Pottery is a tradition here in the Smoky Mountains, where local potters make items as beautiful as they are useful. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are home to potters with decades of experience and unique approaches to their art. Find the ideal gift for a friend or for yourself at these potteries.
1. Pigeon River Pottery
The historic Old Mill district is a Pigeon Forge landmark, now home to shopping, dining, and Pigeon River Pottery. Watch artisans at work as they craft mugs, beer steins, vases, pie plates, luminarias and more. Don’t miss the unique cookware designed to make meals easier, like ceramic apple bakers, bacon cookers and chicken cookers. Signature glazes are a specialty, with rich, subtle colors inspired by the Smokies’ natural beauty.
2. Alewine Pottery
For more than 30 years, the Alewine family has combined functionality and art. You’ll find bowls, pitchers, bakeware, candleholders, and dozens more kitchen and home items. Alewine’s Appalachian Collection brings the mountains into your home, with details like hand-carved birch or dogwood bark patterns, and glazes evoking daffodils, snow and slate. The Leaf Collection graces each piece with the pottery’s famed leaf motif. See the potters at work, browse the showroom, or try creating your own piece of pottery.
3. Fowler’s Clay Works
Potter Mike Fowler creates his glazes with colors reflecting the Smokies, including mountain honey, river rock green and campfire red. Look for mugs, cups, shot glasses, honey pots, bakeware, and adorable miniature gnomes. The “Make Your Own Pottery Experience” is your chance to spend two hours creating a simple mug, or sculpting a clay face on a mug, under the guidance of a master potter.
4. Buie Pottery
Located at the entrance to the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Community, Buie Pottery creates a wide range of pottery and stoneware you can use for a lifetime. Alongside mugs, cookware, and dinnerware, Buie makes oil-burning lamps, pump bottles, cruets, and ceramic bathroom sets to hold your toiletries. Don’t miss the Fish Wall and the Critter Wall, where colorful ceramic animals frolic, ready to come home with you.
Bring your pottery treasures back to your private, luxurious cabin rental. We’ve got the right Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge cabin for your family. Browse our cabin listings online now, and we’ll help you find your ideal mountain getaway.
