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Barry Brickell
Barry Brickell
00:59

Barry Brickell

Driving Creek Potteries and Railway

Coromandel, Waikato, New Zealand

"The answer is having a passion and a vision, and not kowtowing to fashion, style or vogue."

Career Roadmap

Barry's work combines: Art, Engineering, and Building Things

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Day In The Life

Potter/Railway Engineer

I designed and built the Driving Creek Railway and nature preserve but really all I want to do is make pots!

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Education, General

    University of Auckland, New Zealand

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    Knew from a young age that he wasn't great at academic work, but he always loved to sculpt, make pots.

  • 2.

    Everyone assumed he would go to university, get a degree and a stable job, but he wanted none of it.

  • 3.

    Reluctantly got a degree and became a schoolteacher; was so unhappy he quit after one year, went back to pottery.

  • 4.

    His dad told him making pots would be no way to support a family; Barry said, that's fine, I'm still going to do it.

  • 5.

    Lived in poverty, but always preferred wearing raggedy clothes and "being free" to wearing a suit and tie.

  • 6.

    His other interest was railroads: he invested all of his money on a plot of land and spent years building his own railroad.

  • 7.

    Estate came to be named Driving Creek Potteries and Railway-combined his two passions in one space.

  • 8.

    Says Driving Creek is successful because there's nothing else like it; "don't copy; be original."