For 30 years, Ephraim Pottery has created handmade pieces with love, focusing on human craftsmanship. Now in a more modern and technology-driven world, Ephraim continues to celebrate the “hand of the maker,” straying away from anything that could replace an artist’s hands.
“[The world] just keeps on becoming more modern and less hands-on,” said Ephraim founder and potter Kevin Hicks. “People more and more are interested in human-made things, and that’s kind of what we do.”
Human touch
From clay-smothered wheels to gallery shelves, Ephraim Pottery reflects human craftsmanship to customers all over the world. To place an order and learn more about Ephraim Pottery, visit ephraimpottery.com. The studio and gallery are located at 728 Main St. in Cambria.
Ephraim Pottery sells collections and individual pottery pieces including vases, functional tableware such as mugs and small bowls, art tiles, and memorial urns. The company did not originally have a retail presence, as its focus was primarily on arts and crafts shows around the country in its early stages. But after being on the road, physical store locations became the company’s new calling.
Ephraim Pottery West Coast Gallery has resided in the small town of Cambria for 14 years. After opening a studio gallery in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, Hicks decided to start a West Coast location because he noticed a growing interest thousands of miles away in California from their show attendances.
“I found myself traveling out to California an awful lot, and I think of it as a second home,” Hicks said.
According to Cambria store manager Terri Belford, the Central Coast is full of inspiration for artists—the California poppies, Cambria’s boardwalk, Morro Bay, all things that fuel creativity behind many of their pieces, even though all production comes out of the Lake Mills studio.
“One of the artists was out with Kevin once, and we were walking along the beach and she was so impressed with the little seabirds, shorebirds, reflections in the sand,” Belford said. “She went back to the studio and created a pot with the reflection of the shorebirds in the sand and the water and waves.”
Reflecting on the company’s three decades, Hicks said that being in California has led its success. Arts and crafts shows in the Golden State drew more attention to Ephraim.
“When we used to go to shows, there were times when people were rushing and running to the booth and buying up everything that we had right away,” Hicks said.
Behind its products is a mission to provide a collaborative space for artists to do what they love while making a living.
“I think the thing that really sticks with me most is some of the jobs that we’ve been able to create for artists that just would not normally have been there,” Hicks said.
For Hicks, seeing people work on a potter’s wheel in his youth sparked his inspiration for creating a company that honors human labor and handmade work in the arts. A lump of clay’s journey on a wheel transforming into an everyday item such as a mug or a detailed vase fascinated him. The passion to provide a living in the arts ultimately drove Hicks to hire nine other full-time artists at the Lake Mills studio who make a living wage with benefits, such as health care and paid vacation, according to Belford.
“That used to be unheard of in the arts for a long time, and particularly among potters,” Belford said. “They’re doing what they love and taking care of their families.”
Another inspiration behind Ephraim’s development rose from the 19th century’s Arts and Crafts Movement, according to Hicks. After the industrial revolution, the movement celebrated the creation of handmade craftsmanship and decorative art. Hicks brought this commemoration to Ephraim, without the typical 12-hour work days and brutal working conditions from the time period, he said.
“People that would come out of those places would do some artwork on the side and they’d want to incorporate nature into their designs and they were hand-making everything,” Hicks said.
For those involved with Ephraim, working on an art piece is a full-time job, not a side hobby or project.
Belford describes the West Coast Gallery pieces as “museum quality craftsmanship,” which both Hicks and Belford say is a reflection of place from the lives of artists and the interactions between them.
“It’s fun to be sitting in the work area that we have and just be talking to other artists and throwing ideas about what we could do,” Hicks said.
“Artists don’t often collaborate,” Belford said. “It really is a collaborative effort, and when I tell people that when they come in, they’re just amazed that there’s that kind of camaraderie and trust. A lot of artists can’t imagine forming a piece and then handing it off to someone else to take the next step. It seems like the egos are kind of out the door in the studio.”
Moving forward, Hicks hopes his company will continue to run off the hands of dedicated artists collaborating to further Ephraim’s mission.
“I’m kind of trying to look at it beyond me, and the dream is that it lives well beyond me,” Hicks said. “It’s not about me. It’s about collaboration, about artists collaborating.”
Hicks throws and sculpts pottery every day in Lake Mills, his main work outside of owning Ephraim Pottery.
“As long as I can possibly make pots, I’m going to be making pots,” Hicks said. ∆
Reach intern Fiona Hastings at ntintern@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 5, 2026.