for me, no trip to san francisco would really be complete without a visit to the heath ceramics factory store. for years we’ve gone to san francisco without having time to visit so for once, i’m heading back east with a sense of completion. wednesday afternoon leigh took me over to sausalito for lunch and we popped around the corner to visit the shop. i’m always overwhelmed by the colors they use and the simplicity of the designs. they have such a dedication to quality that shows in each piece. i found myself buying individual tiles because the craftsmanship was so incredible. every piece, whether it’s a tile, cup, plate or vase, feels handmade and oozes the sort of warmth that comes only from objects made with a real love and passion for craft. leigh and i were able to poke in the back room to check out the factory and i ended up leaving with a few pieces from the chez panisse collection. if i could, i would have redone our entire kitchen to match the feel of the store and their ceramics. everything is so simple, clean and solid. it’s a feeling i now associate with san francisco- beautiful craftsmanship punctuated by bright colors and beautiful glazes. if you’re in the sf area i highly recommend a visit- but if you’re not, you can always check out (and shop) heath online. thanks to leigh and catherine, co-owner of heath, for the gracious tour. [there are 6 more photos after the jump]
18 Comments
How lucky are you?
I absolutely love Heath Ceramics, it’s just so my cup of tea.
Enjoy the items you purchased…
I’m just sorry it’s on the opposite end of the world. I definitely must plan a trip to San Fran!
oh grace! wow! i’ve been wanting to make a visit for forever. it looks wonderful.
i recently found some old heath at my local goodwill! v. 70s in color but oozing warmth and character. it was surely my greatest find ever at a goodwill. i found about 11 pieces. now, they are the first things i grab off my kitchen cabinets. i too want to replace all my dishes with heath ceramics. all my other dishes looks so cold.
The new restauratant at the recently reopened Royalton hotel (Brasserie 44 by John McDonald) is the first restaurant in New York City to feature Heath as its dinnerware, its really fabulous!
oh isn’t it wonderful? i finally made it to the open studio last year. i have a few photos over here from that tour. glad you got a chance to stop by this time!
oh i just love love love their tiles. i wanted to use their tiles in my house but couldn’t afford them. the idea of just buying single tiles is great.
I am insanely jealous. Heath is on of the few production potteries I’ve ever wanted to visit.
thanks for the terrific pics.
you are a lucky woman, indeed! i’ve only been able to admire the beautiful heath ceramics in book form and online… so far. the drooling is no good for either format. lovely post!
The owners’ home was featured in a magazine recently – I think it was Sunset, yes, here’tis:
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/home/article/0,20633,1599105,00.html
Totally fun to check out! The woodstove is to die for, as are all the ways they used those gorgeous tiles! Hope I did not mess up your comments with the long link here!
Becky
How, may I ask, did you not buy out the store and send a charter plane back east?? Fantastic stuff!
their son is a cutie too. he + mod*tot were buddies at the dwell on design conference last month. a lady at the Wee house exhibit thought they were brother + sister + took their picture in the house.
we’ll have to go look him up so i can check out the ceramics :)
Beautiful. Love the colours and shapes and especially the Heath sign on the wall outside.
my mom works here and SHE RULES!!!!!
We registered for heath dishes and have it all out on open shelves in the kitchen. It makes the whole kitchen wonderful, in addition to being beautiful to eat off of. I chose it all on the internet and from ordering a few samples- seeing the store is a treat!
They also offer ceramics workshops during the summer which are really wonderful.
It is certainly something to add to my agenda on my next trip to the San Francisco area.
For the travelers, I just remarked that it is almost of the way to Muir forest. A must thing to see.
I love the tea set!
I worked for Heath in 1969 and 1970, installing ceramic tile for some customers. Tiled the Taj Mahal houseboat. Also made a bunch of 6′ tile “S” in a circle signs for Safeway Supermarkets. I wonder if people noticed that those were the beautiful Heath tiles?
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