Rookwood Pottery

We stumbled upon this place by accident. We went to the retail store on Vine St and the shopkeeper recommended that we go to the factory. We weren’t able to take a tour. They do have tours at 10:30 on Wednesdays. We went in and talked to someone in Quality Control who explained that the application of glazes makes a big difference in the final product. We also spoke to Jim, the glaze guy. I can only describe him as a mad scientist hippie. Really passionate and enthusiastic guy. I admire people who love their work that you can outwardly tell and they want to share it with you. People who love their jobs are so few these days. We were there for a good 45 minutes talking glazes. I would like to see the tour if we make it back. It’s always neat to see artist’s at work. They also have a gift shop with tiles, beer steins and other items. The work is beautiful and I haven’t seen anything like it.

This Cincinnati Classic has come back to life and started to procure high end pottery right here in Cincinnati. Their pottery from the past can be seen in museums for the colors, style and portraits, and now we can actually own our very own pieces. This little shop in OTR is a beautiful showcase of everything from beer steins to coasters to vases, Christmas ornaments and of course tiles. The tiles come in every pattern you could want, matched in all the glazes they carry. Even if you don’t want to spend $ 75 for one tile, it’s well worth just stopping in and seeing a Cincinnati Legend and dream.

Even if you are not into pottery, every Cincinnatian should visit this place at least once.
The Rookwood Pottery Company was started by Maria Longworth and she was not only the founder but the first female international entrepreneur in the United States. If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is!
They have everything from beer steins, to tiles, coasters, to really intricate artistic pieces. The staff here is passionate and excited about the history and products on the company. They also have free tours of the factory and studio where they create all of the pieces on Wednesdays at 10:30am.
Check them out and pay homage to this incredibly historic business in our city!

Surprised I’m the first to review this place…
Anyways, if you have never heard of Rookwood Pottery, take a minute and read about it here:
or just google it.
So, you want to own a piece of Cincinnati artistry? Step up and feast your eyes on shelf after shelf of handmade excellence. My favs were the beer steins and the triptychs of Cincinnati landmarks.
There are pieces that reflect the history of our great city and more general pieces as well. The prices might seem steep but remember these were made right down the road* in the good ‘ol USA and you are helping to keep the dream of artists alive and kicking. The pottery is high quality and will last, i.e. you’ll be handing these down to your grandkids (whether they like it or not!!!).
Oh, and from what I’ve gathered from the nice guy working there, every Second Saturday they have a wine/​beer and snacks for customers. Nice treat!
*Wanna tour the factory/​surdio? Free tours on Wednesdays at 10:30am Call 513.381.2510 for more info.

Even if you are not the artsy-​fartsy type, this is a can’t miss. Full of interesting Cincy history and amazing pottery, Rookwood is an icon. We have a Christmas tradition where each year, our kids pick out a Rookwood ornament for the tree. Someday, our tree will be all Rookwood ornaments! What put you into bankruptcy? Overextending yourself on real estate you say… Me? Oh… Christmas ornaments. If you go, make sure you meet up with Jim the glaze guy from Oregon. Super energetic and fun, if he can’t get you excited about pottery then just walk out the door and head straight for the monster truck show. Their new retail shop in the parking lot at 12^th and Vine is such a nice addition and makes shopping for Rookwood so much more convenient.

A Cincinnati story that is over 100 years old — the new location on Race Street is beginning the next chapter. While now limited in selection, Rookwood still offers custom architectural installations and a selection of figurines, ornaments and gifts.
I do think they could expand where they sell their products… for example, selling at the Cincinnati Zoo seems logical for all of the animal figurines and bird tiles. Most people are unaware of the downtown location, and it’s quite inconspicuous (in an old food distribution building).

The rookwood has a long history, and after taking a tour, its understandable why they have such a high place in the pottery scene. They actually craft the trophies that are awarded at the Cincinnati Tennis Open, Beautiful pieces, including steins, tiles, and ornaments, so check out their website and be on the lookout for pieces all over the place.

I have never been a fan of pottery, but I do have a new appreciation for these artists. Here I was thinking i was going to see a run of the mill factory, but turns out this is almost a completely hands on operation.
Beth and I got tickets to a tour of Rookwood Pottery and a tasting of Findlay Market. More on the tour later, this is about Rookwood Pottery.
Rookwood Pottery just shows you how a small business that has deep roots in a city always comes home. Rookwood Pottery stated off in 1880. They have been pulling in artists from around the world since the beginning to give new looks, glazes, process techniques, etc. They moved to MI in 1959, and came back to cincy in 2004. Has gone through a few hands, but the current owners purchased the rights to the name, and original molds, glaze recipes, etc. So you can purchase new pottery that looks like the stuff from the 1800’s to current state. That was pretty cool.
We started off in the Glaze area, Jeff described the different colors how different kilns and clay mixture can make the glaze have different colors and patterns. He also showed up some of the new colors for 2012 that he came up with. It was nice to see that they have one person solely dedicated to creating new colors and designs. Talk about amazing work.
Next we walked over to the new kilns, they have both gas and electric. According to Jeff gas and electric heat differently, so the colors and cooking temp of the clay are different. He went into detail about when they use which kilns depending on what effect they are looking for. Very cool, but all i could think of was how fast can you cook a pizza in there.
We walked over to the press station, this is the one process that a machine is used to create the pottery. So basically an artist makes a sample piece, they use that piece to make a rubber mold. The rubber mold is what they call an archive cause its what they used to make plaster molds for the press. The plaster molds are what are actually used in the press. An artist mix’s the clay, put a certain amount on the press, press;s a button, the press comes down, smashing the clay into the creaves of the plaster mold. The press comes up, An artist removed the new piece. Then they carve it by hand and finish up the process with the kiln, glaze, etc.
The show room has a nice demo of different tiles, colors, vases, etc. Some items were made from the original molds from back in the early 1900’s but using new colors. They don’t fake date anything so it might look like an original piece, but you got to look at the bottom to the date to know when it was made. They do custom pieces as well, when we were there they showed up sample pieces from a hotel in Chicago that they are doing, as well as some mugs for a new restaurant opening in Cincy. While we were only allowed on the first floor, we were told on the second floor they are making equipment to be able to produce full wall murals, either hand carved or stamped. The third floor is where they have there pottery wheels and where the artists can let there creative juices flowing.