Susannah Bangham, Creative Director at Cambridge Makers, is fundraising for a charity close to her heart – quite literally! Susannah lives with the debilitating health condition Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) and to coincide with PoTS Awareness Day this Sunday 25th October she will be facilitating an online auction of locally handmade pots in aid of PoTS UK.

Pots For PoTS 2020 was due to take place at the Cambridge Makers studios in Linton, Cambridgeshire but due to the current situation the event is now taking place online through the organisation’s website here.

The web-based auction is live right now and running until 5pm on Sunday with a wonderful selection of ceramic wares to bid on including bowls, dishes, mugs, jugs, vases and a range of miscellaneous pots which would be perfect for plants and trinkets. On Sunday there will also be an Instagram Live at 4pm to showcase all of the pots – you can join the tour via Facebook too – and at 5.15pm a select 16 will be auctioned live virtually on Zoom.

You can see what will be available and get your free ticket to the live event here!

Susannah says: “The fundraiser came about because I have PoTS and I started potting as a way to heal a few years ago after I lost a job I loved because of my illness. A friend brought round some clay and I just sat and squished it and cried! Eventually I started going to her house once a week and started learning to throw. During lockdown the same friend lent me a wheel, which I set up in my Grandpa’s potting shed so that I could keep potting all summer for the fundraiser.”

Unfortunately there are not many places to get information about PoTS and it can often take a very long time to get a diagnosis. Susannah waited 10 years for hers and has told us how vital the charity PoTS UK are as a resource for both patients and medical professionals.

PoTS UK states: “Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) can be a life altering and debilitating health condition. Simply standing up can be a challenge for affected people as their body is unable to adjust to gravity. PoTS is due to an abnormal response by the autonomic (automatic) nervous system and is characterised by orthostatic intolerance (the development of symptoms when upright that are mostly relieved by lying down). Symptoms include palpitations, lightheadedness, fatigue, sweating, nausea, fainting and headaches, and are associated with a persistant increase in heart rate from the lying to upright position.”

Money raised through the Pots For PoTS fundraiser will go towards helping educate and support patients, their carers and medical professionals across the UK. A small donation will be made to Cambridge Makers, who are also a registered charity, to cover resources provided.

The live auction is expected to be a fun, friendly and welcoming event – we hope to see you there! The fundraiser has been made a reality due to the kind donations from and collaborative efforts of potters Frank Logan, Janet Edwards, Joy Voisey, Lucy Blake, Pip Hughes, Steel Haughton, Victoria Ashdown and Caroline Amory.

You can follow Cambridge Art Makers on Facebook and Instagram for updates and to tune into the live tour. If you have any questions you can contact Susannah and her team at: potsforpotsuk@gmail.com

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