Seagrove, North Carolina · Est. 1895
Original
Owens
Pottery
North Carolina's oldest pottery, hand-crafting tradition for five generations since J.H. Owen first fired the kiln.
Est. 1895 · Family Owned · Seagrove, NC
1895
Seagrove, North Carolina · Est. 1895
North Carolina's oldest pottery, hand-crafting tradition for five generations since J.H. Owen first fired the kiln.
Est. 1895 · Family Owned · Seagrove, NC
Our Story
In 1895, James Henry Owen — J.H. Owen — began turning the red clay around Seagrove, North Carolina, and built what would become the oldest continuously operating pottery in the state. Using techniques handed down through generations of Piedmont tradition, he shaped vessels from local clay that were as useful as they were beautiful.
What J.H. Owen built wasn't just a business — it was a philosophy. Every piece thrown on the wheel carries the memory of the hands before it. The Original Owens Pottery has never left the family. Each generation has deepened the craft, added their voice, and passed the torch to the next.
Today, that flame burns as brightly as ever. Visitors who walk through our doors enter a living workshop where tradition is not preserved under glass, but practiced every single day — clay spinning, glazes mixing, kilns firing, just as they have for over 130 years.
We are a family of potters.
A Family History
From a single kiln in Seagrove to potteries across North Carolina — six generations of one family, shaped by clay.
Chapter I
J.H. Owen
The Founder · 1895
Chapter II
M.L. Owens
The Master · ~1918–2003
Chapter III
The Next Generation
Boyd · Nancy · Vernon · Lula
Chapter IV
The Future
Still being written
Meet the Potter
The Most Productive Potter in Seagrove
There is productive, and then there is Nancy Owens Brewer. As the daughter of master potter M.L. Owens and the creative heart of Original Owens Pottery, Nancy has earned a distinction that speaks for itself: she is widely recognized as the most prolific potter in the entire Seagrove area — a region legendary for its pottery talent.
Year after year, Nancy throws thousands of pieces by hand. Mugs for morning coffee. Plates for family dinners. Tumblers, vases, pitchers, and the beloved Owens piggy banks that have delighted generations of collectors. Each piece is shaped on the wheel with the same deliberate care her grandfather J.H. Owen brought to the craft in 1895.
Volume never comes at the expense of quality. Every Nancy Owens Brewer piece is unmistakably hers — marked by skilled hands, a trained eye, and more than a century of family knowledge running through them.
What Nancy Makes
Nancy Owens Brewer's Work
Nancy's range spans every glaze, form, and tradition of the Owens legacy
Shop From Home
Can't make it to Seagrove? Browse and order hand-thrown pieces directly from our Etsy shop — each one made right here at the family pottery.
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Hand-Thrown Pieces
Every item in our shop is thrown on the wheel by hand — no molds, no machines, no shortcuts.
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Ships Nationwide
We carefully pack and ship our pottery so a piece of Seagrove can arrive safely at your door.
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130 Years of Craft
When you buy from us, you're supporting five generations of a family that has never stopped making pottery.
owenspottery.etsy.com
Also Find Us In
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
The Owens family legacy doesn't end in Seagrove. Up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Janet Bolick Calhoun — granddaughter of M.L. Owens and niece of Boyd and Nancy Owens Brewer — carries the tradition forward at Bolick & Traditions Pottery in Blowing Rock.
Established in 1992 alongside her husband Michael Calhoun, Traditions Pottery produces a wide range of handmade tableware, drinkware, and face jugs — all thrown from clay dug right from the ground and fired with self-developed, food-safe glazes. Six generations of the Owen/Owens family, still shaping clay.
If you're visiting the North Carolina mountains, stop in and tell them Seagrove sent you.
Location
1155 Main Street
Blowing Rock, NC 28605
Hours
Mon–Sat: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 12pm – 6pm
Contact
828-295-5099
[email protected]
Annual Event
Wood Kiln Opening
Last Saturday in June
A Family Connection
Janet Bolick Calhoun is the granddaughter of M.L. Owens and the niece of Boyd Owens and Nancy Owens Brewer. She grew up at the wheel — literally starting at age five in the Seagrove shop — before establishing her own pottery in the mountains with husband Michael Calhoun.
What They Make
☕ Mugs & Drinkware
🍽️ Tableware
🫖 Teapots
🎃 Face Jugs
🎄 Seasonal Pieces
🏔️ Mountain-fired Clay
Plan Your Visit
We welcome visitors to the pottery to watch us work, browse our collection, and find a piece to take home. There's nothing quite like watching clay come alive on the wheel.
Seagrove is the pottery capital of the American South — and Original Owens Pottery has been its heart since the very beginning.
Address
3728 Busbee Road
Seagrove, NC 27341
NC Pottery Highway
Phone
What to Expect
Live demonstrations, hand-thrown pieces for sale, and a direct connection to over 130 years of North Carolina pottery history.
Heritage
North Carolina's oldest pottery
Est. 1895 · Five generations of family craft
Specialty
Signature Owen's Red High-Fired Decorative Pottery · Traditional forms · Dinnerware safe for microwave, dishwasher & oven
Get in Touch
Questions about a piece, custom orders, or just want to say hello — we'd love to hear from you.
