Seeing a need for a virtual shopfront where emerging potters could gain exposure, all the while supporting nonprofits close to their hearts, Autumn Horwath and Adam Lefebvre created Good Habit Pottery Company.
Potters are good people. At least the ones we have met. They are generous yet stubborn with their unwillingness to abandon a difficult career. Those who stick it out and keep on making their work enrich the lives of those who use their wares. After all, the origin of the craft is the fundamental need to nourish our families and communities. Good Habit Pottery Company was started with this in mind. We support artists by connecting them to an audience who shares this appreciation.
Digital Debut
The artists represented by Good Habit Pottery Co. are, frankly, our friends. Good Habit was started during the pandemic lockdown when Adam’s MFA thesis exhibition was postponed. At Utah State University, the MFA thesis exhibition is a culmination of three years of work and an opportunity to sell pots to fuel the transition to the next studio. With this opportunity off the table, Adam began looking around at other options. The “go-to” galleries that represent ceramic artists often have repeating rosters. We admire the talent and hard work of these artists and have learned a great deal from many. However, we want to bring new names to the table. So, we started an online gallery to sell the pots of our friends and new friends. Since our website launch in October 2020, our roster has grown slowly to include: Tom Alward, Dehmie Dehmlow, Ruth Easterbrook, Adam Lefebvre, Quinn Maher, Caroline Roberts, Josh Scott, Matt Sloan, Megan Thomas, Christopher Watt, and ChengOu Yu.
It has been a joy to use the business as an encouragement to check in with each other, as it can be challenging to maintain friendships with everyone now dispersed across the country. As much as we gripe about the internet, above all, it facilitates connectedness.
Community Support
Anyone who has taken ceramics in high school or as a community class can appreciate how much time and effort goes into making a single piece of pottery. The effort required to make great pots often leaves little energy for commerce. When our potters send us inventory, we do the behind-the-scenes work so they have more time to create. It’s important to us that we take a good photograph. Our favorite pots are favored because of their subtlety and nuance, qualities that are difficult to do justice in a photograph. Since customers view the pots on a screen, they do not have the opportunity to feel the texture or hold the weight before purchasing. Therefore it is vital that we represent the pots accurately. These photos are the cornerstone of our online shop and social media.
In addition to promoting our potters, we use our platform to support a few causes we care about. With every purchase, we donate 10% of sales to one of three organizations: Crafting the Future, Days for Girls, and Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity. When a customer adds an object to their cart they are prompted to choose where to donate the portion of their purchase.
Crafting the Future provides scholarships to help emerging BIPOC artists attend craft schools and pre-college programs, and generates professional networking opportunities for its scholarship recipients. Crafting the Future has grown substantially since its beginnings in 2019 and now has a studio space to provide residencies with a stipend to local artists in Los Angeles.
Days for Girls works to create menstrual health equity in nations worldwide. They provide period products in areas where people do not have access, and importantly, bring health education and social entrepreneurship programs to areas where having a period can prevent participation in school and employment.
The Milwaukee branch of Habitat for Humanity is one of the few organizations working to create healthy and affordable housing in the city. We chose the Milwaukee branch specifically because that is where we are from and have witnessed the community impact Habitat for Humanity has had. Homeownership is empowering for families and neighborhoods, and Habitat for Humanity helps families build a home and provides them with fair, affordable mortgages.
Expanding Their Reach
Good Habit has hosted two online exhibitions, an invitational titled “Sheep-ish” in the winter of 2021 and an open call in the spring of 2023 titled “Hang Ups,” juried by Soojin Choi. The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) 2024 conference was our first in-person event, hosted by The Veil Brewing in Richmond, Virginia. We brought our entire roster of potters and added a few guest artists: Ray Brown, Celia Feldberg, and Nikita Nenashev. The event was a great success and we donated to a local Richmond organization, The Next Move Program. Our next in-person pop-up will be NCECA in Salt Lake City at Fisher Brewing on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Good Habit Pottery Company aims to focus more time on our connections with one another—to celebrate our good habits. The craft of pottery is, at its root, about nourishing our families and community. As craftspeople and artists, we know it is a luxury to pursue our passions through a life in the studio. As collectors, we know it is a luxury to adorn our homes with thoughtfully crafted wares. We hope to inspire our customers to slow down, appreciate the beauty in this life and take care of one another.
the authors The authors Autumn Horwath and Adam Lefebvre are artists currently living in Chicago, Illinois. Together they operate Good Habit Pottery Co., www.goodhabitpottery.com. Autumn received her BFA from Belmont University and is an MFA candidate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Adam received his BFA from Alberta University of the Arts and MFA from Utah State University. They can be found on Instagram @domestic_spacesand @atlefebvre.
