In 1907 Leeds business man Samuel Smith started selling Ringtons Tea in Newcastle with little more than a horse and cart and an investment from William Titterton, who he was able to buy out by 1914. By the 1920s they had started to sell Chintz and Willow patterned Ceramics aimed at tea drinkers.

Ringtons Limited Tea Merchants has remained a family business and now supplies Tea and Coffee world wide.

James Sadler and Wade Potteries (now Wade Ceramics) have both made bespoke ceramics for Ringtons and they continue to commission exclusive ranges of pottery for their shop, now.