East Fork Pottery
Earthy ceramics from the mountains of North Carolina
by Team AGNPCooking at home—along with entertaining guests—is among my favorite outlets for creativity. I love digging through my favorite cookbooks and scouring the web for new recipes, but my old standby dishes—the ones that are memorized in broad strokes—are just as exciting, because knowing the foundation of a recipe provides freedom to riff and play with ingredients and flavors. And the place where my creativity takes center stage is on the dinner table itself: choosing the perfect platters and dishes for serving the meal, all from the arsenal of goods I’ve developed over the years.
East Fork Pottery was established in Asheville, North Carolina in 2010, by three co-founders—one of whom is the great-grandson of the creative master himself, Henri Matisse. The brand’s catalogue of plates, bowls, and saucers has been growing since, joining the ranks of other favorite modern ceramicists (at the top of my list are MM Clay, Jono Pandolfi, and Humble Ceramics).
The East Fork aesthetic is minimalist, focusing on simple, classic shapes in a range of muted colors with names like Morel, Malt, Soapstone, and Eggshell. The edges of the pieces are left unglazed, creating a dark, natural clay-colored outline and signature look that is distinctive to the brand. The result is a range of ceramics that look incredible together, regardless of size, use, or color (peep their Instagram to see what I mean).
I’ve long been a sucker for any dishware that has heft to it. Chunky, textured ceramics that I encounter on my travels usually find their way into my standard rotation at home. And when I travel to Asheville, I know some dishes from East Fork will be coming home with me.
