In 1948, Edith Heath {1911–2005} founded Heath Ceramics after her solo pottery show at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor. She was a talented ceramicist with a great respect for craft and material, not to mention a strong point of view on the product that her company would make — simple, good things for good people. Edith’s passion for ceramics led to advances in clay and glaze development, which secured Heath its unique place in ceramics history. Her pieces were designed to enjoy a single kiln firing, at a lower than normal temperature, thus saving energy, while remarkably producing a durable and non-porous product. This Great Depression mentality motivated her to design and produced long-lasting products with integrity, in a responsible manner.
On a visit to the Ferry Building in San Francisco, we caught up with Catherine Bailey, who is now at Heath Ceramics’ helm alongside Robin Petravic. Today, they lead Heath Ceramics by incorporating design-led manufacturing principles and believing that responsible business practices lead to long-term business viability. Cathy sets the direction and creative vision as Creative Director—see what eco-chic gems she has to share via her quotes below and the video of our interview together.
– “{Heath Ceramics} creates timeless shapes and forms and this inspired us. It started with Edith Heath who was a very thoughtful designer.”
– “Edith believed in incredibly good quality things that last a long time. We still strongly believe in that today.”
– “Edith’s Bauhaus background is relevant today. The honesty in materials and that quality—there are no of bells and whistles here—just a beautiful, functional nature.”
– “We work on projects where we are part of the architecture. We get to work with architects and create with them.”
– “Having manufacturing right here where we are designing creates a lighter footprint.”
– “People can buy our product and build upon it. Creating classic shapes and colors allows the you to have the product for a long time, have it grow with you and pass on to the next generation.”
