Brooklyn, N.Y., store the Clay Pot began life in 1969 as a ceramics and pottery studio rooted in the American craft scene. It evolved into a jewelry store out of necessity, after the 1987 stock market crash threatened to derail small businesses throughout the tristate area.
Now the retailer, which opened a location in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood in 2014, is closing its original location on 7th Avenue in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.
Current owner Tara Silberberg, daughter of cofounders Sally and Robert Silberberg, sent out a note to her email subscribers last week stating, “It is with profoundly mixed emotions that I announce that the Brooklyn location of our store will be closing in the middle of March.”
She added, “My mom, Sally, started the store in the winter of 1969 as a ceramics studio. Back then, she envisioned it as a space to make her pottery and sell some to neighbors who were, against all advice, making Brooklyn their home. Over the last five decades, we’ve lived the dream of running a successful small business. We’ve had hundreds of employees and championed thousands of maker/designers. More importantly, we’ve helped more than a hundred thousand customers buy a wedding ring, select the perfect piece of fine jewelry for an important anniversary, and celebrate a housewarming with a handmade vase.”
The business will now focus on its Manhattan store, a shift Silberberg wrote, “has been difficult to make. But then again, how does a pottery studio become a jewelry store? By taking risks.”
She and her small staff will further develop the house jewelry line, CP Collection, and will pour more energy into the company’s online retail channels.
“We are just over the bridge, a few subway stops away,” the retailer wrote. “It is the same old Clay Pot with an abundance of jewelry, fantastic designers, and our amazingly dedicated staff. We hope you will come visit us in Manhattan and online!”
The Brooklyn store is running a clean-out sale through March 16, with jewelry discounts starting at 25 percent.
Top: The Clay Pot in Park Slope, Brooklyn (photo courtesy of the Clay Pot)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazine
Follow me on Instagram: @emilivesilind
Follow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
