A PENRITH collector is set to sell her ceramics collection at a local gallery in April. 

Viv Rumbold, who currently lives in Yanwath near Penrith, has been collecting studio ceramics for over 50 years, with her passion for handcrafted pots dating back to a trip to a Cornwall pottery, Bernard Leach, in 1968. 

However, Viv is now set to move away from the area and ahead of this relocation is preparing to sell her vast collection between Thursday, April 11 and Sunday, April 21 at Evan Gallery in Penrith.

News and Star: Viv and her husband Arne, who sadly passed away in 2004, built their collection throughout the latter decades of the 20th century, with this culminating in the pair opening a gallery in their Penrith cottage. 

However, after Arne's death, Viv was forced to close the gallery and 20 years on is looking to share her beloved collection with the local community.

In 1994, when my husband and I started a small gallery selling studio ceramics and glass, we used in three small rooms in our cottage," Viv said.

News and Star: "We bought work from leading studio potters in Cumbria - and eventually the whole of the UK and European countries too.

"We travelled to France and Ireland, choosing work to bring back to the gallery.

"The gallery was like an Aladdin’s cave or a warren. People loved it and we built up a reputation of having the best selection of studio ceramics in the north of England.

News and Star: "Ten years later my husband suddenly died and I decided to close the gallery and now I am downsizing as I am moving to Scotland, so I have decided to sell a large amount of my collection."