January is sale month at Cranberry Pottery, and those who collect its functional rustic stoneware are hurrying in to pick up bargains and completer pieces for treasured sets of dinnerware. Launched by Carol Bieber in Powell River’s Cranberry village in 1974, it has grown into the largest and oldest pottery in BC. Prices are very reasonable to begin with; with very little markup on the product, the pottery offers markdowns only once a year.
The operation started as “a hole in the wall,” in a tiny cramped space. In 1984 it grew into an adjacent office and through many incarnations gradually spread into the whole of the building it now occupies. Space is still at a premium, and utilized carefully. In the pottery (which can be seen in full operation behind the desk as a staff member/owner wraps your purchase) shelves of drying greenware await the kilns; other shelves of fired bisqueware are lined up to receive various glazing treatments. Lin Morrison explains that “Cranberry Pottery’s forte is our overglaze decoration – that’s what makes our designs unique.”
Unique, and with an almost Oriental simplicity that is timeless: at once rustic and cosmopolitan, earthy and chic.
And their popularity has endured and increased over the decades. After a quarter-century, Cranberry Pottery’s Blue Leaf pattern is still selling – but the more recent Grass Iris, Cranberry and upstart Blackberry have become their “signature” designs. Created originally as a salute to its annual weeklong namesake Festival, Blackberry is a year-round winner that speaks of sun-warmed, sweetly musky fruits and kitchens redolent with the scent of fresh-baked pies and jam waiting for its wax seal. In addition to these four main patterns, the pottery also produces a limited number of items in “special” patterns: Tulip, Crocus, Bouquet, Grape, and Thistle.
Each line is extensive, all are open stock, and because of their enduring quality pieces may be added over the years.
Visitors to the area often like to pick up a “made in Powell River” piece as a unique souvenir or gift – then they, or the gift’s recipient, or a houseguest who has coveted the item, begin an ongoing correspondence to acquire more pieces by mail-order. “We’ve had incredible success in shipping,” Morrison explained. “By the time you double-bubble wrap the items, you have a package that is very secure and actually very light.”
|
Although Christmas is a busy time, August is “hot” in more ways than one. With all windows and doors open to the gardens to vent the kiln-warmed workspace, the pottery swarms with visitors. Occasionally a busload of tourists will pull up for a pre-arranged tour. Usually, however, tours are informal and unstructured (and depend on both the availability of staff and the stage of production on the floor — when kilns are being unloaded, it’s not a prudent time to have visitors passing through the pottery!) Still, “we try to make it as open as possible to people,” Morrison says.
Outside is as important a part of the pottery as the inside. Now largely retired, Carol Bieber is still involved with the operation as she designs and maintains the adjacent garden, where visitors are welcome to stroll and relax.
Busy as they are, Cranberry Pottery staff take time to support the community that has supported them for three and a half decades through a number of quiet donations and untrumpeted gifts. Most recently, they sponsored one of the trees for the Powell River Association for Community Living’s annual Festival of Trees fundraiser and auction.
If you’re a resident or visiting for one of Powell River’s many festivals (the Film Festival in February, for example, or the biannual International Choral Kathaulmixw Festival this summer) be sure to take a side trip to Cranberry village and check out the shelves at Cranberry Pottery.
Cranberry Pottery, 6729 Cranberry St., Powell River
Open Monday – Saturday, 9 – 5.30
www.cranberrypottery.bc.ca
|
