It has to be one of the more surprising sights for customers popping into A.S. Cooper and Sons main store on Front Street — a Wedgwood potter busily throwing pots and preparing delicate clay moulds of shells and other Bermuda images.

For the rest of this month Englishman Paul Whiston will be demonstrating the art of the potter in the ground floor ceramics and china department, helping to ignite the curiosity of tourists and locals and, hopefully, tempt them to purchase some of the impressive range of Wedgwood products on sale nearby.

If you own a Wedgwood dining set you are in good company. Queen Elizabeth II has a set of the top-of-the-range Astbury Black collection - of which a single dinner plate would set you back $1,300. But don't be put off by the steep price, there are plenty of more affordable options including the quintessential jasper items that, in A.S. Cooper's, feature all manner of Bermuda images such as longtails and moongates.

Of the idea of putting a potter from England's finest china company in the store to demonstrate the craft, A.S. Cooper's china, gifts and crystal buyer Amanda Outerbridge said: "Our company and Wedgwood have a relationship that goes back a very long way. We had Wedgwood jasper door handles in our old store.

"Having an English product that is a name brand like Wedgwood is important to draw the tourists in. Having Paul in the store generates more excitement and actions for customers. People see him and they are delighted to have the chance to talk to him."

Having a real-life potter speaking about the products and how they are made and the long history of Wedgwood is also seen as a useful way of encouraging people to make a purchase.

For Mr. Whiston it is his first time in Bermuda, although he has worked as a Wedgwood demonstrator for the past eight years at the company's UK headquarters and in top London stores such as Selfridges and Harrods.

While at A.S. Cooper's he is demonstrating the creation of vases and pots from preparing the ball of clay to throwing it on a turntable and adding design features. He also prepares clay mould motifs and has a video presentation from the Wedgwood pottery and a catalogue of products within the Wedgwood collection.

Mr. Whiston comes from a long line of distinguished potters. He himself first threw a pot 47 years ago as a student orf ceramics. He has spent most of his life in education as a professional teacher of ceramics and was chief examiner of that subject in the English West Midlands.

After leaving the teaching profession he was sought by Wedgwood to join its new demonstration team working in the UK and overseas.

The new A.S. Cooper & Sons store is painted in a blue and white scheme that closely resembles the famous look of Wedgwood's instantly recognisable Wedgwood blue jasper items.

On Wedgwood's success Mr. Whiston said: "It is not just the trademark. It is the way that Wedgwood has moved forward and embraced designs and maintained quality.

"It is tied up to the British thing and the name, everyone associates with it. It is the quality and name and the development of the designers.

He pointed out that the silk screen technique used by Wedgwood creates designs that are three times the depth of those on other ceramics and therefore extremely durable, more than enough to handle washing and dish-washing wear and tear.

Some of the plate designs are "fired" up to eight times.

The Astbury Black design, first sold in 1929, is the most expensive. A single plate sells at $1,300. The British Queen and numerous British diplomatic missions use that collection.

While showing his skills in the Front Street store, Mr. Whiston has spoken with visitors who called in to see the store's Wedgwood sales collection.

"You find there are people who have a collection and are always looking for what is new," he said.

And Mr. Whiston has his own piece of advice for women who meet a suitor who offers to buy them a dinner set. "I tell them they should say they only collect Wedgwood."

The visiting potter is enjoying his first trip to Bermuda. He is at the A.S. Cooper's from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday until around 1 p.m.