Brantford Potters Guild will host its annual spring pottery sale at the Woodman Park Community Centre from Friday, April 10 to Sunday, April 12, 2026.
The Brantford Potters Guild is a community of people in the Brantford and surrounding area that are actively involved with the art of clay and pottery.
“We’re an organization that has existed for just over 50 years in Brantford, and our goal is to facilitate community amongst artists that call themselves potters, and we have a large membership that is a combination of hobby and professional potters,” said Emily Gabriel, chair of the sales of the committee. “We also want to facilitate learning about pottery within the community, so we offer ten-week courses and workshops at our facilities in the Cordage Heritage District. There, we have a large studio where our members have 24-hour access, and then right next door to that, we have a facility that is our learning studio where we offer classes pretty much every day of the week.”
The spring event, one of two annual sales hosted by the Guild, has been running for over 25 years and is an opportunity for attendees to support the artists.
Gabriel said that this year there will be nearly 50 potters set up around the gymnasium. From mugs to plates, serving dishes and more, there will be a large variety of items for people to browse and buy.
“A lot of the work that people find will be functional, so there’ll be a lot of tableware like mugs, bowls, plates, serving platters and little side dishes,” she said. “There is a good amount of non-functional work too, art that you would typically display, so people will be able to find a good range of things.”
When asked why she thought so many people are so drawn to ceramic work, Gabriel said that while anyone can purchase a mass-produced mug or plate from a store, there’s quite a few things that make ceramic art special.
“I think there’s been a shift toward wanting to find things that have more of a human connection and items that are handmade. I find that people really value handmade things because they reflect the person who made them; in a society that is becoming more technological, the value of a handmade item has become something special that people are seeking out,” she said. “I also think people that love to decorate their home in unique ways don’t really want items that you will find at every other house. They want art that is different and personal, and I think that happens more frequently with handmade goods than mass produced items from big-box stores. And because pottery is not as high priced as some art you might buy for your walls, it’s a little more accessible because it can fit into more people’s budgets.”
The guild will also be doing some gift card giveaways that can be entered to win through social media, and those who attend the sale will be able to enter to win door prizes.
For those interested in attending the event, the sale will run on Friday, April 10 from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m., Saturday, April 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday, April 12 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. The sale is free to attend and there is free parking available. The site is also wheelchair accessible.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
