Local potters are among the artisans that benefit from the Made Local movement.
Amid racks of freshly made ceramic mugs, a cup handler explains to a group of factory tour visitors how each mug handle is placed on, by hand, before the pieces are then carried to the next station to be glazed and eventually, fired into the finished product. Her energy and enthusiasm are contagious.
At another station, a form maker explains the making of a mold that will be used to create a new line of dinner plates for Chez Panisse. His thorough and passionate explanation exhibits the pride and ownership he takes over his craft.
As the group wanders through the factory among ceiling-high carts of items in various stages of production, the tour guide demonstrates how some are created using molds, while many are still done all, or partly, by hand. At Sausalito-based Heath Ceramics, it’s this type of dedication and commitment to quality that co-owner Robin Petravic believes sets them apart.
“It’s the quality of the product and design,” Petravic says. “We have a company run by designers and we set a vision for it, which includes being very thoughtful about the things we create. Every detail is important.”
When one thinks of brands that have withstood the test of time, names like Kellogg’s, Mattel or McDonalds may come to mind. Indeed, all of these companies were started in the 1940s. But Heath’s brand can stand alongside these giants when it comes to longevity and even brand loyalty. The company was started in 1948 by Edith Heath after her solo pottery show at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor, with the idea of creating “simple, good things for good people.”
Over the years, her passion for high-quality ceramics has led to advances in clay and glaze development. Today, Heath Ceramics is considered among the most enduring examples of mid-century design. Found in restaurants, homes and museums worldwide, the name is synonymous with simple, functional and thoughtfully designed tableware and tile. As well, many of Edith’s original pieces live in the permanent collections of museums such as the SF MOMA and LACMA.
Owning the process
However, the company has had its share of turbulent times and, in fact, was close to going out of business when current owners Petravic and Catherine Bailey quite literally stumbled upon the factory in Sausalito in 2003 and decided to buy it from then 93-year-old Heath.
“We were starting to look at moving on in different careers or businesses to buy,” explains Petravic. “We were both working as product designers in the Bay Area, mainly in technology, and we were frustrated in our jobs by a real disconnect between design and manufacturing. It was very much a hands-off rather than continuous process. What Heath represented was an opportunity to both design and make the product, and to see it all the way through to completion. That was really important—tangible job satisfaction and what we believed was a better way to design and make things—to have those two integrated.”
The passion for design and manufacturing that the couple brought to Heath has certainly paid off. Starting with 24 employees (including themselves) in 2003, the company now boasts more than 160 employees, with the Sausalito factory and showroom, as well as an additional studio and showroom in Los Angeles and two locations in San Francisco, including its tile factory.
“The factory has more than 60 [employees], so we have a lot of non-manufacturing jobs as well,” says Petravic. “A lot of that’s due to the path that we’ve taken in having our own showrooms and selling direct. So there are a lot of jobs in retail, as well as fulfillment, warehouse and shipping jobs.”
Today, you can find Heath Ceramics products at many local restaurants, wineries and other high-quality establishments such as Picco in Larkspur, Copita in Sausalito, Zuzu in Napa, Hog Island Oyster Bar in Napa, Silver Oak Cellars in Oakville, Brix in Napa and Peter Lowell’s restaurant in Sebastopol, to name a few.
Even though the company has grown dramatically over the last decade, some tile and all of its tableware is still made in small runs on the premises of the local factory, just as they have been since 1948; the majority of its tile is made at its San Francisco factory. Every part of the process, from original design to final production, is overseen—nothing is shipped out or outsourced (though it does sell some products by like-minded makers in its stores). It’s this kind of commitment that’s produced high-quality and durable pieces that, as Heath boasts on its website, “blur the line between everyday objects and family heirlooms.”
“In owning every part of the process—the design, the manufacturing and the selling—we’re able to create a great customer experience,” explains Petravic. “Because we have customer service people who are sitting 10 feet away from the factory, they have that relationship, they have that bond. Its very different if you have a customer service person in a call center somewhere that’s never been to your factory. There’s a lack of personal connection. Those little things are very important to us.”
