Who are you and what do you do?
Twice Baked Pottery’s mission will always be to provide high quality pottery at a reasonable price. Our Pottery is meant to be used and enjoyed. It is functional art, not just to be placed on a shelf, but on your table -- a tool for you to use when breaking bread with friends or enjoying some quiet time curled up with a good book and a mug of coffee, hot cocoa, or tea. Pottery is meant to enhance, not take over. We offer a personal touch so that everyone’s shopping experience brings back memories of a simpler time — when people greeted each other warmly, service was a priority, and you knew not just where something was made, but the person who actually made it.
How did you get started in your business?
I have been working with clay for more than ten years, initially it was just a hobby to escape from the grind of the "day job”. I practiced law for more than 18 years…my focus for the first half of my life had always been in areas where I used my analytical skills -- from being a Politics major at The Catholic University of America to representing thousands of clients in court and running my own litigation practice in Milwaukee. Thanks to the encouragement of family and friends, I began taking classes at both local pottery studios and in North Carolina at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Eventually opening the store and studio to the public in 2015.
What do your customers love most about your product(s)?
I make all of the functional pottery in the shop in front of our customers. They get to see all the love and labor that goes into each and every piece that I make whether it is throwing at the wheel, putting handles on mugs, glazing, or loading kilns. From a customer - “We love shopping there to see all of the beautiful works of art. Always fun to pick out gifts for friends and family.”
What motivates you to keep creating?
Taking up pottery as a hobbyist was an incredible change in how I both thought and saw the world. Art opens your mind and lets you see things that we miss in everyday life. Art creates possibilities we don't always see or that we take for granted. There is so much more that I want to accomplish in clay. It is an art form that allows for constant change and experimentation. It is the artistic marriage of control and chaos -- you never know what you'll have until it's done. I don't know yet where this journey will take me, but I am excited to find out.
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