Richard Manz was born 1933 in Esslingen, Germany.Educated as a potter (Töpfergeselle, Akademie der bildenden Künste in Stuttgart, 1950) and stove-tile maker (1953). Worked at Gustavsberg Porcelain Manufactory in Stockholm, Sweden (1956-1965) before moving to Denmark in 1966 where he started his own workshop together with his wife, ceramist Bodil Manz.