Denise Membreno

Denise writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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Does taking in beautiful art with a cup of coffee sound relaxing? How about eating your lunch off of an exquisitely painted floral scene? Maybe baking a loaf of bread in a stunning loaf pan is appealing. All of these things are possible after a trip down Pottery Lane in Bedford.

At the end of this country road is a cabin housing an American tradition, handmade pottery. It also is the outlet store for Emerson Creek Pottery. Next to the store is the workshop where the art is created and a warehouse where it is stored before it is shipped to stores and customers all over the country.

Owners Priscilla Palmer and Jim Leavitt founded Emerson Creek Pottery in 1977.

The log cabin housing the outlet store dates back to 1825 and was built by a blacksmith. The kitchen is post-and-beam construction and was added to the cabin in 1847.

"The house has six fireplaces, one in each room," said Leavitt. "I think at one time the original family had eight or 10 kids in here."

Now it makes a perfect backdrop for Palmer's and Leavitt's pottery pieces.

Leavitt, who is originally from Roanoke and moved back to the area from Massachusetts, is a self-described "jack of all trades."

"I don't do painting," added Leavitt. "That's the one thing I don't do. We don't hand-throw each piece, but I hand-throw the original and then we make molds."

Emerson Creek Pottery started out mainly making out rustic pieces that resembled early American pottery. Now it is are known for its floral designs.

The owners said they are promotin green business practices. Those include packing shipments in eco-friendly cornstarch peanuts and using recycled-fiber boxes for shipments. Emerson Creek also makes its own glaze and uses "earth friendly" materials for its products.

"It's cheaper for us to make our own glaze. We can control it and get the look we want. We don't use anything with toxins. We never have used any glazes with lead," explained Leavitt.

The glaze adds to the pottery's traditional look; the designs are Emerson Creek's signature. It was Palmer who brought in the unusual painting style used on all the pieces. It's called Japanese Sumi-e brush. The fast brush strokes add texture to the designs. The end result of the technique is a lifelike plant or flower on pieces such as cups, plates, baking pans and clocks.

Melinda Schissler has been with Emerson Creek Pottery for more than a year. The Longwood University graduate has a degree in drawing and print-making. She paints up to 140 pieces a day.

"I can't just do one pattern," Schissler said. "After a few hours I switch patterns; luckily, there are about 12 patterns to do.

"It took a few months to learn the painting style," added Schissler. "When I first came I didn't think I would be able to do it at all. It just seemed so hard."

One look at the finished product and it's obvious she has mastered it. The pieces look uniform so it is hard to believe each piece is painted by hand.

"If you look closely, you'll see there are little differences, -- each painter is a little different" said Leavitt. "But on the whole, it's consistent. It's a work of art because each piece is unique, but it is still consistent so the place settings match."

All of the pieces are dishwasher and microwave safe as well as oven-proof. The designs mirror nature. Leavitt said he has noticed the popularity of a pattern varies from region to region.

"The pine cone is popular in New York or Colorado, anywhere there are a lot of pines, but not so much around here. The lavender pattern sells well because there are many lavender farms around the country."

Leavitt said on the whole, it has been a good year for Emerson Creek Pottery. He has noticed some of the stores that buy the pottery to sell retail are being more conservative in their orders, but Internet sales and foot traffic to the outlet store are increasing.

"We've got a nice display at the Bedford Visitors Center and get a lot of tourists from there, and we get a lot of support from folks at the lake."

Emerson Creek Pottery will hold its annual three-day warehouse sale today, Saturday and Sunday. It is located at 1068 Pottery Lane off of Pecks Road (Virginia 725) between Virginia 43 and Virginia 714 in Bedford. www.emersoncreekpottery.com, (540) 297-7524.