Housekeeping Details

Here are some easy tips for caring for brass and clay pieces from East Fork.

Reflections on East Fork’s Origins

East Fork is rooted firmly, joyfully, intentionally in Western North Carolina. It’s in the name of the company: the east fork of Bull Creek flows near the old Madison County farm where Alex started making and selling pottery in 2009.

The Dish, Episode #1

Watch our first episode of The Dish, an inaugural talk of what will become an ongoing quarterly update from East Fork’s  Founders on what it takes to run a manufacturing business with integrity. 

2020 Fall Preview

Our newest glazes Panna Cotta and Amaro are coming mid-September, but we have more than that up our sleeves for the rest of the year. Stay tuned...

What's a Second?

What's a Second? A pot with cosmetic blemishes of many types can be labeled as a second. We're here to show you what a seconds pot might look like when it arrives at your doorstep.

How We Mark Test Pots

Ever flip over your pot to find a teeny, tiny piece of cutlery stamped on the bottom? What’s that all about? We're here to clear that up.

Clay Buddies: Nicole Lissenden

Nicole is East Fork’s Art Director. That means she is in charge of making our digital and print materials look and feel great! Learn about her involvement in the early days of East Fork, her printing presses, her wonderful and creative kids, and of course, her five favorite things.

Clay Buddies: JaQuan LaPierre

JaQuan is East Fork’s Roller Tool Lead. We talked about why he is proud to call himself a member of East Fork’s team, how he gets into ‘the zone’ at work, and his absolute favorite thing—his family.

Clay Buddies: Britta Baker

Britta Baker is on East Fork’s fulfillment team. You can thank her personally for packing up your pottery and sending it to your door with so much love and care. Read below about distant memories of Syria, her tiny home project, and her mead making hobby.

Clay Buddies: Molly Webb

Meet Molly Webb, the manager of our Atlanta store. As a lover of art, design and all things fashion, Molly helps complete our look in Atlanta. Read below about her past life as a founder of the Spin Style Agency, her thoughts on fashion in golf, and of course, her five favorite things.

East Fork: A History

What is Forecasting?

At its most basic, forecasting means using historical data and educated assumptions to predict a future state. At East Fork, we use historic sales to determine our typical % of Revenue is for each of our forms and glazes.  If that's not enough to get you to click in and keep reading then we can't help you...

Clay Buddies: Devin McMillen

Questions, Answered!

Hey folks! I asked our Instagram followers if there are any burning-business related questions folks had.

Clay Buddies: Emilja Tokarski

Emilja is in charge of producing the thing you all go crazy for—THE MUG! Keep reading to learn about our awesome “mug operations lead”—from her journey at East Fork to her thoughts on different kinds of motorcycles.

Clay Buddies: Daryl Nathanson

Meet Daryl, fulfillment manager by day and talented musician by night. Here's a bit about him, and why we're so glad he's a part of our team.

Between Two Bowls

Wild news, y’all. You can eat breakfast in the Ice Cream Bowl and ice cream in the Breakfast Bowl.

10 Years Ago on Ras Grooms Road

"We contemplated the cosmic absurdity that two people from such different worlds would find themselves together in this little clearing in the woods, listening to the wind and snow. We were alone in a strange dreamscape, and life felt new and wild and sweet and full of possibility."

Holiday Shipping Deadline

The last day to get your orders in is Friday, December 13th at 5pm EST.

A Friendly Holiday Shopping Season Reminder

Ah, the holidays. A time to gather together with friends and family.  A time to give thanks. A time to give gifts. And a time—as evidence shows—when depression, anxiety, and misdirected anger are at their peak.

Quality at East Fork

In the early days, there were no set standards for quality, no SOP’s, and no QC position. The quality and price of a pot was based solely on the maker's own intuitive judgment.

A (Heartfelt) Financial Report from CFO John Vigeland

"We’re a pretty good microcosm of the middle of the US Economy more broadly (no flashy silicon valley salaries, a $15 minimum wage company-wide)."

The Geami

My Chemical Romance: Glazing 101 with Kyle Crowder

The Wheel

An Interview with Amanda Hollomon-Cook: Small Batch Studio Manager

A conversation about art and design with Amanda-Hollomon Cook— artist, potter, and director of East Fork's newest department.

Freckles

Hand Tools

Color Combos

Acid Tests

The Mug

Bowl Maker & Mug Shaper: The Jigger

When making vessels with a lot of depth, we turn to our trusty old hand machine, The Jigger. If you've got a hankering for some process content, pull up a chair. 

A Feast Fit for Kings

Thank you so much to all who came to our first pottery dinner last weekend! Alex and I had such an amazing time getting to chat, eat and drink with all of you.

What is This Ancient Mud?

Clay is abundant, cheap and adaptable. But, what really makes this mud so magical?

Get Geeky with Us: How We Make The Mug

In neat little steps, with helpful little pictures, we show you how we make The Mug.

Acid Tests

Rigorous testing ensures your plates and bowls won't corrode, no matter what acidic contents they hold.

Clay Buddies: Kirby Wolf

Our lovely Kirby, store Manager of the Lexington shop, talks about her five favorite objects which include a jar of seashells and an analog camera. 

A Guide to Combining Glazes

Decision fatigue? A visual guide to mixing and matching our glazes.

The Cost is Clear: A Break-Down of East Fork's Marketing Cosmos

A big dig into the stratta of our scrappy little Marketing department. Because, communication is everything in a relationship.

Clay Buddies: Julia True

Dive into our jigger team gal Julia's five favorite things— one of them is Nicolas Cage underwear. 

East Fork Off-Duty

Special works from the artists and craftspeople of East Fork, on display and for purchase at East Fork Off-Duty.

Clay Buddies: Annie Bourgeois

"I found these boots at a thrift store about 10 years ago and the longer I've owned them, the more I wear them. I've had to re-sole them 3 times and probably coming up to needing a 4th time here pretty soon. Every time they come back from the cobbler they look so nice and shiny, but secretly, the dustier they are, the happier they make me."

Clay Buddies: Cierra Bateman

Meet Cierra, Lady of the Jigger. We sat down with her for our Clay Buddies series to talk about her five favorite things. Read on about her rad hand-made journals!

Clay Buddies: Jo's Five Things

A very exciting Clay Buddies interview with our Executive Coordinator Jo!

Clay Buddies: Max's Five Things

Meet Max, East Fork potter, crayon pot drawer, Asheville store window illustrator, and resident workshop joke maker. 

Clay Buddies: Sarah's Five Things

Clay Buddies: Dan's Five Things

First up is Dan Segal, East Fork's facilities manager.

Potter From Dacula

An eager learner from the start, Amanda approached her apprenticeship with fierce concentration, taking a holistic approach to the study of clay and quickly developing the hand skills needed for throwing production pottery.

Clay Buddies: John's 5 Things

Pottery has this lovely capacity to accumulate meaning as they move through time. They can bear witness to important events or be part of emotional transactions - they absorb all sorts of meaning from the circumstances they pass through, dark and light, and it’s potent stuff!

Clay Buddies: Thomas's Five Things

For this month's Clay Buddies, our meet-the-family journal series of employee profiles, meet Thomas: East Fork bookkeeper, number-cruncher, smiler, and all-around calming presence.  Below, he shares five of his most precious possessions to let us peek into his inner world.