Fresh New Designs Crafted with Century-Old Practices

The iconic style of the Rookwood Pottery Company has been a Cincinnati treasure since 1880, when Maria Longworth Nichols opened the first female-owned manufacturing company in the United States. 

Today, Rookwood Pottery continues to honor and serve Greater Cincinnati by teaming with local businesses to create beautiful ceramic pottery and tile installations. 

“We are working with Boca to create a custom set of dinnerware for their restaurant,” says Mary Prusha, Art Director at Rookwood Pottery Company. “Boca has customized the dinnerware using a one-of-a-kind glaze combination to make these dishes as stunning as the cuisine that will grace them.” 

Rookwood artist Morgan Willenbrink has designed hand-thrown bowls and oysters Rockefeller platters to coordinate with the Rookwood Pottery Wareham plate collection, which is the first Rookwood dinnerware set in almost 100 years. Boca will begin using the dishes in October. 

“We take pride in our heritage and our Cincinnati home. We’re proud to partner with local businesses like Boca and create work for use by the community in which we live,” says Prusha. “We cherish the opportunity to continue building Rookwood’s legacy as one of the most prestigious names in ceramics.”

The Rookwood creative team brainstorms, researches, tests and critiques each and every product to ensure it lives up to their historic standard. Once the design is finalized and rendered, it’s given to expert artisans to be brought to life. 

“From raw clay to finished product, every piece of pottery and tile we produce is touched by more than 16 sets of hands, using the same techniques and attention to detail that were used more than 100 years ago,” says Prusha. 

Famed Rookwood tile can be found in the Carew Tower, Union Terminal and Dixie Terminal in Cincinnati, the Vanderbilt Hotel and Grand Central Station in New York City and the historic Monroe Building in Chicago. 

“We hope to continue making partnerships with local businesses to create custom designs for use right here in Cincinnati,” says Prusha. “Our forward-thinking design team will continue to innovate and figure out ‘what’s next’ in the world of ceramic pottery and tile. Though, no matter where the future takes us, we will always remain dedicated to the legacy of Rookwood’s past.”

Rookwood Pottery is located at 1920 Race Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. You can reach them at 800.537.1605, by email at info@rookwood.com or visit www.rookwood.com.