Cranberry Pottery Dish

Object ID: 2017.3.3 

Cranberry Pottery opened its doors in 1974 when Carol Bieber and Mark Cunningham decided to start a small business selling their porcelain-like stoneware pottery. In 1982 Carol became the sole owner of the company after Mark left, and in later years potter Lin Morrison became part owner.

Full lines of dinnerware, serving dishes, teapots, accessories, and more were available through the years, and products were made through various methods including manually throwing on a wheel, jiggering, and casting with moulds. Most often, their pottery was made with the classic greyish white speckled base and a high gloss or matte glaze.

Business for Cranberry Pottery peaked around the year 2000 when there were ten employees on payroll, all making product as well as working in the retail store The business saw such success that a satellite location was opened in Campbell River where it operated for three years.

The pieces sold at Cranberry Pottery were both unique in design and highly functional. All surface designs were hand-painted, and nearly all pottery pieces were completed by an individual potter as staff were trained in each step of pottery from block of clay to their personal stamp at the end. The five main patterns were Blue Leaf, Cranberry, Grass Iris, Tiger Eye, and Blackberry.
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This bowl is the blackberry pattern from Cranberry Pottery, a design that’s imagery is reminiscent of the Himalayan Blackberries found widespread in the qathet region. On the bottom of the dish is the blackberry stamp and the year it was made, 1994.

From the PR News, Feb. 27, 1985.