Whichford Pottery x East Fork
A collaboration between two potteries, one rooted in the English countryside, the other in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains — shaped by a shared commitment to quality and craftsmanship.
The origins of this collection trace back to 2018, when Adam Keeling travelled through the Blue Ridge Mountains on a Churchill Fellowship, researching American pottery traditions. It was there that Adam first met Alex Matisse, who was throwing and woodfiring his own ceramics whilst setting up a new premises to build what is now East Fork Pottery. When, in 2025, the East Fork team approached us to create a bespoke range of flowerpots with them, we couldn’t resist!
Images: East Fork Pottery — taken by Adam Keeling on his trip to Asheville, 2018.
The East Fork Collection begins with hand painted work by Alex Matisse, inspired by botanical motifs and early East Fork designs. Our founder, Jim Keeling, then worked his magic by translating them into clay, handcarving a wonderful relief mould alongside two carved floral roulettes. Each pot is then handthrown on the potters wheel and decorated by our team here in Whichford.
Images: Adam Keeling Throwing a Large East Fork Buxus Pot, original artwork by Alex Matisse, Emma decorating an East Fork Kitchen Garden Pot.
From the outset, this collaboration felt less like a meeting of brands and more like a continuation of a shared approach to making. Both of our workshops are rooted in place, guided by technical skill, and committed to the idea that objects of lasting value are made slowly, by hand.
At the centre of the collection are three of our most enduring shapes enhanced by strong, elegant design and we hope you enjoy them.
