with each other through making. I want to help make a happier, healthier community. Together, I believe we can build a better world.”

Moorlander readers who would like to be added to the Dartmoor Makers mailing list can email Hatt at hello@dartmoormakers.co.uk. There is also a funding campaign for those who would like to donate to this admirable venture - www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/dartmoor-makers