Traveling around northeast Georgia has given me the opportunity to meet some very interesting artists, crafters, and other individuals who work with their hands. One of those artists is Mike Craven of Craven Family Pottery. Interesting is an ideal word to describe Mike and I am fortunate to call him my friend. Mike custom designs and makes soap dishes, lotion candle containers, and shaving pots for Crescent Mountain Soap! I love Mike’s folk style of pottery making. Even though all the products are produced the same way, no two pieces are identical. After you finish using your lotion candle or shaving pot, you’ll have a beautiful, original piece of Mike Craven pottery to use in your home.
I thought that you’d might like to learn a little more about Craven Family Pottery.
Craven Family Pottery was established in Gillsville, GA in 2007 by Mike Craven and his son Jason. However, the Craven family has a long history of pottery making - nearly 300 years! Mike is a 9th generation Craven potter and Jason is a 10th generation Craven potter.
The Craven’s can trace their pottery roots all the way back to the early 1700s when Peter Craven immigrated to the United States from England. He settled in New Jersey, moved to Virginia, and finally settled in North Carolina. Peter’s descendants spread out over the southeast and midwest. One of these descendants is credited with opening the first pottery shop in the Atlanta area. In 1825, Peter’s great grandson, John V. Craven, moved to an area that is now White county. John had 5 sons, one of which was Isaac Henry and he had 8 sons! Isaac’s seventh son, Jessie Morris moved to Gillsville. And Jessie’s great grandson is Mike Craven!
Mike is probably one of the most prolific potters of the Craven family. He has produced over 1.3 million pieces of pottery and it is estimated that he has used 8 million pounds of clay! However these days he has slowed down some.
Would you like to visit Craven Family Pottery? Well mark your calendar for the grand reopening of the Craven Family Pottery Studio on Saturday, September 8, 2018, beginning at 9:00 am. They will have deals on older stock pottery and door prizes! The Craven’s have been working hard to remodel their studio and I’ve had a sneak peek! It looks amazing!
Also mark your calendar for the 12th Annual October Pottery Festival held at Craven Family Pottery. Crescent Mountain Soap and other vendors will also be there. Hours are 9:30 am - 4:00 pm. Hope to see you there!
You can visit the Craven Family Pottery web page at www.cravenfamilypottery.com and their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cravenfamilypottery.