This commitment to quality and the customer experience, first and foremost, has shaped the way the company has proactively and thoughtfully controlled its growth. While it would be easy to make things cheaper by outsourcing parts of manufacturing or compromising quality, the company isn’t interested in having a showroom in every state or changing its business model to accommodate a demand for cheaper goods. Especially in California with high labor costs, decisions were made early on to focus on the core mission and values. This has resulted in the company announcing, this year, that it’s moving entirely out of wholesale (currently 2 percent of its business) and hopes to sell 100 percent direct-to-customer by the end of this year.
“To be able to continue to manufacture here in California, the margins aren’t really there in selling wholesale,” explains Petravic. “We originally thought we’d be able to make that work, but we quickly saw the future really lay in being able to sell directly—make our products and put them right in our stores. Those kinds of margins make the business work. It’s a choice: We can sell direct and keep these manufacturing jobs and add to them, or we continue to sell wholesale with the same old model and would probably have to outsource our manufacturing to where labor is cheaper. We decided to focus on keeping our manufacturing because it’s such an important part of what we do. It was never negotiable.”
Environmentally careful
Besides committing to local manufacturing, another important aspect of the company that hasn’t changed since Edith Heath first started it is responsibility to environmental stewardship. From the beginning, her pieces were designed to enjoy a single kiln firing (as opposed to the usual two), at a lower-than-normal temperature, thus saving energy, while still producing a very durable product built to last a lifetime.
“Historically, Heath has always been doing things that are intrinsically environmentally conscious,” says Petravic, “partly just because Edith Heath grew up in the Great Depression so it was all about not wasting anything. That’s not even about being environmentally conscious, it’s about being careful.”
Heath today has taken this Great Depression mentality several steps further by implementing a graywater system at its San Francisco factory that recycles all of the water used in production for reuse in glaze booths and other cleanup operations (it’s working toward a similar setup in Sausalito). It also recycles scrap and unfired clay from the application process and is exploring collecting glaze overspray. All products are shipped with ExpandOS, a packing system made from 100 percent post-industrial waste that’s 100 percent reusable and recyclable. Seconds and overstock are sold at the Sausalito factory store rather than being discarded and sent to landfill.
New product lines are designed with colors and styles to complement existing collections to increase the longevity of its products, not replace them. That’s a rare idea in our current era of upgrades and “version 10.0,” with products designed with a mindset of trying to produce something that will last long enough to ensure brand loyalty, but short enough that it will need to be replaced to ensure a steady revenue stream.
Currently, the company is attempting to eliminate any material waste from production and repurposing it into a functional material. “We’re going to be filtering out all the overspray bits of clay that have fallen to the ground and become contaminated, and turning them into a third clay body,” explains Petravic. “We have two production clay bodies right now, and soon we’ll be using what would otherwise have been leftover waste material—that’s been sent to a special dump all these years—into a third clay body and make tile with it. So basically, everything will go into a finished product that you can use and there will be nothing sent out of the production process. That will be an exciting day. After 60 some years, that’s a pretty big step.”
Heath is working on finalizing the formula and hopes to have it up and running by the end of this summer.
Every day ware
Whatever other upcoming changes Heath Ceramics takes, the future looks bright. As consumer focus has shifted more and more over recent years on shopping locally with an eye to quality and durability, companies such as Heath are well positioned to capitalize on the trend.
“That [commitment to quality] comes through in the product and that comes home with the customer,” says Petravic. “Then you don’t just have something that came in a box off the shelf in a store. You’ve had this experience with the factory and the people that have made that product. Dinnerware, for example, is something that’s part of your day, every day, for the next 40 years, one hopes. That’s a long time to develop that kind of familiarity. It’s something that becomes a little part of your day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
Nichibei Potters
Cheryl Costantini and Mikio Matsumoto of Nichibei Potters in Sebastopol started their business in 1985 after Cheryl returned from studying pottery in Japan for six years. This husband-and-wife team now sells to galleries, high-end craft shops and many museum stores including the Boston Museum of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Art Gallery, the Frank Lloyd Wright Studio Foundation, the de Young and the Legion of Honor. In addition, after 30 years in business, they have a loyal following of direct customers.
Like Heath, Nichibei Potters has seen more of a shift to retail in their business.
“We sell both wholesale and retail,” explains Costantini. “These days, the split is about 30 percent wholesale and 70 percent retail, though there was a time when those numbers were switched. Being a small business, we survive because we have low overhead and can quickly adjust to changes in the economy. We make what people want to buy and, at the same time, we make what we want to make—you have to be true to yourself and your vision.”
