The fate of a historic Fife pottery brand is unclear following a drop in sales.
Wemyss Ware owner Griselda Hill has been forced to lay off all her staff and may have to sell the brand if she cannot make it profitable over the coming year.
In the meantime, the pottery will no longer be sold at galleries across the UK as Ms Hill struggles to keep production going on her own.
She took over the Wemyss Ware trademark, famous for its brightly-painted ceramic animals including cats and pigs, more than 30 years ago, producing it from her pottery in Ceres.
But she has now become a victim of the recession and recently laid off all five of her employees.
“It has been a struggle to keep it going,” she said.
“I’m proposing to hobble along for the time being but will have to produce it all myself, painting pieces when the shop is quiet.
“I have had to make all my staff redundant. They left at the end of the year, which was very sad.”
Ms Hill said the fact she was on her own meant production would have to be cut by around a third, therefore she would no longer be able to supply galleries, including Kirkcaldy Gallery.
“The problems have been a result of the economic situation,” she said.
“The prices are not low because each piece is hand-painted.
“We still have a strong following of people who love the pottery but the shop has been so quiet.
“I just couldn’t afford to keep going the way we were.”
John Mackie, a Wemyss Ware specialist at Edinburgh auction house Lyon and Turnbull, described the situation as very sad.
“Wemyss has existed in various guises since the late 19th Century and it would be nice to see it continue,” he said.
Launched by Fife pottery owner Robert Heron, Wemyss Ware was first produced in his factory in Gallatown, Kirkcaldy, in 1882.
It was sold to a Devon pottery in 1930 but Ms Hill brought it back to Fife in 1985.