A POTTER from Albaston was left ‘smiling from ear to ear’ when one of his creations featured on a hit TV show and was estimated to be worth £4,000.

Rob Fierek, who has been making pots in the Tamar Valley for more than three decades, said that he was both shocked and delighted to see one of his pots appear on Sarah Beeny’s Four Rooms on Channel 4.

Each episode of the show sees members of the public attempt to sell their valuable and collectable items in exchange for a cash offer from one of the four dealers. Although Rob did not appear on the show himself, his pot was most certainly the star attraction.

‘I was absolutely delighted with the comments made by the experts,’ said Rob. ‘When Raj (one of the experts) said that it’s “absolute quality; one of the best pieces I have ever seen” I was smiling from ear to ear!

‘I found out about the show after a friend rang me a few days after the first airing and said, “I’ve just seen a pot on Four Rooms and I’ll eat my hat if it’s not yours”. I watched the show on catch up TV and my jaw dropped to the floor and stayed there for a long time!

‘The comments I’ve received through the Fierek Studio Pottery Facebook page have been great. I’ve made around 400,000 pots in my time, so I guess the show was of interest to people that know me and own some of my pottery.

‘It must have been seen by a lot of people because I’ve had lots of people commenting on it whilst I’m in the Pannier Market in Tavistock. A lot of it is tongue in cheek, people asking for my autograph and such. It’s all good fun. Another stallholder sneaked a sign onto my stall reading “As seen on TV for £4,000” on to my stall on Thursday.’

During the episode one of the dealers mistook Fierek as ‘Frink’ as in famous sculptress Elisabeth Frink. However, Rob said that the dealer had tracked him down recently so now knows that the pot is a Fierek and not a Frink.

Rob, who is very modest about his work, was bemused that his signature should be mistaken for that of Elisabeth Frink and was delighted by the fine praise heaped on his vase by the experts.

Rob and his wife, Rosie, who is known for her large ceramic murals, bought an old tin mine building in Albaston in 1981 and converted it to a home and pottery studio. For the last 30 years Rob has been selling his work to retail outlets throughout Devon and Cornwall.

The potter is now semi retired and sells his work primarily through his stall in the Tavistock Pannier Market two to three Thursdays every month.

Rob said: ‘I was inspired to take a degree in pottery by one of my pottery lecturers Chris Smith whilst taking a foundation art course in Plymouth at the age of 16. I then made the move to Loughborough to complete a three-year degree followed by a postgraduate PGCE.

‘I taught pottery in the midlands for six years before making the move down to the Tamar Valley to set up my studio, home and start my family.’

Rob and Rosie’s two daughters Kate and Rebecca have followed in their parents artistic footsteps. Kate is an established photographer and Rebecca is becoming increasingly well-known in the area for her porcelain birds and works from her parents’ studio three days a week.