The Owens family talk about the history of Jugtown Pottery

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Vernon, Pam, and Travis Owens. They run the Jugtown Pottery just outside of Seagrove, NC. Jugtown's history stretches back to 1917 when the founders Jacques and Juliana Busbee started buying pots from local North Carolina potters to sell in their tea room in Greenwich Village, NYC. Although Jugtown has gone through many transitions in it's nine decade history the Owens family has been a main stay for much of its development. Vernon started working at Jugtown in 1960, for then owner John Mare, and has been working there ever since. The PBS series Craft in America has a wonderful feature on the history of Jugtown including a series of video's with Pam, Vernon, and Travis. Click here to watch Travis talk about learning to make pots when he was a young child.

In our interview we talk about the Busbee style, the stewardship of the nonprofit Crossroads Inc., and the evolving nature of tradition. To see examples of the Jugtown pottery please visit www.jugtownware.com.