John Harlow has been making pots professionally for more than forty years. His original interest started as a student at Westminster College, Oxford, during which time he worked intermittently for the Coldstone Pottery, Ascott, near Woodstock. On moving to Somerset in 1968 he worked first at Chedzoy Pottery and then Whitnell Pottery. In 1991 he moved to Little Pennard where the current workshops were based until he moved to west Devon in May 2010. During all this time his prime focus has been domestic pottery using durable stoneware clays and glazes. In recent years he has concentrated on reduction firing in a gas kiln of his own design and, as well as the range of domestic pots, produces a broad spectrum of individual pieces.
He is a founder member of Makers, the well-known retail craft co-operative in Bath Place, Taunton. Although he is no longer a member, he was Master of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen in the mid-seventies and again from 1999-2001.
In recent years he has also been painting professionally, mainly large-format watercolour. His work can be found in many galleries in the UK as diverse as Beer and St David's.