Photo by Erin Nelson.
Susan Gordon, owner of Susan Gordon Pottery, in the showroom of her store at the corner of 28th Avenue South and 19th Place South in downtown Homewood.
Susan Gordon began searching for a retail home in Homewood in August 2018. By then, her pottery business had overtaken much of the available space at MAKEbhm, an art studio in Avondale, and she needed more room.
“When I would drop off my kids, I would drive around ... all the little nooks and crannies of downtown Homewood and would just pray that I would find my place,” Gordon said.
She wasn’t far into her search when she spotted a crooked, vinyl sign affixed to a building across the street from Arby’s. The sign indicated space was available for lease, so Gordon called her real estate agent to set up a showing.
“It just felt perfect,” she said.
In November, Gordon opened her first storefront in the building at 1910 28th Ave. S. There, she guides her team of employees as they produce and purvey the handmade pottery and jewelry that Gordon built her reputation on.
Before launching her own e-commerce website, she ranked in the top 1% of sellers on Etsy.
“It’s something we’ve been working a long time for, and it’s great to have a studio and storefront in the same location,” Gordon said. “We can connect people to our process.”
That process involves molding, smoothing, glazing, soldering and sanding clay. What distinguishes Gordon’s work is the 22 karat gold luster painted onto the edges of each piece.
“I think the gold really elevates the pottery,” Gordon said. “This can be an everyday thing, but it also can be mixed in with your fine china and it doesn’t look out of place.”
Gordon majored in ceramics and pottery at Auburn University, and at one point wanted to be a professor of ceramics. Instead, she pursued her master’s in art education at the University of Montevallo before becoming the director of arts and education for the Shelby County Arts Council.
Gordon taught pottery classes and painted while working full time for the arts council. She sold her paintings to local and regional retailers, and a few were even featured on NBC’s TV show “Parenthood.”
Gordon didn’t decide to focus on pottery until her husband, Jace, noted her exceptional skills and encouraged her to pursue them full time.
“That was kind of a turning point for me,” Gordon said. “I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do that then.’ I just needed a little encouragement I guess.”
Gordon sold her first pieces of pottery at the Magic City Art Connection festival in 2013. She picked up her first retailer, Chickadee Interiors in Cahaba Heights, through the festival and soon began to receive frequent orders.
In those early days, Gordon made her pottery in her home basement, which she described as cold, dark, dank, wet and full of jumping crickets.
“But it was my piece of heaven, and I was happy to be down there,” she said. “I spent 12 hours a day down there working, doing almost everything by myself, and I had help three days a week part time.”
Gordon eventually moved into a studio at Artists on the Bluff in Hoover, where she stayed for a year before transitioning to MAKEbhm in 2016. In her three-plus years in Avondale, she said her business grew 400%.
“Before we left, we had every space but one,” Gordon said.
Space is no longer an issue for Gordon at her new Homewood storefront, which is open Wednesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There’s plenty of room for her and her team to create and innovate.
She doesn’t take it for granted.
“We just want to enjoy what we’re doing while we’re doing it,” she said, “and I think we are.”
For more information, call 205-968-1096 or go to susangordonpottery.com.
