Artist Alley
Stories of how we cross paths with talented creatives
We work together with individual artists who are committed to the beauty and craftsmanship of their trade. Over the years, we’ve developed relationships with a select community of talented artisans, both rising stars and those known globally. Each month, we feature a different artist on this page, celebrating their style and a look behind-the-scenes at our work together.
A Studio Tucked in the Mad River Valley
Traveling through the winding roads of Vermont, across the Mad River Valley, and just outside the small town of Waitsfield, this is where you’ll find the studio of artist, Noel Bailey. It sits nestled in the hills of the lush Green Mountains.
Our initial introduction to Noel wasn’t quite this scenic, we were connected to his work via an online show, Clayakar’s Yunomi. We were fortunate to participate in the Invitational, which is highly curated and selects work from over 150 artists. After researching the wide variety of ceramic styles, prior to the show going live, we decided Noel Bailey Ceramics was one of four artists whose work we would try to purchase. Until that point, we’d never seen his ceramics.
Yunomi is a very competitive event; to get the pieces you want, you have to jump online as soon as it goes live. Some pieces were sold out in ten minutes. We were fortunate to secure a piece from Noel Bailey Ceramics, one of his porcelain cups, during the first thirty minutes of the online event. Our package arrived a few weeks later, and once we saw the quality and colors, we reached out and arranged to visit.
We arrived at the studio and met both Noel and Molly, his apprentice. Molly was hard at work, intent on making teapots. Not an easy task, we learned. Inside the studio, we had a chance to see the full spectrum of Noel’s artistry. His pieces are a combination of blue, sand, and chestnut brown against a white background, a blend that’s seen in his platters, tumblers, plates, and more. We were already looking to broaden our artisan selection to include lighter pieces, adding to the darker selection in our existing gift boxes. And the new porcelain cups we saw that day had a vertical incision that lets the light in and allows you to see through the porcelain. So cool.
And that’s how it began. Since this first introduction, we’ve now worked together for years and have added special collaboration pieces to our gift box collection. We were pleased to be the first to offer the elegant, tall porcelain glasses you see in our Toast of the Town gift box.
View Noel’s work in our Tranquil at Twilight and Toast of the Town gift boxes.
