Pine Mills Pottery, Daphne and Gary Hatcher: handmade by human beings

Gary and Daphne Hatcher have been making handmade pottery together for over 40 years in the beautiful rolling woodlands of Northeast Texas.  Visitors to our showroom will find a large selection of individual works of interest to collectors of fine contemporary ceramics, as well as everyday dinnerware and serving pieces for functional use in the home.  All pieces are totally handmade from stoneware clay that we blend ourselves using nine separate ingredients, including four different clays from various mines across the southern United States.  Processes we use for creating our ceramic art works have been developed by us over more than thirty years, first as apprentices and then at our own studio established in 1979. We made the decision many years ago to make each individual piece ourselves and not to delegate the making process to employees. This makes it possible for us to make each piece of exceptionally high quality. We use no commercial processes such as molds, slip casting, jiggering, ram pressing, commercial glazes or commercially prepared claybodies. 
Pine Mills Pottery was established in 1979 after returning from Europe where we apprenticed with potters in England, France and Greece, including eighteen months at Lowerdown Pottery in Devon with David Leach and a shorter period of time with his brother Michael Leach at Yelland Pottery.  Work created at Pine Mills Pottery is primarily wood-fired stoneware, both thrown and constructed from slabs.  Work is produced in multiples, focusing on form, color and a high degree of quality.  Most work is fired in a 128 cubic foot Bourry box wood-fired kiln to cone 12 several times a year.  The kiln was built in 1983 and has been fired over 100 times.  In addition to our wood-fired kiln, we built a smaller 50 cubic foot gas-fired car kiln in 1987, in which bisque and glaze firing is done.  We work independently of each other and rarely collaborate on pieces, though we share the same studio, clays, glazes and kilns. We hope you enjoy exploring our web site and are able to come to the studio and gallery for a visit. Please get in touch with us if you would like to make a purchase or have questions.

Bourry Box Wood Kiln Firing Gallery: click here for more images

From the making of the pots, through the glazing process, to the loading & firing of our kiln, this gallery explores the process of taking a pot from the raw clay to the gallery. Built in 1983, when Gary and Daphne were 29 years old, this kiln has been fired hundreds of times. The final firing of this kiln was on Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017. Every kiln has a lifespan and this kiln produced beautiful work for over three decades. It is in the process of being torn down, to be rebuilt with some new modifications in the coming year.

Our pottery is usually open seven days a week from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., but if you are making a special trip please phone ahead, as we are occasionally closed, to make a loose appointment ("sometime Saturday afternoon", or "Tuesday morning" is adequate, nothing complicated) to make sure the studio is open, 903-857-2271 or 903-316-1696.  Directions to the pottery can be found here: DIRECTIONS *Please use "Pine Mills, Texas" as your GPS entry to find us, NOT our Mineola postal address. Pine Mills Pottery Studio and Gallery is located in a rural area 14 miles east of Mineola on FM 49, one mile before reaching FM 14 at Pine Mills, TX.

We have two annual sale events at our studio, one on Memorial Day Weekend in May and one on Thanksgiving Weekend in November, but we are open year-round. Walk in the woods to the pond, bring a picnic and sit in the garden or on the porch. Enjoy the beauty and bounty of nature and our own clay creations. We look forward to your visit. If you can't make it out to the studio, Daphne is happy to work with you via email or text with digital photos to make a purchase anytime, for yourself, or as a gift to be shipped to someone special. We also show and sell our work at the Texas Clay Festival in Gruene, Texas, in October every year, and at the Dallas Pottery Invitational in April.

Pine Mills Pottery Signature Handmade Dinnerware created by Gary Hatcher

Gary Hatcher has been making some of the very best handmade dinnerware to found, for almost 40 years. Give some consideration to allowing him to create a special dinner set just for you, like the set pictured below, or like any of the sets found when you click on the link in the lefthand column, Signature Handmade Dinnerware.

Peace and Quiet Cottage: a secluded guest rental, next door to our studio

If you are thinking of driving out, why not stay a while? Gary and Daphne now offer a lovely secluded rental cottage situated on 3 private acres directly next door to Pine Mills Pottery, nestled in the woods, a naturalist and bird-watcher's paradise.

Fully furnished and beautifully appointed, the totally renovated 2700 sq. ft. house has two-bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and everything you need for a quiet getaway: sheets, towels, a fully outfitted kitchen with all new appliances and fixtures, complete with Pine Mills Pottery dinnerware, washer and dryer, a screened porch, walking paths through the woods and more. Perfect for a romantic weekend, a couples retreat from the city, bicyclists, a writers or artists retreat, a girls weekend away or a small family gathering. Sleeps 6 comfortably. Smoke-free. No pets.

Call Daphne to reserve your stay at the guest rental cottage at 903-316-1696. Rates are $150 per night, plus applicable taxes. Check out the full cottage website at www.peaceandquietcottage.com

Our VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) site for rates and reservations is located here (though by calling Daphne directly at 903-316-1696 you receive a better rate):

Peace and Quiet Cottage, A Private Woodland Retreat Less Than 2 Hours East of Dallas

Inquire at the pottery or call us at 903-316-1696 or 903-857-2271, or you may send Daphne an email by clicking here: Daphne's email

Gift Certificates: the perfect gift from Pine Mills Pottery