Derek Smith (1931- ) trained as a ceramic designer and art teacher in England before coming to Australia in 1956, teaching, and setting up studios in Bowral, NSW (1958-1962), Hobart, Tas (1962-1964), and Beecroft, NSW (1965-1972). In 1973 he was invited to establish a pottery studio within the Doulton Australia factory at Chatswood, NSW. Smith designed a range of around 30 domestic stoneware pieces, mostly wheel-thrown, but some made using a jolly machine. The Doulton venture was relatively short-lived. Smith left in 1976 to set up the Blackfriars Pottery at Chippendale, NSW, taking with him his repertoire of designs and production methods. Blackfriars continued to operate until 1984, when Smith returned to Tasmania, where he still lives and works, after spending some time in Italy in recent years. His marks are fully described in Geoff Ford's Encyclopedia of Australian Potters' Marks.

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