CLARICE Cliff was born in Meir Street, Tunstall, in 1899 and began working at WH Grindley as an apprentice gilder at the age of 13.

Four years later she began working at AJ Wilkinson’s, where she remained for the rest of her working life and learned the trade which would ultimately make her name.

It was during the inter-war years that Clarice’s bright and vibrant designs caught people’s attention after the horrors of the First World War.

Her most famous range, the ground-breaking Bizarre ware, summed up a time when the world was breaking with old traditions.

They are now collectors’ items which sell for thousands of pounds.

Clarice, who pioneered the image of the modern career woman, died in 1972.