WHILE some collectors concentrate on a very wide range of items, many more tend to be very specific. And that's why although many people will collect items from the 1930s Art Deco period, there are many more who concentrate on just a tiny element of this interesting and experimental era of art and design.

A prime example is that of Art Deco tea ware, for it was the cup and saucer, the teapot, cream jug and the like which were frequently used by the young and adventurous designers of the period as ideal forms for their particular skills.

Most of the major manufacturers operating in the pre-war period broke away from traditional and rather staid designs to embrace modernity and give their younger artists a chance to come up with something really different.

The best known designer of the period is of course Clarice Cliff whose work was so different to what had gone before that her most popular range was actually called Bizarre!

But while the prices of much other wares, and her contemporary Susie Cooper have rise beyond the scope of the novice collector, there are many other Art Deco tea ware items to temp the collector.

It is worth looking out for pottery by Barker Bros, who used vivid colours and strong floral and geometric designs and whose wares can start from as little as £25 or £30. Examples by their top designer John Guildford are very prized, particularly his Storm pattern.

Burleigh produced a wide range of Deco items including the Pan and Dawn patterns, as did other companies such as Carlton, Hancock, Shelley, James Kent, and the extraordinary Staffordshire firm of Myott.

This firm really threw the text book away when it came to Art Deco tea ware design, creating a dazzling array of patterns based on everything from ancient Egyptian and Aztec designs through to extraordinary "Penguin", milk jugs, and amazingly stylised fruit and flower designs.

Much Art Deco tea ware distinguishes itself by very angular shapes, sometimes the handles of cups are in effect triangles, and the more unusual and extreme the design, the more likely it is to attract collectors and be of higher value. While many examples can still be obtained for perhaps £30-£40, the most desirable examples, for instance a teacup with matching saucer and plate from Shelley's Mode range of the 1930s, can fetch as much as £150.