The Potter's Path

People often ask where the name LoLo Pottery came from—and the answer is simple: LoLo is my nickname, given to me by my best friend, Lucy, who goes by LuLu. Because Lucy was the one who started me on this path, I felt it was the perfect way to honor her by giving my business the name

 LoLo Pottery.

In the late '90s, Lucy and I were both working in education—she was a school guidance counselor, and I was a teacher. At the time, we lived in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and started taking Tuesday night pottery classes at a local studio. What began as a fun weekly outing quickly became a cherished part of our lives. We kept signing up for one class after another, mostly so we could keep using the studio’s kiln and glaze materials. Eventually, I got a wheel for home, and I’d bring my pieces to class to glaze and fire. The hobby was slowly turning into something more.

In 2009, I moved back to my hometown of Clemson, South Carolina. I took a class or two locally but couldn’t quite find the same rhythm I had in Florida. I wasn’t making pottery at all—until one day, my sister-in-law called from Texas, heartbroken after dropping and breaking her favorite berry bowl, one I had made. She insisted I make her a new one, and that request quietly nudged me back into clay.

I needed somewhere to fire her replacement, so I called up an old neighbor and friend, George. He had been my neighbor when I was growing up—I babysat his children—and later, in college, I worked in his restaurants. When I moved back to Clemson, I became his neighbor once again. Interestingly, we’d both gotten into pottery around the same time—me in Florida, him in Clemson. George invited me to use his studio, and once he saw I could really throw pots, we began working side by side. I fired my work in his kiln, assisted him in the studio, and learned how to mix glazes and load kilns. For a couple of years, that studio became my classroom. One day, George looked at me and said, “You can do this on your own.” So I did.

In 2012, I bought my first kiln, started mixing my own glazes, and officially named my business LoLo Pottery. For the next several years, I continued teaching school and made pots on the side. I sold work off hand-built shelves in my garage to anyone who stopped by.

Then, in 2016, after remarrying and moving to Gray Court, South Carolina, my husband built me a backyard studio. I grew my client base, started doing shows, and eventually, in 2021, we expanded the space to include a full showroom. That’s when everything truly took off. For the first time, I had space to make and display pottery for sale, not just by order.

Today in 2025, I have over 2,000 followers on Facebook, a growing base of repeat customers, and a thriving studio. Every day, I’m grateful to be doing what I love most: making pottery that’s both beautiful and useful, shaped by hand and fired by heart.