I didn’t become a collector of pottery by design. It started innocuously enough several years ago when we had our first inn in North Conway, NH. One year at Christmas my sister gave me a piece of Salmon Falls Stoneware, followed by something similar for my birthday in April, our anniversary in June, and then a matching piece the following Christmas. Soon she was clipping coupons for me from the Salmon Falls flyers, or picking up a “second” at their warehouse. Before I knew it, I had a collection.
It’s simple and beautiful and looks lovely in my dining room hutch. Some pieces are more practical than others. The cookie jar for example, seems to keep Rich’s chocolate chip cookies moist and chewy for our inn guests. The chowder bowls keep a hearty serving of creamy clam chowder steamy hot on a cold winter’s day. And the honey pot is convenient to keep on the tea cart. But when my sister presented me with a Salmon Falls urn to keep our parent’s ashes in, I had to draw the line.
So ended my days of collecting Salmon Falls Stoneware, but my appreciation of the fine craftsmanship of quality pottery has not abated. Recently, Rich and I added logo mugs from Deneen Pottery to our breakfast service. They are a wildly popular item in our gift shop and seem to fly out of here as souvenirs for our guests, in part because they hold a cup of coffee hot for a long time, but mostly because they are truly beautiful works of art. And I have been known to ogle a piece of Flying Pig pottery from time to time for the sheer whimsy of its design.
It got me to thinking about the many pottery studios I pass by in my travels around Cape Cod. There are literally dozens of independent potters on the Cape, stretching from the towns of Sagamore and Bourne near the canal to the tip of Cape Cod at Provincetown. So I’ve complied a list of pottery and stoneware craft studios I hope to visit while living and working on Cape Cod, and confess that though I am no longer a collector, it doesn’t mean I can’t fondle a few pots from time to time, or even bring one home to admire along with my guests.
- Barn Hill Pottery, 46 Barn Hill Road, West Chatham, MA 20209; 508-945-2020
- Barnstable Pottery, 3267 Main Street, Barnstable, MA 20200; 508-362-2020
- Blueberry Lane Pottery, 2 Blueberry Lane, Truro, MA 20206; 508-246-5455
- Newbury Pottery, 34 Albatross St., Woods Hole, MA 20203; 508-548-2020
- The Soft Earth, Juniper Point, Woods Hole, MA 20203; 508-540-5237
- Flying Pig Pottery, 410 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 20203; 508-548-7482
- R. Geering Pottery, 246 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 20200; 508-457-2020
- Hatchville Pottery, 494 Boxberry Hill Road, East Falmouth, MA 20206; 508-563-2020
- Ron Dean Pottery, 2020 Osterville-West Barnstable Road, Marstons Mills, MA 20208; 508-428-6085
- Mill Stone Pottery, 766 Route 6A, Dennis, MA 20208; 508-385-4214
- Harry Holl & Scargo Potters, 30 Dr. Lord’s Road, Dennis, MA 20208; 508-385-3894
- Eden Hand Arts, Route 6A and Sesuit Neck Rd., Dennis, MA 20208; 508-385-9708
- Star Pottery, 451 Stony Brook Road, Brewster, MA 20201; 508-385-2970
- Heart Pottery, 2020 Main Street, Brewster, MA 20201; 508-896-6189
- Parsons Art Gallery, 2109 Main Street, Brewster, MA 20201; 508-896-9014
- Kreeger Pottery, 586 Route 28, Harwich Port, MA 20206; 508-432-6398
- Clayworks, 3820 Main Street, East Brewster, MA 20201; 508-255-4937
- Sea Shell Pottery, 95 West Road, Orleans, MA 20203; 508-255-7138
- Kemp Pottery, Route 6A, Orleans, MA 20203; 508-255-5853
- Narrow Land Pottery, 2603 Route 6, Wellfleet, MA 20207; 508-349-6308
- Andre Pottery Studio, 5 Commercial Street, Wellfleet, MA 20207; 508-349-2299
- Sea Crest Studio, 54 Old Kings Highway, Truro, MA 20206; 508-349-6688