The unique story of Motown's Pewabic Pottery

Pewabic's home was designed in 1907 to look like an old English inn, though the inside is anything but dark and dreary. It is a purpose-built manufactory that has been expanded twice, the last time in 2018. Today, around 50 employees work there. The building is big enough to hold the pottery, the administration team, education department and a large retail store open to the public.

Pewabic Pottery was founded by artist Mary Chase Perry and kiln specialist Horace Caulkins in Detroit in 1903, the same year as the Ford Motor Company. The word "Pewabic" comes from the name of a copper mine near Perry's Michigan birthplace. The term is said to originally come from the Chippewa — or Ojibwa — language and means either "metal" or more specifically "iron."

From the very start, Pewabic worked with designers to create unique tile designs for private homes, churches and public buildings. Today, a trip around Detroit will reveal many colorful examples. In a testament to its artistic merit, the Detroit Institute of Arts incorporated a number of architectural features from drinking fountains and display cases to floor medallions that use Pewabic tiles.

At Pewabic they strive to stay true to their beginnings, and this can be seen in their clay mixing process, which hasn't changed much in a century. They still use the same belt-driven clay mixer and filter press (seen here) from 1912. Getting the right consistency takes time and a lot of experience. It is a labor-intensive job, but clay is the cornerstone for all their other work.

Pewabic is known for its luminous, metallic glazes, something that founder Mary Chase Perry spent years perfecting. Today, they usually use around 70 different glazes … but have a catalog of around 600 to choose from. Glazes are applied after items have been bisque-fired. Glazes can be applied by hand, dipping, pouring or spraying. After glazing, each piece must be fired a second time.

Pewabic always focused on individual handcrafted products instead of mass production. This makes each piece unique. Two of the same vases glazed in the same way at the same time can come out of the kiln looking quite different. A single vase can look different on each side. Co-founder Mary Chase Perry called this "painting with fire" … something she did well into her 90s before dying in 1961.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the pottery to close for a while but gave it time to build up its online presence and work on its online shop. The lockdown also brought wider awareness through virtual history talks that focused attention on monumental projects like the Pewabic Pottery tiles integrated into Detroit's Guardian Building (seen here) or other grand architectural designs using their tiles.

Most Pewabic Pottery employees have a background in the arts, which is helpful since so many creative choices have to be made. Though it takes a whole team to make every object, at each stage individual craftspeople work autonomously at their own pace at their workstations. Making it all come together on time is a logistical feat. Many customers also want to actively support local Detroit workers.

All Pewabic Pottery tiles are pressed in molds by hand with the help of presses and mallets. The company has a library of over 500 molds that they can choose from. All the molds are made onsite and stored in long racks. Some of the designs are historical, but a number of them are references to Detroit or local institutions. The pottery will also make custom designs for special occasions.

Now a nonprofit, Pewabic Pottery is flourishing from big civic projects and a renewed interest in the Arts and Crafts movement, an idea that promotes handcraftsmanship over industrial mass production. When the pottery was founded, most potters couldn't make a living from their work in clay. The same is true today. But somehow Pewabic has found the secret recipe to keep themselves in business.