He waited 40 years for his dream: The unexpected story of a Garden Route pottery teacher

News24

18-05-2025

News24/PaulHerman
Anthony Noble spent 40 years educating young minds in East London and later along the Garden Route as a primary school teacher.
But in the back of his mind, he held on to a dream: To one day own his own pottery school after a chance cleanup of a studio in 1980.
Three years ago, he retired and took the dive to turn his front lounge into his own space, despite 'knowing nothing' about business.
Now 64, he boasts 12 wheels, five kilns and stories for days as he pours his faith into a learning, tactile experience for his guests.
What is your dream?
For Anthony Noble, it was merely to do the thing he loved every day, and that thing was to teach pottery at his own pottery school. He even knew what he would call it.
But it was a dream he had to wait 40 years for - only once he retired as a primary school teacher in George on the Western Cape's Garden Route.
Anthony loved teaching. But a chance encounter in 1980 while studying, where he was forced to clean up a pottery studio, sparked an unexpected love that endured for decades.
'When I was at college in Gqeberha, I was forced to do art. I didn't want to do art,' the 64-year-old told News24.
'I was in the unfortunate situation where I had to clean up a classroom where a 600-litre drum of clay fell, and cleaning up the clay gave me an affinity for the stuff.
'So instead of going home for that March holiday, I stayed in college, and I sat at a pottery kick-wheel and started throwing.'
Fun Fact:
Throwing is the term used for the process of forming clay into shapes on a potter's wheel.
Anthony would qualify as a teacher and would spend the next 42 years teaching primary school English and high school art, first in his native East London, and then in George – where he still lives.
Throughout this time, he had kept up his unexpected hobby of throwing. He bought his own wheel and kiln for a combined R3 000. He also picked up a love for painting, and hobbies remained hobbies for four decades.
The terror of impending retirement
Then, like all things, the chance to make a forgotten dream a reality came only when facing uncertain fear – in this case, the terror of impending retirement.
When I retired in 2021, the first three months were terrible, because you'd break from your routine of waking up in the morning, going to work, whatever you have to do… to not having purpose almost.
Anthony Noble
'I realised that I had forgotten about my dream. And then I realised, but hey, hang on, I've got the time now to pursue the thing that I really wanted to do. For 40 years, I did what I had to. Now I can do what I want to.'
And so Anthony threw all of his passion and faith into making his dream a reality at the ripe age of 61. By his own account, he 'knew absolutely nothing about business', and he faced some other hurdles as well.
'I knew then what my school would be called, and I tried to find a place to rent, but couldn't. All of the owners of the buildings I approached, when they found out what I would be doing, they turned me down.
'And then my wife said to me: 'Let's use the lounge.' I made the tables myself, I made the shelves myself. I'm not much of a carpenter, but the tables are here,' he laughs.
Anthony had six wheels at the time and two kilns – and could finally use the name he'd been holding onto: Perisos – which means 'super abundance' in Greek, and taken from the Gospel of John, 10:10.
A marriage proposal, a blind man and life lessons
Today, Perisos Pottery has doubled to 12 wheels and five kilns. He has around 25 regular customers who come fortnightly to his home in George and around 50-80 once-off customers every month – ranging from tourists to passers-by to locals holidaying along the coast.
Every session, people from all walks of life come into his studio unaware of what they are doing and leave with a life lesson from an experienced teacher told over 10 sessions, if they so choose.
One instance involves a young man so moved by Anthony's lesson where he as the Potter joins two types of clay to make something new but beautiful – a metaphor for marriage - he chose to come back and propose to his girlfriend in the presence of both families.
'I gave them the same lesson and he gave me the engagement ring and I pushed it deep into her piece of clay. As she was working with it, she said to me, 'something is hurting her fingers'. I said, 'No, couldn't be'.
'And then I said 'take it out', and she took out, and he ran across to her wheel and knelt before her, and asked: 'Will you marry me?'
'Everybody started crying. Obviously, she said yes. It was very special.'
The couple came back two weeks later and made engraved candle-stick holders for each of their wedding guests marked with their names.
Another example is best seen through the work of a blind man.
'Clay is tactile. When you sit at the pottery wheel, you are in control. You feel and you touch, and you know,' he said.
'I've taught a blind man to do pottery, and I said to him, 'now feel what you're doing'. And then he said, 'I can see what you're saying'. His mother started crying because here's a blind man saying, 'I can see what you're saying'.
'So, with clay, you can see with your hands. I see with what I feel.'
Protecting your dream from the dream killers
Anthony has found his passion. He has taken his 64 years of life and everything he believes and throws it into valuable lessons for his customers who can leave with something tangible they've made, from clay he sources himself in the surrounding area.
For him, he is living out his creed through the work of his hands.
'I'm a piece of clay telling other pieces of clay who the Potter is. If a piece of clay is hard, you can't do much with it. But when a piece of clay is soft and pliable and surrendered to the Potter, it becomes a vessel worthy of having the Potter's name on it.
'And that to me is a very practical and visual lesson. If the clay decided it's had enough, how can the Potter chase it and bring it back to the wheel? It's got to surrender completely, and that's basically what I have had to do with my life.'
Finally, Anthony believes everyone should have a dream, and this is his advice for those chasing theirs, however small.
If your dream does not frighten you, dream over.
Your dream must be bigger than you. It must involve other people.
It must not be easily reachable, or it becomes a goal. A dream is much bigger.
'I had no clue where to start, I'm not a businessman. But here I am in a, well, I say a successful business, because it's achieving the purpose for which it was intended.
'Lastly, guard your dream. If you tell too many people, they can be dream killers. You'll find your dream being aborted on your behalf. I didn't listen to that, and here I am.'
Bonus Fun Fact:
Anthony also teaches another love: painting. He shows his guests how to paint a landscape in under 10 minutes using only one brush - and does it upside down.