Popolo Ceramico is celebrating a significant business milestone with the launch of its 30th franchisee, now covering South Durham.
Founded 16 years ago by Christina Taylor Chisholm and situated in the Ouseburn area of Newcastle, the business has grown from a small, home-based venture into a thriving national franchise network spanning 64 territories across the UK.
Christina launched the business shortly after the birth of her daughter. “Fifteen years ago, I was working in a demanding corporate project management role, regularly working 60-plus hours a week. When I had my daughter, everything changed. I started capturing her tiny hand and footprints in paint, clay and plaster – and friends began asking me to create keepsakes for them too.”
What began as a small collection of personalised mugs, baubles and plates has evolved into a comprehensive range of handcrafted keepsakes and bespoke artwork. Today, Popolo Ceramico specialises in baby hand and footprint imprints in clay, paint and plaster, carefully framed or mounted to create timeless display pieces. Each piece is personalised with names, dates of birth and meaningful messages.
The business also creates detailed 3D castings, capturing newborn hands and feet, sibling casts, family hand casts and even generational casts featuring grandparents and grandchildren. Pregnancy bump casts are available as both natural keepsakes and fully decorated art pieces, with custom finishes including metallics, painted designs and framed installations.
Pet owners can commission paw print keepsakes or full paw castings, which have become increasingly popular as memorial pieces as well as celebration pieces for new puppies and kittens.
In addition to wall art and framed impressions, the product range includes personalised ceramics such as mugs, plates, baubles and tiles, along with gift items designed for new parents, christenings, birthdays and Mother’s Day. Many customers return year after year to create milestone pieces as their children grow.
The name “Popolo Ceramico” loosely translates from Italian as “pottery for the people,” reflecting the brand’s ethos of creating meaningful, handcrafted keepsakes accessible to families everywhere.
The franchising journey began in 2016 with a pilot franchisee in Headingley. “We didn’t have formal contracts at first — it was very much a test. She used our branding, our processes and our product range, and it worked brilliantly. That gave me the confidence to roll out regionally and then nationally.”
Today, the business has grown to 30 franchisees operating across 64 territories, with several partners holding multiple areas. The decision to franchise was driven by growing demand, as families who had previously used Christina’s services relocated and wanted access to the same high-quality keepsakes in their new areas.
The newest franchisee Cheryl Armstrong has launched in South Durham and experienced immediate success, beginning just before the busy Christmas period and being inundated with orders.
With strong UK foundations, Christina now has ambitious global plans. The business is exploring expansion into Australia and Dubai, alongside growth of its online offering through Popolo Digital, allowing customers in non-franchise areas to order imprint kits and personalised products directly.