We met on a warm spring day, surrounded by beautiful pottery that Curry--an apprentice at that time with Joseph Sand--created. It was their Spring Kiln Opening, and I had been reluctantly coaxed into going by my mother. Little did both of us know at the time that we had met at a setting which would later become our careers: owning and operating a pottery studio.
Curry worked hard at his apprenticeship with the goal of building his own wood fired kiln. Day in day out he turned the same shapes over and over again to practice his skills and learn how to wheel throw light and appealing shapes, all the while thinking big and planning how he would make this his career. Being able to support both himself and eventually his wife through his craft is a romantic notion, but one that isn't easy or clear. Continuing to work hard, put his head down, and focus on his goals allowed him to formulate plans to build a kiln and open Curry Wilkinson Pottery in the summer/fall of 2018.
© Charina Brooks Photography
Having the determination and grit to complete our kiln and manage multiple major life events like getting married and moving into our home wasn't easy. There are days where we look back at that time and wonder how we even got through it; the path to starting our business was a big risk, but it was fundamental that we took it and stuck with it in order to commit to having the business of our dreams.
We work hard in our home studio every day to bring you handmade, light to the touch, quality pottery to use and enjoy every day. Creating a business from the ground up, and growing up as children of entrepreneurs has taught us a level of dedication and perseverance that we strive to always bring into our studio and to our pottery. Thank you for being here.
-Curry & Sarah-
We love our little family! All three of our animals are rescue animals from various places. They all like to join us in the workshop or curled up in our home office!
From left to right:
Ada, Clover, & Merlin
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Our pottery is hand thrown by Curry in our central North Carolina studio. Curry took various pottery classes in high school and college, and eventually trained as an apprentice for three years to become a professional potter.
We make our pottery using mostly North Carolina sourced materials refined in Star, NC. Because we are both from North Carolina, it's important to us that we use NC sourced clay and glaze materials to create our pottery.
A little bit about the process for each piece we make:
Each piece, with the exception of our ornament and jewelry collections made by Sarah, is wheel thrown by Curry. But before any piece can be thrown on the wheel, there are a few steps that need to happen.
Lumps of clay must be run through our pug mill to further refine it and turn it into basically logs of clay that will be cut and weighed out per shape. For example, if Curry is throwing a mug, he will weigh out 3/4 pound of clay.
The ball of clay is placed on a bat that is attached to the wheel. It's then carefully turned and formed into a shape. This can take anywhere between 1 minute and 5 minutes, depending on the size and intricacy of the shape.
After the form is complete, it's left on the bat which taken off the wheel to be placed aside to dry. Sometimes there's a multiple step process for a piece like mugs: the body is turned on the wheel and the handled later attached. Each piece must get leather-hard before it can be decorated or glazed.
Once each piece is decorated and/or glazed, it's ready to go into the kiln!
OUR PROCESS
01
YOUR POTTERY STARTS WITH A RAW CHUNK OF CLAY
02
WE MAKE IT INTO SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR YOU
03
YOU GIVE IT LIFE IN YOUR SPACE & IT GIVES YOU YOUR UNIQUE STYLE
WORKSHOP SCENES
