26 Best Places to Shop in USA

Ceramicist Richard Carter fires up his minimalist line of dinnerware at his 85-acre Pope Valley ranch, where he also creates sculptures and other works on display at his downtown store. Thoughtfully curated kitchenware, home-design items, and hand-crafted clothing by other artisans are also for sale.

Just across the river from Wiscasset, this family-owned pottery operation is renowned for its vibrantly colored, exquisitely glazed porcelain, which is also sold at shops in Portland and York. But it's all made right here—the original location. The store also carries a fine selection of jewelry, glassware, and glass sculptures.

More and more of James Zilian's "studio pottery" is showing up in luxury establishments around the country, even earning the Oprah seal of approval. A visit to the home shop just west of Woodstock shows why, with a rustic but elegant range of stoneware pitchers, enamel jars, linen oven mitts, and beehive salt cellars. Visitors can watch the potters in action through large windows into the production room.

Heath designs and produces sleek, glossy tiles for the home and newly spun bowls, plates, and cups in rich earth colors to decorate kitchens. You'll also find locally inspired cookbooks and high-quality furniture and silverware from trendy peers throughout Heath's immaculately arranged factory showroom. The company's designs can be found at many of San Francisco's top restaurants and cafés, including the adjacent Tartine Manufactory. The working factory tour on select Fridays and the quieter Saturday factory tour are destinations in and of themselves for home reno enthusiasts.

In an old gristmill with beautiful views of the Soque River, Mark of the Potter offers an outstanding selection of pottery from more than 30 artisans. The emphasis is on functional pieces, with a great variety of clay and firing techniques and glazes in every imaginable color. Items range from coffee scoops to lamps, mugs to elaborate vases and casserole dishes. The shop is legendary among Georgia-pottery lovers. Children and adults alike will enjoy sitting on the porch and feeding the huge pet trout. There is usually a potter working on the wheel at the shop on Saturday and Sunday.

Odyssey has the largest number of working clay artists in the region. It has two ceramics galleries, plus pottery studios and clay classes. Browse the ceramic works, both functional and decorative, as well as figurative and abstract sculptures by juried clay artists. 

A stroll through the historic house, outbuildings, and gardens of this enchanting arts complex on a bluff overlooking President Channel and Waldron Island is more than just a chance to browse beautiful pottery—it's a great spot simply to relax, soak up the views, and be inspired by the shop's 80+ years of shaping clay and community. More than a dozen regular and guest potters exhibit and sell their wares here, everything from functional dinnerware and mugs to fanciful vases and wall hangings. Pottery isn't always the most kid-friendly but this place has playful outdoor pieces and a very cool tree house to check out.

This locally owned pottery store features expertly designed glazed plates, bowls, cups, vases, pitchers, and more. Handmade and fired in a wood kiln, each piece is a work of art, making this a great place to shop for gifts that are both useful and beautifully one-of-a-kind.

You can peek into the workshop next door to see potters create this shop's beautiful plates, vases, and other vessels—often decorated with lighthouses, pine trees, lupine, chickadees, or other Maine-centric illustrations. The merchandise also includes home accessories, jewelry, and other items made by local artisans. There's a second shop in downtown Damariscotta.

For folks drawn to the unique warmth and hand-crafted look of decorative tiles, Syzygy Tileworks is a must-stop. The founders of Syzygy create their own art tiles inspired by the famed Moravian tile works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; the results are a refreshing complement to traditional Southwestern styles.

Since 1951, many of the nation's best ceramic artists have come to work in residency at the Archie Bray Foundation. Wander near the five antiquated, 8-foot-high, dome-shaped brick kilns on a self-guided walking tour. Be sure to visit the gift shop, which sells work produced by foundation artists. Call first in case it's by appointment only that day; the gallery is closed on Sunday and Monday.

What started as a one-woman operation in 1991 now employs a dozen artists who hand-paint ceramic tiles, tableware, ornaments, and fun signs at this factory store in a 1926 former pool hall. Glazes are lead-free and kilns are powered by solar panels, which feed back to the power grid when they're not firing. The studio's "Mahalo for Removing your Slippers" plaques are a classic island souvenir. Custom orders are available.

