Going to pot in North Carolina


Marsha Mercer, Media General’s Washington Bureau chief, has a nice piece on a “mug quest” to one of the places I grew up in — and like to return to often.
Apparently, it drew her back, too, for it wasn’t her first trip. She says she detoured to Seagrove, NC, while on a work assignment. She captures the flavor of the rural town and tells its story in visits with several area potters (buying pottery in Seagrove is more like visiting relatives and taking something home than shopping at the mall), including Jugtown, Turn and Burn and Dirtworks.
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One of my favorite Seagrove area mugs Seagrove is primarily known as a center of traditioanl pottery and is home to the North Carolina Pottery Center, a beautiful museum well worth visiting if you find yourself in “downtown” Seagrove.
At one point in her visit, she says:

“I realize then I’d come for more than a new mug. I’d come for a new memory.”

She doesn’t say whether she stopped for a bite to eat at The Jugtown Cafe, but if not, there’s always next time she feels Seagrove drawing her back for a connection to another time and place.
(The photo at right is one of my favorite coffee mugs that I use weekly. I bought years and years ago at Owens Pottery. Click the photo to see larger version.)