From Teapot to Tree: Growing the Farmhouse Forest

As many of the best things do, our first pottery trees emerged in 2016 from a happy accident in the studio.

As the weather was getting colder, one of our potters was throwing a teapot and struggling with the shaping of the spout. James stepped in to assist and the conical shape caught his eye, reminding him of a tree.

In his many years spent traveling abroad and working in pottery studios, he had never encountered a wheel-thrown tree. Ceramic trees existed, of course, but they were typically hand-built or molded. Intrigued by the concept, that evening he threw twenty or more of them in exploration of the right shape.

The ceramic Balsam Woodland Trees came first, with their distinctive conical silhouettes capturing the shape of New England’s prevalent evergreen. The four-stepped design became a signature element that remains unique to Farmhouse.

Shortly after the Balsam was created, James began to think beyond ceramics. Inspiration from a photo of European whittling and his long-time interest in mixed media led to the Crafted Woodland Evergreen Trees, carved with the same stepped design that defines the Balsam collection.

Since then, the Farmhouse Forest has continued to grow. The Spruce Woodland Trees are the embodiment of snow-laden trees and a classic Farmhouse design, showcasing our classic throw marks from the makers’ hands. The Antique Bronze Balsam Trees were introduced in the classic four-step design with a soft shimmer to complement our ceramic and wood trees.

New for 2024, the Nordic Hand Hewn Trees brought a delicate, wood-curled design to balance out the fullness of our trees.

That spirit of exploration continues this year as we expand the Farmhouse Forest with new designs and sizes.

Meet the new Crafted Woodland Pine, Crafted Woodland Fir, and Crafted Woodland Wild Balsam Trees, and our Evergreen Tree in two new sizes. Each one was designed by James in the same spirit of traditional German holiday decor, and each one is handcrafted in New England.

Our beloved Antique Bronze Balsam Tree is also now available in a new Small size. Each piece is wheel-thrown and hand-finished in our Vermont studio, and every size was carefully designed to balance with the others in the forest.

Perfect for the holidays yet versatile enough to keep up year-round, our trees were curated to help you mix, match, and grow your own forest.

For James, these pieces are deeply nostalgic — carrying inspiration from the mantels of his childhood holidays. While countless iterations have been developed over the years, he keeps the prototypes at home and slowly builds his own forest with each evolution.

What began as an aha moment of seeing a tree within a humble teapot spout has grown into something much larger: a collection that bridges nostalgia and modern design, accident and intention, clay and wood.