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Seeing a need for a virtual shopfront where emerging potters could gain exposure, all the while supporting nonprofits close to their hearts, Autumn Horwath and Adam Lefebvre created Good Habit Pottery Company.
Potters are good people. At least the ones we have met. They are generous yet stubborn with their unwillingness to abandon a difficult career. Those who stick it out and keep on making their work enrich the lives of those who use their wares. After all, the origin of the craft is the fundamental need to nourish our families and communities. Good Habit Pottery Company was started with this in mind. We support artists by connecting them to an audience who shares this appreciation.
Digital Debut
The artists represented by Good Habit Pottery Co. are, frankly, our friends. Good Habit was started during the pandemic lockdown when Adam’s MFA thesis exhibition was postponed. At Utah State University, the MFA thesis exhibition is a culmination of three years of work and an opportunity to sell pots to fuel the transition to the next studio. With this opportunity off the table, Adam began looking around at other options. The “go-to” galleries that represent ceramic artists often have repeating rosters. We admire the talent and hard work of these artists and have learned a great deal from many. However, we want to bring new names to the table. So, we started an online gallery to sell the pots of our friends and new friends. Since our website launch in October 2020, our roster has grown slowly to include: Tom Alward, Dehmie Dehmlow, Ruth Easterbrook, Adam Lefebvre, Quinn Maher, Caroline Roberts, Josh Scott, Matt Sloan, Megan Thomas, Christopher Watt, and ChengOu Yu.
It has been a joy to use the business as an encouragement to check in with each other, as it can be challenging to maintain friendships with everyone now dispersed across the country. As much as we gripe about the internet, above all, it facilitates connectedness.
Community Support
Anyone who has taken ceramics in high school or as a community class can appreciate how much time and effort goes into making a single piece of pottery. The effort required to make great pots often leaves little energy for commerce. When our potters send us inventory, we do the behind-the-scenes work so they have more time to create. It’s important to us that we take a good photograph. Our favorite pots are favored because of their subtlety and nuance, qualities that are difficult to do justice in a photograph. Since customers view the pots on a screen, they do not have the opportunity to feel the texture or hold the weight before purchasing. Therefore it is vital that we represent the pots accurately. These photos are the cornerstone of our online shop and social media.
In addition to promoting our potters, we use our platform to support a few causes we care about. With every purchase, we donate 10% of sales to one of three organizations: Crafting the Future, Days for Girls, and Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity. When a customer adds an object to their cart they are prompted to choose where to donate the portion of their purchase.
Crafting the Future provides scholarships to help emerging BIPOC artists attend craft schools and pre-college programs, and generates professional networking opportunities for its scholarship recipients. Crafting the Future has grown substantially since its beginnings in 2019 and now has a studio space to provide residencies with a stipend to local artists in Los Angeles.
Days for Girls works to create menstrual health equity in nations worldwide. They provide period products in areas where people do not have access, and importantly, bring health education and social entrepreneurship programs to areas where having a period can prevent participation in school and employment.
The Milwaukee branch of Habitat for Humanity is one of the few organizations working to create healthy and affordable housing in the city. We chose the Milwaukee branch specifically because that is where we are from and have witnessed the community impact Habitat for Humanity has had. Homeownership is empowering for families and neighborhoods, and Habitat for Humanity helps families build a home and provides them with fair, affordable mortgages.
Expanding Their Reach
Good Habit has hosted two online exhibitions, an invitational titled “Sheep-ish” in the winter of 2021 and an open call in the spring of 2023 titled “Hang Ups,” juried by Soojin Choi. The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) 2024 conference was our first in-person event, hosted by The Veil Brewing in Richmond, Virginia. We brought our entire roster of potters and added a few guest artists: Ray Brown, Celia Feldberg, and Nikita Nenashev. The event was a great success and we donated to a local Richmond organization, The Next Move Program. Our next in-person pop-up will be NCECA in Salt Lake City at Fisher Brewing on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Good Habit Pottery Company aims to focus more time on our connections with one another—to celebrate our good habits. The craft of pottery is, at its root, about nourishing our families and community. As craftspeople and artists, we know it is a luxury to pursue our passions through a life in the studio. As collectors, we know it is a luxury to adorn our homes with thoughtfully crafted wares. We hope to inspire our customers to slow down, appreciate the beauty in this life and take care of one another.
the authors The authors Autumn Horwath and Adam Lefebvre are artists currently living in Chicago, Illinois. Together they operate Good Habit Pottery Co., www.goodhabitpottery.com. Autumn received her BFA from Belmont University and is an MFA candidate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Adam received his BFA from Alberta University of the Arts and MFA from Utah State University. They can be found on Instagram @domestic_spaces and @atlefebvre.
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