WEEKEND GETAWAY
The Seagrove - Charlotte Connection by Vanessa Infanzon
Celebrity mugs by Stephanie Dean, courtesy Dean and Martin Pottery.
Mint Museum supports N.C. potters with exhibits and gift shop displays
Left, Stephanie Martin mugs, courtesy Dean and Martin Pottery; center, Jugtown Pottery selections, courtesy Jugtown Pottery; right, Nebular Purple Vase by Ben Owen III, courtesy Ben Owen.
Jeff Dean and Stephanie Nicole Martin live in Seagrove, a small town in the heart of North Carolina, less than two hours from the Lake Norman area. Since 1998, Dean and Martin have been designing and creating pottery, eventually opening a studio, Dean and Martin Pottery, in 2005. The town boasts 50 shops and galleries open to the public and about 100 working potters, confirming its reputation as, “The Handmade Pottery Capital of the United States.” Dean and Martin — a husband-and-wife team — share space, but each has a distinct style. Dean’s work is characterized as gas-fired stoneware. Martin relies on a vibrant color palette and floral patterns. Her pop culture series features fashion, musicians and patterns from the 60s, 70s and sometimes the 80s. Mint Museum’s gift shops have a long tradition of carrying work by Seagrove potters — since the early 1990s for Mint Museum 44
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Randolph and 2010 for Mint Museum Uptown, when it first opened. Today, you will find works by Dean and Martin Pottery, Johnston & Gentithes Studios, Jugtown Pottery, Ben Owen Pottery and David Stuempfle Pottery in both gift shops. Martin is grateful the Mint Museum displays their work in the gift shops because it raises awareness of Seagrove. “It’s a historical place for pottery,” Martin says. “Seagrove is so unique; there’s no place like it in the U.S. It’s really a treasure.” From dog bowls and dinner plates to vases and sculptures, works by Seagrove potters rotate through Mint Museum’s gift shops. “It’s been important for our store to carry Seagrove Potters,” says Hannah Snyder, director of retail operations for the gift shops at Mint Museum Uptown and Mint Museum Randolph. “We want to infuse people’s homes with local art and North Carolina pottery.”