If you love mid-century design and decor but are on a budget, check out some of the cool vintage pottery made in California. You will be pleasantly suprised at the selection and affordability.

Seriously, if you dig mid-century pottery but can't afford German or Italian-made pieces, check out the amazing selection available that were made by California potteries operating in the 1940's and 1950's. Sure, the quality isn't as great as the Italian and German, and many of the designs were borrowed from other makers, but nice pieces can be had on the cheap. We have this vase and matching bowl available for under $50. They were made by the Vee Jackson Pottery of San Gabriel and then Pasedena, California.

Available for purchase here

Why did ceramics and pottery manufacturers proliferate in California during the 20th century? Was it the climate, or the fact that so many people were there or headed to California anyway?Actually, it's several factors combined that resulted in more than 1,000 pottery companies setting up shop from San Diego to north of San Francisco. Among the possible reasons for California becoming a hotbed of pottery production:

• California has always attracted talented and ambitious artists and entrepreneurs
• The Panama-California International Exposition in San Diego in 1915 introduced Spanish-Moorish -style buildings and tile with geometric designs that were copied by existing and new potteries throughout California.
• In addition to European ethnic influences, California ceramists was influenced by Asian and Mexican art, design and culture, which was almost exclusive to California during that period. This resulted in inspired shapes and bright, beautiful colors never before seen in American pottery.
• The clay soil and talc from places like Death Valley and Alberhill in Riverside County provided abundant natural resources perfect for producing ceramics and pottery.

Like many industries, pottery companies established their roots in California. Many flourished, while others barely managed to stay afloat for a couple of years. At the beginning of the 20th century, several of the ceramic studios were n the more-established San Francisco area. But as Los Angeles drew attention worldwide for its sunny climate and booming movie industry, more pottery manufacturers flocked to Southern California. For natives, a glance through this list reveals pottery companies in nearly every Southern California suburb established before 1940.
Production of table, gift and art ware actually increased in California during World War II, as small studios popped up to fulfill the needs of an industry that cut off imported goods from Europe and Asia. It was after the war that many of the smaller studios had to close their doors, especially when import embargos were lifted. (Courtesy about.com)

A website we use all the time to help identify suspected California-made pottery is http://www.calpotteries.com . It lists hundreds of potteries and even give a bit of info on each one. Many on the list also include examples of the companies work. This is an information only no values.

Here is how Potteries of California describe their website.

Potteries of California is a personal fan site, blog and photo archive for California Pottery. We hope that it will eventually also function as a meeting and discussion place for other fans and collectors. In addition, we will attempt to organize the site so that it will function as a limited reference guide.
We would like to stress that we have only been “collecting” for a very short time compared to many. There is a very good chance that you have a much more impressive collection of vintage pottery made in California. So what led us to consider working on this site?
Well, we are avid thrift store and flea market shoppers. In the past, we had mostly looked for Pyrex and other kitchen glassware. But recently we’ve become enamored of pottery and ceramics - specifically those colorful wares made during the mid-century pottery boom in California. And since we’ve lived most of our lives in Southern California, it’s rather fun to research this type of pottery because it was actually produced here. Some of the original company plants and potteries still stand today.
What we have found is that there were literally HUNDREDS (some say thousands) of different potteries in California. While there are some really excellent books out there, it’s nearly impossible for them to talk about ALL the lesser known potteries (although Jack Chipman’s books do cover many of them). Some of the smaller ones are given only 2-3 lines of text and 1 picture (if at all). It’s just not feasible with the limited space of a hardbound book.
So, that is going to be the main focus of the site. We’ll try and discuss and share pictures and information about those lesser known (or even unknown) Potteries of California. It’s going to be a sort of fun “trial and error” type of discovery, since the information on these smaller makers is so limited.
Athough some discussion of the bigger names (Bauer, Catalina, Metlox, Vernon, Franciscan, Pacific, Schoop, etc.) is inevitable, we won’t spend as much time trying to catalog everything - that’s already been done in other books. Please don’t be offended if your favorite pottery company is not listed on the site yet - if you’d really like it to be, then we could use some help writing some original text (not copied from a book) about the company that you collect. (all photos courtesy calpotteries)


California pottery is fun to collect and search for at thrift stores, flea markets and second hand stores. Like anything, condition and rarity are what matters. Save your money and buy a perfect piece rather than buying damaged stuff because it is less expensive. You will be much happier in the long run.