Company of potters - the Nodsdale kilns

At a North Shore property in the 1970s and 80s, some of this country's top potters honed their skills using home made kilns powered by a wing,a prayer - and occasionally a vacuum cleaner. Ian and Sheryl Smail's Nodsdale property was home to three kilns used by potters including Len Castle, Denis O'Connor, Chester Nealie and Warren Tippet. Now an exhibition at Auckland's Objectspace gallery is about to celebrate those years and reunite the Smails and the potters who owe them a huge debt of gratitude.