Spruce Pine Potters Market 2026: 29 Potters in One Historic Mill

Next Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, the Spruce Pine Potters Market opens from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the Cross Street Commerce Center, 31 Cross Street. Admission and parking are free, and it's open to all ages. The 2026 roster names 29 potters. Visiting their studios on your own would mean a lot of driving on mountain roads. For one weekend, they all fit in a single room of an old textile mill on the edge of downtown.

That is the whole reason the market exists. If you know the history, the weekend makes more sense.

The problem the market was built to solve

Studio pottery around here is spread out. Potters work out of home studios on ridges and hollows across Mitchell and Yancey counties, and plenty of those studios sit at the end of gravel roads. The Avery Journal's story on the market's return after Helene said the market started when local potters organized a weekend event that "replaced the need for enthusiasts to visit individual studios via winding mountain roads."

Naomi Dalglish and Michael Hunt, who work together as Bandana Pottery, helped create the event. Dalglish told Mountain Xpress that the founders kept running into each other at pottery shows far from home, so they decided to put on a show in their own backyard. That way the area's concentration of potters could be seen in the place where the work gets made. Dalglish and Hunt are on this year's list again.

The roster reads like a map of the region's kilns. Cynthia Bringle, Joy Tanner, Michael Kline, Julie Wiggins, Terry Gess, Courtney Martin, Jenny Lou Sherburne and Gertrude Graham Smith all have booths. So do two Joerlings, Lisa and Nick, and two Sedberrys, Ken and Galen. Susan Feagin is on the list too, and she also coordinates the clay studio at Penland School of Craft. That kind of overlap is common here. The people teaching in the region's studios and the people selling at the tables are often the same people.

The potters run it, so the potters decide

No gallery, school or tourism office runs this market. Joy Tanner told The Laurel of Asheville in 2025 that the participating potters plan and operate their own event. Earlier coverage described the market as artist-managed, and participants said what drew them was talking with buyers directly and keeping the show artist-led.

That setup shaped what happened after Helene. The 2024 market had been planned for October 12 and 13, and the storm canceled it. Julie Wiggins turned her studio into a storm relief center. Within weeks, the Spruce Pine Potters Market joined the Mint Museum in Charlotte, the NC Pottery Center, Odyssey Clayworks, Potters of Madison County and Toe River Arts to hold a regional relief market on December 14, 2024. The Mint said the goal was to put potters back in front of customers at a time when visitors were staying away from the affected areas. Sales went to the artists, and donations went to selected Western North Carolina support organizations.

The market came back at Cross Street on October 11 and 12, 2025. Potter Shaunna Lyons told the Avery Journal, "People came from everywhere to help, and their help made all the difference."

Where the sweepstakes money goes this year

You can see the member-run setup most clearly in the sweepstakes. Each year a few market potters donate pieces, and the market says its sweepstakes has supported Mitchell and Yancey County nonprofits for more than a decade. The membership picks the partner. The last two years show how that choice follows what the town needs.

The Hive has served Spruce Pine since 2021. It's a drop-in after-school program at the Walnut Avenue Apartments, run in partnership with the Spruce Pine Housing Authority, and it began as a collaboration between the Housing Authority and Penland School of Craft. Its programs include art workshops, gardening, community meals, field trips, teen leadership and academic support. The craft community has been connected to it from the start, so this year's choice fits.

The pieces are serious work. David Ross donated an Early Morning Butterfly Platter, a hand-built stoneware platter 21.5 inches across, valued at $175. Joy Tanner donated a carved, soda-glazed stoneware jar valued at $150. Tickets are $5 each, and you can buy as many as you like for any piece. They're sold online now and in person during the show. Winners will be notified by email on October 16 to set up local delivery or free shipping. No purchase is necessary to enter. The sweepstakes table is just inside the main entrance, where you can see every piece up for drawing.

The building, and how to make the visit easy

The Cross Street Commerce Center used to be a hosiery mill, according to a local craft-trail guide. The market describes it as a historic building with large windows. The Avery Journal describes the old factory floor as having high ceilings, tall windows and wooden beams. That light helps when you're judging glaze color in person.

The market's own FAQ covers the practical details:

• Parking: Free parking is on the paved lot along the front and side of the building, with free overflow parking in the gravel lot across the street.
• Carrying purchases: A holding table in the center hall will keep your pieces safe while you keep shopping. Any volunteer can point you to it.
• Kids and pets: It's an all-ages event with a stroller parking area. With this much ceramic work in one room, the organizers ask that pets stay home.
• Refreshments: Hot coffee and bottled water are set out in the central hallway.

For lunch, the market's plan-your-visit page lists downtown spots a few minutes away. They include Fox & The Fig, Spruce Pint Taproom, DT's Blue Ridge Java, 270 on Oak, Mad Platter Pizza, Thai Table & Sushi Bar, El Ranchero, Bueno Blend and Hef's Pub.

The rest of the studio map, open the same season

The market gathers potters in one room for two days. The region's galleries stay open all fall, and a few current shows pair well with a market weekend.

The market's visitor page also lists Lakeview Gallery and Gardens, Mica Gallery and In Tandem Gallery nearby. If you have out-of-town guests along for the weekend, it suggests The Orchard at Altapass for u-pick apples and live music. Mica Gallery's link for David Ross is a useful clue. After the market you can still find some of these potters' work at a downtown gallery, even if their studio is a long drive out.

Toe River Arts, Penland Gallery, Mica Gallery and In Tandem Gallery are all market sponsors, along with TRACTOR Food & Farms and the Mitchell County Chamber. The galleries that show this work year-round are the same ones that back the weekend when the potters show it themselves.

Questions about the show go to the organizers at [email protected].

I grew up here in Yancey County, and it means a lot that the potters who work here still put this weekend together themselves. If you're wondering what living or owning near the studios on this map is really like, I'm always glad to talk it through. Alli Buchanan is happy to help. Let's Connect.