Troika : A Brief History : Part 2
Fragden Place
Photo courtesy of The Digital Museum of Cornish Ceramics
A setback happened in 1976 as overall demand for Troika began to diminish, although there was still enough work to employ six decorators. It was at this time that Sirota had thoughts of leaving Troika. Rumour has it that Illsley was spending too much time in the pub and the problem was affecting the workplace. With Sirota in St. Ives and hardly involved in the running of the business and Illsley spending only half his time of work, the decline of Troika was inevitable.
In 1978, Troika suffered a further blow when Heal’s made a policy decision to stop selling craft pottery. The recession in the late 1970s and early 1980s also hit Troika hard. Combined with the government doubling VAT in 1979 and cheap imports flooding the market, the pottery was battling to survive. The partnership ended on 31st march 1980, with Sirota keeping the shop in St. Ives and Illsley keeping the Pottery.
