Cape Cod Potters

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 High Pointe Inn 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.

1. Barn Hill Pottery, 46 Barn Hill Road, West Chatham, MA 02669; 508-945-1027
2. Barnstable Pottery, 3267 Main Street, Barnstable, MA 02630; 508-362-1113
3. Blueberry Lane Pottery, 2 Blueberry Lane, Truro, MA 02666; 508-246-5455
4. Newbury Pottery, 34 Albatross St., Woods Hole, MA 02543; 508-548-1428
5. The Soft Earth, Juniper Point, Woods Hole, MA 02453; 508-540-5237
6. Flying Pig Pottery, 410 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543; 508-548-7482
7. R. Geering Pottery, 246 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA 02540; 508-457-0841
8. Hatchville Pottery, 494 Boxberry Hill Road, East Falmouth, MA 02536; 508-563-1948
9. Ron Dean Pottery, 1000 Osterville-West Barnstable Road, Marstons Mills, MA 02648; 508-428-6085
10. Mill Stone Pottery, 766 Route 6A, Dennis, MA 02638; 508-385-4214
11. Harry Holl & Scargo Potters, 30 Dr. Lord’s Road, Dennis, MA 02638; 508-385-3894
12. Eden Hand Arts, Route 6A and Sesuit Neck Rd., Dennis, MA 02638; 508-385-9708
13. Star Pottery, 451 Stony Brook Road, Brewster, MA 02631; 508-385-2970
14. Heart Pottery, 1145 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631; 508-896-6189
15. Parsons Art Gallery, 2109 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631; 508-896-9014
16. Kreeger Pottery, 586 Route 28, Harwich Port, MA 02646; 508-432-6398
17. Clayworks, 3820 Main Street, East Brewster, MA 02631; 508-255-4937
18. Sea Shell Pottery, 95 West Road, Orleans, MA 02653; 508-255-7138
19. Kemp Pottery, Route 6A, Orleans, MA 02653; 508-255-5853
20. Narrow Land Pottery, 2603 Route 6, Wellfleet, MA 02667; 508-349-6308
21. Andre Pottery Studio, 5 Commercial Street, Wellfleet, MA 02667; 508-349-2299
22. Sea Crest Studio, 54 Old Kings Highway, Truro, MA 02666; 508-349-6688