Meet Sam And Trish McMillan of Duke Homestead area

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam And Trish McMillan

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
We are a Mother and Son duo of potters born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. We were both fortunate to go through the Durham Public School systems where the arts programs have always been well supported. I (Sam) was able to begin exploring ceramics as early as Kindergarten. My siblings and I had an amazing art teacher, Mrs. Bailey-Smith, who every year gave us the opportunity to work with clay. The house we grew up in was always filled with cermaics made in these classes. To this day, the dining room walls are adorned with artwork made by myself and my siblings from over the years. This foundation of arts education, continues to inspire my love for ceramics to this day.

While I was away at college pursuing a degree in Music Education, Trish started taking pottery classes at the Durham Arts Council as a hobby. Every time I came home from school I would give her suggestions for new designs and pieces she should make in class. Her response, especially as these suggestions became increasingly more ellaborate, would be “Sam it is not as easy as it sounds to make this stuff!” to which I would always respond “don’t sell yourself short, I know you can do it!” I moved back to Durham following college and continued giving my pottery suggestions to which Trish responded “put up or shut up” by giving me a pottery class for Christmas. I took to wheel throwing fairly quickly with great support from Durham Arts Council instructors Jessica, Becca and Laura, as well as my Mom who always inspired excitement in growing our skills together in these classes.

Once we had been taking these classes for some time, as you can imagine, the ceramics began stacking up around the house. There was an unwritten rule for a while that if you visited the house and had a cup of coffee, the handmade mug you drank it out of had to go home with you. Eventually our friends and family started turning down the mugs as their cabinets were also filling up with ceramics. (which in our opinion is the best problem to have but maybe we are biased) We had been dreaming of opening our own studio for a while at that point since our confidence in our skills had grown so much and we had taken a few commissions that had been extremely well recieved. We finally made the decision to take the leap and set up our own studio space, and this dream became a reality in February of 2024. Shortly after, we started selling our pottery at the newly organized North Durham Farmers Market as part of the founding group of vendors. This market is committed to supporting local farmers, businesses, and artisans while providing the community with access to high-quality, locally sourced goods. They are committed to diversity and inclusion, and focus on centering BIPOC, LGBTQIA and women-led businesses. We both feel extremely fortunate to be able to participate in, and share our craft with such a fierce and supportive communtiy built by Helena Cragg.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest struggle we have faced as a new business is keeping up with demand and refining techniques and processes that we did not have the chance to do at the Arts Council. We are a two person production and people often do not realize how patient you have to be in pottery production. Generally, about the fastest we can turn new product from start to finish is 2-3 weeks. Pottery requires throwing, then slow drying to avoid cracking, followed by the first firing called a bisque firing. The kiln runs for approximately 14 hours on this first firing. After this, we have to glaze the bisque-ware and refire in a glaze firing which runs 10-11 hours. Regardless of the struggles that come with the startup of any new business, we are still loving the process and are greatful for the ability to work out of our own space now.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As potters in North Carolina, we have had the opportunity to see other potters work for our entire lives and we feel that being part of a long standing tradition and trade in our home state is a huge honor. We often talk about how the clay will tell you what it wants to be and we often let that guide our process. While we can and do make standard functional pottery such as plates, bowls, and mugs, we also make a variety of decorative items. In both of these areas we try to put our own twist by making things we have never seen before. We both also have very different styles as different potters. Trish tends to be more methodical and is very good at producing sets and delicate items while Sam tends to make whatever he is feeling in that moment.

Trish specializes in making turtle mugs which are our best seller, ornaments, and bells that include small bell sets and larger bells that look like bee hives crawling with little handcrafted bees.

Sam specalizes in making our larger items like fruit bowls, large potbelly mugs which are great for not just coffee and tea but soup and cereal as well, and our ever popular piggy banks.

In all of our work we strive to make things that set us apart from other potters by displaying our own unique style and personality.

What matters most to you? Why?
Both of us fell in love with making pottery and that is of course what drives us most, but, as we continue to grow the business, and the dream of being able to do pottery full time feels more within our reach, we are undoubtedly most greatful for our family and our community. None of this would be possible without them. Our family and friends have always shown us their unending support and encouragement. We are also extremely grateful for the amazing community we have found through all of our experiences. We have had teachers that from the start have set us up to be successful and have continued to give tips and advice and support in more ways than we could ever imagine. Our business would also not be what it is without the support of everyone out at the North Durham Farmers market. Helena, as well as all the other vendors, have proven to be an exceptional group of people who we are fortunate to know and have the opportunity to grow a market with.

Pricing:

• Mugs currently range from $20-$30
• Small Piggy banks $30
• Big Pigs $50
• Fruit Bowls $45
• Bee Bells $40

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/durhamclayworks