TEAPOTS figure largely in Bill Todd's conversation and his life - at least when he is at work in his pottery in the Old Smithy at Sedgefield.

But that's hardly surprising when he outlines the complexities of what may seem just an ordinary domestic item.

For a start nobody wants a teapot that dribbles. Mr Todd, who is incidentally no relation to this reporter, explained: "The spout must be such that the shape doesn't impede the flow of the liquid and is at the right angle.

"There must be a big enough air vent under the lid so that the air doesn't hold back the liquid and the end of the spout has to cut off the dribble."

Then the handle has to be substantial enough to hold the weight and fit snugly into the hand - but not so close as to burn it.

The knob on the top of the lid should be big enough to grasp properly.

"I like to glaze both the lid and the gallery it fits into. It sounds better, feels better and cleans better. You also need to have a strainer for the tea leaves."

But that is not the end of it. "When you first make teapots, they come out of the kiln with the spout twisted.

"It twists because you stress it when making it and it reverts back to what it remembers.

"You need to allow for a ten-degree angle so it will twist straight in the firing."

You begin to believe him when he says: "When I first started I thought I had a God-given gift.

"Twenty-five years on I realise it takes that long to learn to do a teapot and ten years to work on a cup and saucer."

Mr Todd took over the former village blacksmith's shop 20 years ago.

It was derelict when put up for sale by Sedgefield District Council and his tender was successful.

It had no electricity, water, drains, windows, floor or roof.

But it was the realisation of a dream after a life change five years earlier.

"I went to Houghton le Spring Grammar School and I should have gone to art college when I left.

"But I took up an engineering apprenticeship, which was completely wrong for me, but a safe job and a means of earning a living."

He kept his interest in watercolour painting and drawing as a hobby and it was while taking a course at Harrogate Art College that he decided to have a go at pottery.

"At the time a chap called Michael Casson had a BBC1 television programme, The Craft of the Potter, which inspired me.

"So I went to a class and I was hopeless. I blamed the teacher. I went to another class, was still hopeless and blamed the wheel. At my third class I put my failure down to the clay."

But he bought his own kiln and practised. "Since then I have exhibited with Michael Casson and told him the story. He likes to joke about it when we meet."

It was an overseas visitor to his pottery who urged him to spread his wings. She left a contact number for the Japanese owner of a London gallery.

"Next time I went down I gave him a ring and he said he had been waiting to hear from me.

"So I went along with 20 pots in a rucksack and he took them all." It was the start of a lucrative sideline.

"He told me that unlike canny Northerners, Londoners thought nothing of spending £50 on a lunch. So the mark up on my work was higher than normal.

"He didn't want people to think there was something wrong with it because it was too cheap. I only had one price."

He joined the Northern Potters Association, which opened the door to other exhibitions, some abroad.

One of his best moments was when the organiser of the Leeds City Arts Gallery wrote saying she had seen his work in London and wanted to show it. "That was 14 years ago and it was a real compliment."

But now he is past the exhibition stage and is back to making real pieces for real people.

"Some people say I couldn't cut the mustard in an art gallery.

"That is not true. I have sold on the market, some at expensive prices.

"It is the old argument of art versus craft. If an artist has decided to make a teapot he probably says he has been inspired.

"A craftsman may make ten of them and one just stands out on its own. It has been made with experience, care and skill for someone to use.

"Works of art we value now were made by Egyptians, Romans and Japanese to be used as oil lamps, containers and urns."

His is an environmentally friendly way of life. "People saw down trees and bring them to me.

"I use anything like beech or oak to smoke chickens, ducks and fish for my own use.

"I dry the rest out in the sun and wind and use it for my workshop fire. The ash is used to make a glaze. Nothing is wasted.

"I think I am about the only professional potter in County Durham and Cleveland who is available full time to the public.

"It is my only means of income and making a living is always a struggle, but I meet such really nice people.

"In this country our work is not always valued. If a person sees a white porcelain plate with a finger mark or spot on it they don't want to buy it.

"In Japan, they would say 'look at that, the hand of the maker'.