We met 12 years ago while Karen was renovating an 1870’s house across the street from Liz’s, and we soon discovered our mutual love of old houses, nature, gardening and making things by hand.  Eventually, we decided to join our lives together.

Liz is a native Virginian and after college she returned home to her parent’s farm high atop a mountain in Bedford, Va. With their help, she set up a sculpture studio business that lasted 15 years, selling her nature inspired work wholesale to galleries, garden ornament shops and botanical gardens throughout Virginia. After selling what felt like her 5,000,000th Green Frog she decided to take a tiny break from clay work. That lasted a few years but after moving to Staunton, Va Liz became the ceramics studio technician for Blue Ridge Community College and fell back in love with clay, the community of teachers, student potters and sculptors. She eventually became a Continuing Education instructor for Handbuilding, Glaze, Tile and Wheel Throwing classes as well. That ended May of 2024 so that she could focus on pottery and the Petal and Wheel. Liz loves the limitless possibilities of using glaze as paint for imaginary landscapes and making odd but hopefully loveable creatures that are always different every time.

Karen grew up on Long Island, New York but soon after college knew she wanted to live a quieter life, close to nature. Before moving to Staunton, she lived for 20 years in rural West Virginia and Virginia working in sustainable agriculture and carpentry, as well as with an environmental artist and furniture maker. Karen has always been most fulfilled when working creatively with her hands, and when Liz turned her on to pottery, she knew it would be a lifelong love. Her wheel-thrown pieces are often simple forms glazed in earth-tones with splashes of atomized color, while her slab work reflects her background in carpentry and frequently features geometric forms and hand-carved graphic designs.

We hope our products bring beauty and delight into people’s homes, and that you’ll choose to bring some of our pieces home with you. 

Thank you!

Liz and Karen