We use the Baby Bjorn potty (you can get these from John Lewis), however my daughter has been put on the potty since 5.5months. I looked into EC (read The Diaper free Baby - by Christine Gross Loh) and it resonated (though didn't go to the extremes, we just put her on the potty when she looked like she wanted to go, make a sssss sound to encourage her) and I would do the potty sign (tap shoulder twice with middle finger) then had her in a nappy, I thought it a bit daft when all the signals were there that she needed to go and then let that go in the nappy. Also by getting cloth nappies you make more of an effort not to have stinky ones and look out for the signs. She used to do a fart just before and that would signal poo poo on the way in the early days, and she was always very predictable. Every time I changed her nappy I did the nappy sign (tap index and middle fingers on left and right on the tummy).
By 13months she was signally potty before she needed to go and nappy another sign. She signs both when she needs to go. She had been quite good but went through a bad patch mid13months to 15months as she learnt to walk properly around this time so mind was on other things. She is 16months now in the last week or so I've had the opportunity to see how she would do in knickers, the first time she wore them she wet them, but since then she's been fine, with no wet knickers at all day or night. Its only been seven days so far but she has done quite well.
Regarding potty time, always make sure there is a selection of baby books for her to look at that keeps her interested and mummy too! My dd loves anything with babies in it, a magazine with any baby photos she loves (does the baby sign). Potty time has been used alot to do baby signing and sing nursery rhymes.
Hope you have lots of fun, I wanted to avoid leaving it late and deal with greater resistence later on. Initally I just wanted her to offer her an alternative to go into and avoid changing stinky nappies.
Good luck.