Originally owned by Dee and Terry Buck, creators of the Texas Clay Festival (still an annual event), Buck’s Pottery was sold to their niece, Angie White, and her husband Kyle, in 2015. Angie, also a potter, continues the tradition alongside Terry. In their original barn studio, they create unique ceramic art, including mugs, pots, bowls, tortilla warmers, and more from some of the best ceramic artists in Texas.

A North Beach landmark, this store sells ceramics of the quality found in the artisan clusters of Italy. The excellent selection of hand-painted Italian pottery, imported mainly from Tuscany, Umbria, and Sicily, has been shipped worldwide by this proud, family-run business since it was opened by Italian immigrants in 1946. Their specialty is Umbrian Deruta ceramics and some Palio di Siena Contrade pieces, and they work directly with generational artisans.

A pottery studio on a busy corner, there is always a nice array of unique vases, planters, bowls, and mugs for sale here. As a proud supporter of social justice movements, Byrdie's donates 20% of its revenue to nonprofit causes. It's only open on weekends; check the website for workshops and events.

This shop in the heart of Yuma features locally handcrafted bowls, vases, and dishes.

Near the Machias River Bridge in downtown Machias, this longtime shop used to be a couple towns over in Columbia Falls, thus the name. Offsetting the creamy white earthenware are softly hued purple, pink, blue, and green pieces with hand-painted patterns that evoke the Down East landscape: blueberry, lupine, iris, pine cone, fern, and lady slipper. There are also decorative tiles and a line featuring an image of a loon on a pond. The potter herself will likely be on hand to help you select from mugs, bowls, clocks, lamps, and other useful pieces. Gift wrapping is free, as is assistance in packing items for safe travel; shipping is also available.

High-fire porcelain dinnerware and housewares in abstract designs, decorative raku pieces, yoga-inspired porcelain jewelry, and colorful tile backsplashes and tables are for sale at Connie’s Clay of Fundy Pottery. The potter and owner gives demonstrations in the attached studio and invites visitors to relax on the deck.

Fragments of wrought iron work and other architectural details form the inspiration for many of Mark Derby's beautiful pottery pieces, from mugs and vases to handmade Victorian reproduction tiles. His clocks and plaques, fashioned from reproductions of New Orleans's historic Art Deco water-meter covers, have earned cult popularity, and his reproductions of letter tiles found on Crescent City street corners can be spotted all over town.

This working pottery studio in a large 120-year-old roadside farmhouse is filled with lots more than "just" beautiful pottery. Vibrant stained glass, a variety of jewelry, and fiber art are featured, along with the vivid, decorative, and functional stoneware of shop owner Cody Trautner.

One of Vermont's most skilled and distinctive potters welcomes visitors to his shop and studio in downtown Waterbury. A few apartments are also available to rent in the guesthouse.

You won't find any painted coconuts here, but you will find a collection of contemporary tropical ceramics. Wife-and-husband owners Kelly Lever and Adam Russell take real pride in this working studio that, in addition to their own creations, features artists from around the country.

In early 2023, this 70-year-old Spanish brand, famed for its porcelain lamps, chandeliers, figurines, jewelry, and candleholders, opened this shop—its first high-concept, immersive store in the United States. Shoppers might wonder if they're in an actual store or a museum/gallery as the avant-garde design is as easy on the eyes as the products for sale.

Restaurants like The French Laundry, Auro, and Cyrus, many wineries, and Martha Stewart herself rank among the fans of ceramicist spouses Nikki Ballere and William Callnan III. The two create art and dinnerware ceramics—and exhibit the works of other local artisans—in their studio east of St. Helena in Angwin. It's worth the 6-mile trip halfway up Howell Mountain (call first) to see what Ballere and Callnan are up to. 

This artist-owned and -operated studio and gallery features unique wheel-thrown stoneware. Stop in for keepsake souvenirs and occasional events featuring guest artists; call ahead for more information and to make sure the studio is open if you're visiting during the off-season.

If it's made of ceramic, you'll find it here—whether it's a calavera (skull), a chili pepper, an armadillo, or a pot of just about any size. You'll also find fountains, benches, and plenty of whimsical metal yard art.