It’s been this commitment to their customers while staying dedicated to their unique, high-quality, hand-thrown work that has let the company compete against the influx of cheap, mass-produced goods on the market for the last three decades.
“People are smart. They know the difference,” says Costantini. “Things made by human hands resonate a certain something, and there are many people who want that feeling to be part of their lives, and they are willing, even happy, to pay for it. They know the value of handmade things and, moreover, when they incorporate handmade things into life, they feel the difference.”
Viking Pottery
Santa Rosa-based Viking Pottery, founded almost 40 years ago by Harald Eric Nordvold, has developed a loyal customer base over the years and currently sells to select galleries and shops in Sonoma and Mendocino counties and direct to customers throughout the Bay Area through art fairs, shows and direct from his studio. What his customers all share in common, though, is an appreciation of the uniqueness of a handcrafted product.
“In the ’80s and early ’90s, I had a large wholesale business in the Bay Area, with outlets across the nation, but wholesale marketing became more and more difficult over time with the changes in the economy and the proliferation of goods,” explains Nordvold. “My business has evolved from primarily wholesale to retail in response, and I’ve found places where I can sell my work directly to the public. The increasing costs of materials, fuel and fees to enter shows and fairs have all had an impact.”
Being a sole proprietorship, Viking Pottery has been able to adapt quickly to changing market demands to stay competitive—a benefit of selling and interacting directly with customers. Over the years, the business has experimented and changed, combinations of clay and glazes, as well as created different shapes and types of pieces in response to what customers respond to and like, and to appeal to different tastes. Sometimes it may come down to simply making a piece in a different size, shape or color combination to adjust to shifting trends.
“I make a lot of mugs, for example, and in recent years, I’ve made them larger in response to customer feedback,” he says. Appealing directly to what customers want has also let Viking Pottery set itself apart—especially in competing with the plethora of mass-produced items on the market.
“I no longer make dinnerware, such as plate sets, which I did make at one time,” says Nordvold. “I’ve focused on developing items that aren’t available or easy to find commercially. I developed a line of ‘pinholder vases’ that no one else was making at the time, and they’ve become a trademark item. The glazes I make are nothing like what’s commercially available. I use as many as 40 different glazes, which I’ve developed myself, that make my work unique. And I make themed items with designs and symbols that have special meaning to people, such as my yoga, Viking and nature-inspired plates and plaques.”
Calistoga Pottery
Calistoga Pottery, started by Sally and Jeff Manfredi, who left jobs in the restaurant industry to pursue their passion for making pottery, was started almost 35 years ago with an initial order for cioppino bowls from the original Scott’s seafood restaurant. Their ties to the restaurant industry helped them establish their niche, and they continue to make utilitarian stoneware for local restaurants and inns, as well as direct to customers. Today, about half their production is for local restaurants and wineries who appreciate the possibility of using unique serving pieces and sourcing things locally, such as the Calistoga Inn, JoLe, Terra, Bosko’s, and Rosso restaurants, Dry Creek Vineyards, Robert Mondavi, Silverado Vineyards and Ravenswood, to name just a few.
“We’ve been making restaurant ware for Michael Chiarello for about 25 years,” says Sally, “first at Tra Vigne, then Napa Style, Bottega and recently at Coquetta, his new Spanish restaurant on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. He was the first to embrace the ‘source locally’ ethic, and some of the chefs he trained have ordered our pottery for their new restaurants in Philadelphia, Telluride and Tahoe.”
The placement of their products at local establishments has helped their customer-direct business as well, as people who are actually using the pieces inquire about the pottery. After 35 years, they’ve developed a loyal client base and the business has, for the most part, continued to use several basic glazes, letting customers add matching pieces to their collection.
While Calistoga Pottery has worked direct with customers and local establishments on custom orders or to meet a specific need, such as special fish stew bowls or its current project, fermentation crocks, the husband-wife team has remained true to their own unique style.
“We decided long ago to build upon our own shapes and glazes instead of trying to follow trends,” says Manfredi. “We don’t please everyone but we have established a loyal client base of people who like our work. We often try new shapes in response to a need expressed by a chef or a customer.”
