Jesse Woodworth is our One Door North gallery guest for the months of May and June 2022. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm. Thursdays, we stay open until 6:30 pm.

Meet Jesse – the owner, potter and creative mind behind Riverwood Pottery. After taking a ceramics class in college, Jesse found his passion for clay making and spent four years further exploring ceramics. For 15 years after that initial class, he spent free time fine-tuning his pottery making skills and building a pottery business.

Jesse aspired to own a small business and storefront since apprenticing for Macy Dorf, a ceramic artist in the historic art district in Denver Colorado. In May of 2019, the purchase of his storefront and studio space on the historic downtown Morton St. in Shipshewana Indiana accomplished this goal. Jesse now works from his studio space, where he sells handmade pottery and visitors can come and watch him work while they shop.

The inspiration for Jesse’s work comes from nature. Hiking and camping in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and watching the iconic changing of Aspen leaves each fall prompted the creation of the Aspen Tree Tumbler and Aspen Tree Mug. Jesse collected Aspen tree trunks which he molded to make tumblers that resemble the tree and can be used as vases, drinking glasses, or other decor.

During 2018, Jesse spent many months milking cows twice a day on the family farm. Throughout the year he spent countless hours looking at cow hooves as he fed and prepared each cow for milking. Jesse used the opportunity to transform these daily routines into the Cow Hoof Mug that he is excited to share with dairy farmers and will showcase in the storefront this fall.

Jesse grew up in Middlebury, Indiana, spent a decade in Denver, Colorado, and now lives outside of Shipshewana on a small organic family farm with his wife Ariane, son Linden and daughter Esme, where he farms 125 acres with his brother. Outside of the studio and farm, Jesse spends time with his family, snowboarding, biking, boating and fishing, playing and watching soccer and up-cycling ordinary items to incorporate at home or in pottery designs.

Follow us on Instagram, shop with us on Etsy, and stop by Riverwood Pottery to shop or watch him work on the wheel. We are anxious to see how you use our handmade pottery in your everyday life!