Detroiters Create Unique Treasures at Pewabic Raku Party

Tiles made by Detroit's Pewabic Pottery, founded by Mary Chase Perry Stratton in 1903, decorate beautiful old homes all over the city and many public buildings, including Belle Isle Aquarium, the Fisher Building and the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Last weekend, the beloved East Jefferson Avenue institution welcomed visitors to try their hand at glazing some of the pottery's handmade vases. The annual raku party allowed guests (who paid $65 for the first vase and $35 for any additional ones) to apply glaze and experiment with different colors and finishes. Curbed photographers captured the event, and we have an exclusive gallery worth at least 30,000 words.

While the raku party has come and gone, Pewabic can be seen all over metro Detroit, from Belle Isle, to the Zoo in Royal Oak, to the Guardian Building. And the pottery is open Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm and Sunday, 12pm-4pm. Visitors can take docent or self-guided tours, and hands-on tile-making workshops can be arranged for groups of 10 or more for $20 a person. The pottery also has a gift shop. Of course, if you'd like to own $775K worth of Pewabic, you can buy Mary Chase Perry Stratton's home in Grosse Pointe Park. Designed by her architect husband, William Buck Stratton, the 1927 home features over 1700 square feet of Pewabic tile.

·Our History [Pewabic Pottery]
·Hands-On-Workshop [Pewabic Pottery]
·Pewabic Pottery Founder's Grosse Pointe Estate Wants $775K [Curbed Detroit]