Bankrupt Island Pottery owner Jerry Smith has little to say in response to recent complaints against him and his failed company.

He told The Royal Gazette he thought it amusing his business had become the focus of a complaint by visitors Regina and Gunter Einmal.

The Einmals claimed that they never received two bowls they ordered and paid for from Smith's Island Pottery in 1996. The Einmals said they paid $120 for the order, which was to be shipped to their home.

When the bowls never arrived the Einmals made personal inquiries, phone calls, and sent faxes regarding the whereabouts of the bowls, but they received no replies.

The Einmals said they gave up their search for answers when a Bermudian friend told them that the company had gone bankrupt.

The couple was shocked when they arrived on the Island three weeks ago and discovered that Mr. Smith was running a pottery stand at Harbour Nights.

They said they approached Mr. Smith's wife, Gloria who said she would refund the Einmals. But the Einmals said she asked her husband who became rude with them and refused to compensate them.

Mr Smith said: "The irony is that I had no direct involvement in the debacle that took place here at all.'' In response to the Einmal's suggestion that Mr. Smith not be allowed to continue to run a business, Mr. Smith said: "I didn't go bankrupt, the company did.

"I think he (Mr. Einmal) didn't understand the concept of a limited liability company. It's the law. He didn't want to hear the truth.'' He noted that he lost more than the Einmals when his company failed.

"All those involved in Island Pottery were losers fundamentally. A lot of people lost money. I lost the most. That gentleman was a loser and so was I.''