Max + Kathy Whitley · Pink Hill, N.C. · Since 1973
Made by hand.Kept for a lifetime.
Kathy throws, carves, and glazes stoneware. Max cuts, tools, and finishes leather.
Two crafts. Two sets of hands. One studio in eastern North Carolina.
They’ve been making things meant to be used — and kept — for more than fifty years.
- NextAlbemarle Craftsmans FairOct 23–25, 2026 · Barco, NC
- Then17th Kiln OpeningDec 12 · Pink Hill, NC
74days to go
Fig. 01 · Kathy Whitley · Carved & glazed stoneware
Fig. 04 · Max + Kathy at the studio
Maker’s note · from the studio
Two crafts.
One studio.
“We make things to be used and enjoyed in everyday life.”
Max and Kathy have spent most of their working lives making objects meant to leave the studio.
A mug should be held.
A belt should get better with age.
A bowl should end up on somebody’s table.
That has always been the point.
Kathy Whitley
Stoneware · Gas kiln · 2400°F
Kathy studied art at East Carolina University. She throws on the wheel, then works back into the clay by carving, etching, painting and piercing it.
Her glaze formulas are her own. Her work includes mugs, bowls, teapots, lamps, vases, jars and the occasional face looking back at you.
Max Whitley
Cowhide · Solid brass
Max starts with unfinished cowhide and cuts every strap himself.
Patterns are hammered into the leather a little at a time, then the piece is polished, fitted and finished. He has collected solid-brass buckles for years, many of them made to move from one strap to another.
- 1973A leather shop in Greenville
- 1995The move to Pink Hill
44 pieces and counting
Pieces people
have taken home.
Most of the work on this page is gone. That’s the point.
These are pieces photographed before they left the studio: pots, belts, bags and other things Max and Kathy have made over the years.
Anything marked Archive is a record of past work, not something currently for sale. The online shop opens again with the Holiday Kiln Opening on December 12.
See all 44 pieces →
Photographed 2013–2018 · from the old website◆ Archive = work that has already found a home
Pottery · Kathy Whitley
Thrown,
carved,
fired.
The wheel is only the beginning.
Kathy throws the form first, then comes back to it with carving tools, brushes and glazes. Some pieces are etched. Some are pierced. Some are painted. Almost all of them carry the marks of another pass by hand.
The glaze formulas are Kathy’s own. The finished stoneware is lead-free and made for everyday use.
- 02WorkedCarved, etched, painted or pierced.
- 03GlazedWith Kathy’s own formulas.
- 04FiredIn the gas kiln at 2400°F.
Leather · Max Whitley
Cut from the
whole hide.
Max doesn’t buy finished straps.
He starts with unfinished cowhide, lays out each piece, cuts it himself and works the pattern into the leather by hand.
Some patterns take weeks. Then the leather is polished, fitted and paired with solid-brass hardware.
- Whole cowhide.Start
- Strap by strap.Cut
- Patterns hammered by hand.Tool
- Polished and worked smooth.Finish
- Solid brass.Hardware
- Made to your measurement.Fit
Field notes · Pink Hill
The work still passes
through their hands.
There isn’t much distance between the maker and the finished thing here.
Max cuts and tools every belt. Kathy throws, carves and glazes every pot. The kiln is loaded shelf by shelf at the studio in Pink Hill.
That’s still how the work gets made.
Pottery + leather,
packed for the road.
Max and Kathy have spent decades carrying their work to craft fairs and bringing it all home again — except, ideally, for the things somebody else carries home.
Oct 2026
Next show
Albemarle Craftsmans Fair
Currituck Extension Office
12 Community Way
Barco, North Carolina
Opens 8:00 AM
1712 Mary Tate Rd., Pink Hill, NC · 9 AM–5 PM · Rain or shine74 days to go
Archive find · Kiln Opening postcards
Seventeen Decembers.
Seventeen cards.
The first Kiln Opening was held in 2009. Every December since — except 2020 — another card has announced the day the studio doors would open.
Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some look exactly like the year they came from.
These are the ones that survived in the old website archive.
Kiln note · Pink Hill Next opening · Dec 12
She fits
inside the kiln.
(She really does.)
It’s a brick gas kiln at the studio.
Kathy packs the load shelf by shelf. The door closes. The kiln climbs toward 2400°F. Then comes the part nobody can hurry: waiting for the whole thing to cool down again.
Only then does the kiln open. That moment gave the December sale its name.
- 01PackedShelf by shelf.
- 02FiredAs one load.
- 03CooledSlowly.
- 04OpenedFinally.
Invitation · Founding Kiln Club
A seat at
every firing.
Kiln Club is for a small group of people who want to stay close to what comes out of the studio.
Members receive a piece from each season’s firing, early access before Kiln Drops and the December opening, and occasional notes from Pink Hill.
The number of founding seats is limited by something very practical: how much Kathy can make.
Founding seats open at the Holiday Kiln Opening.
Kiln Note 01
Hold me a seat at the kiln.
Pink Hill, North Carolina
The studio is
in Pink Hill.
Every December, the doors open wide for the Holiday Kiln Opening.
Pots fill the shelves. Belts hang along the walls. Lamps are lit. Max and Kathy are there.
The rest of the year, call ahead before making the drive.
Studio1712 Mary Tate Rd.Pink Hill, NC Phone(252) 568-4149 Emailkcwpottery@gmail.com Next Kiln OpeningDecember 12, 2026
call ahead9 AM–5 PM
Rain or shine Get directions →Call the studio →
