Edgecomb Potters has been well known for many years, but now it has literally put the little rural town of Edgecomb, Maine on the national map. It has been named
one of America's "Best of the Road" award winners and written up as "must-see" attraction in the Rand McNally Road Atlas. Only 28 companies/attractions nationwide were chosen for the recognition, also including L.L. Bean and Owl's Head Transportation Museum. Edgecomb Potters owners Richard and Chris Hilton were notified in the fall, after an unannounced visit by Rand McNally representatives, that the pottery was a finalist. They received a lucite cube with a miniature atlas inside as an award as well as remarks printed in the large atlas:
"Swirled peacock colors and crystalline patterns grace vases, bowls, and hundreds of one of a kind items at this Gallery/Pottery studio. Function meets style in each
piece made on site by local artists." This is the kind of free publicity most business owners only dream about, and it comes on top of glowing write-ups in the Boston Globe, the Dallas Times, San Diego Union, Ceramics
Monthly, American Style, New England Summer Guide, The Craft Report and other publications. Among the most exciting and rewarding honors for master potter Richard Hilton, the chemist behind all of Edgecomb Potters' unusual glazes, was the purchase in 2001 by trade
representatives from Taiwan of a large vase for the President of their country. Hilton, who studies the organic composition and history of ceramic glazes worldwide, had created a glaze he calls Kyoto Forest after a Chinese glaze from the 17th century. This is
the one the trade visitors chose, saying that even in China they had not seen a glaze like it.
All this recognition, not to mention the 150,000 people who visit the Gallery each season plus
the 28-acre complex of ever-expanding buildings and the two satellite shops, show the pottery
has come a long way from its basic beginnings in the little red one-room schoolhouse on the
edge of Route 27. In 1976 the young couple started the business, throwing pots by hand in one-half of the
schoolhouse and selling in the other half. Chris was a former art teacher and Richard had been on a track to enter broadcasting. In the winter of 1978, with their first child on the way and low on funds, Richard went to
Massachusetts to sell his wares at a craft show. Becuase of the blizzard of '78, however, the show was cancelled.
There he was with a truckload of pots and no business and no prospects. But where a door closed, another opened, and he met someone who invited him to participate in the grand
opening of Fanueil Hall Marketplace in Boston. There, as pottery was sold from two vegetable carts, the business took off and a repeating cycle began of innovation, production, sales, and expansion. In the 1980s the Hiltons bought more land around the schoolhouse and in 1990 the first large building was built. Since then, the complex centered around the pot-laden deck has grown to
include a two-storey gallery, several production and kiln areas and a brand new 25,000 square foot storage building.
"We've had massive growth," says Richard. "We still need more parking and a bigger gallery; we are running out of space." From throwing pots by hand and firing in one kiln, Edgecomb Potters has gone to the industrial processes of molding and casting or pressing pieces and firing them in eight different kilns, two of which are going at all times.
From just two people Edgecomb Potters has grown to 32 employees in the Edgecomb facility, plus shops in Freeport and Portland's Old Port. And the gallery has grown from displaying just pottery to wares of nearly 400 different artisans, including jewelry, glass, wood and sculpture.
The Hiltons, who design their pottery together, have iroduced about 1.3 million pieces since 1976 and now produce around 200,000 pieces per year.
Part of what drives the increase in production is Richard's constant work with new glazes; the
formulation of special galzes demands a quantity of pots to make it worthwhile. While several glazes continue to be produced for dinnerware patterns, some are retired
after a period of years and new ones introduced, making unusual pieces even rarer and thus attractive to collectors. At any given time, Hilton has 40 different glazes being produced. and is experimenting with several others. The pottery makes all the dyes and glazes, and even makes the porcelain clay, on site. The chemistry involved is complex, and the firing times and temperatures plus the different types of kilns used add more variables to the mix and ever more creative possibilities.
Among Hilton's glazes are those named for the colors they evoke: Lady Slipper Pink, Apple Green, Fire Opal, Winter Storm, Northern Lights, Ivory and 14K, Rachel's Teal
and Honey Green. Golden flecks, shimmering crystals, and sweeping, swirling hues give a unique finish to each piece.
A new glaze featured recently by Hilton is the effect of giant crystals resulting from firings lasting 22 hours in computer-controlled kilns. Each piece undergoing this
process is marked "22 hour firing" - a mark of distinction. Because these pieces have to be ground at the base with a diamond disc which wears out very
quickly, they have further added value.
The Hiltons work together on every design, continually adding new shapes such as shells and new functions such as appetizer dishes. Form and function, creativity
and chemistry blend in every carefully crafted piece.
From a schoolhouse by the side of the road to "The Best of The Road" - the Hiltons have molded a craft and a business into an American destination.