Briggs Shore opened Briggs Shore Ceramics on First Street in downtown Coupeville in March 2020, just before many businesses were forced to close because of the Covid 19 outbreak. She closed the store in March but reopened the first weekend in June. Since reopening, she has been pleased with the amount of walk-in business as well as the business coming from her website: https://www.briggsshoreceramics.com.
Briggs (which is a family name) originally lived in Iowa. She graduated from Iowa State University in 2007 with a degree in Interior Design. For several years doing pottery was a hobby for her, but in 2015 she began to take the work more seriously. She discovered that some of the elements from her education also contributed to creativity with her pottery.
A few years ago Briggs was looking for some place where she could do a pottery internship and expand her skills. She learned about Robbie Lobell and her Cook on Clay Studio at a show in Massachusetts, and assumed the studio was on the East Coast. After some email exchanges, Briggs found out that Robbie was on Whidbey Island. Robbie invited her to come work at her studio. At the time, Briggs had no idea where Whidbey Island was. She and her partner, Patrick, decided to move west for the adventure and because Briggs was drawn to working with Robbie at her pottery studio on the island.
They moved to Whidbey in August of 2016 and she began working with Robbie. She worked for Robbie from August 2016 until the end of July 2018, and then worked at Penn Cove Pottery for a year and a half.
Briggs also worked at Christopher’s restaurant, and while there she learned from Joel Norris, one of the owners, about a store front on Front Street that was available and could be used for a gallery and studio.
That space is now Briggs Shore Ceramics. Briggs notes that what is distinctive about her designs is that they are elegant and simple, yet modern and functional. They are meant to be used, rather than just admired. She notes that “All of my designs are what I want to make.” She currently has an inventory of two-tone pieces, and several with landscape designs. She says that she loves making pottery designs that come from her own imagination. She also notes that she is influenced by Scandinavian and Midcentury design, and Edith Heath is a particular role model.
Once she became established here, Briggs became involved in the larger community that defines Whidbey. She is currently the membership coordinator for the Washington Clay Art Association. She also has made a commitment to donate a percentage of her sales to benefit local non-profits. She is making donations to Creative Justice in Seattle and to CADA (Citizens Against Domestic and Sexual Abuse). She has a vision that her studio will become a community gathering place once things begin opening up more.
She invites people to stop by her gallery and studio, Thursday through Monday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. She welcomes special requests. You can see examples of her work on line at her website: https://www.briggsshoreceramics.com
