Village Squire, 1976-11, Page 8A pretty window display in the old Beechwood store, now the
new Beechwood Pottery.
A country store
nowhome
of busy pottery
6, Village Squire/November 1976
Like many crossroads general stores, the old Beechwood
General Store north of St. Columban in McKillop township sat
deserted for many years. A victim of the changing times when
farmers were willing to drive to town for their groceries. a
time when farmers were fewer and farther between.
Today. the store is again a busy, busy place, home of
probably the area's most prolific pottery.
The Beechwood Pottery as it is now called, is home and
workplace for two potters. Addy McPhee and Robert Tetu.
They've made the store their base of operations since the
spring of 1975 but only lately have most people become aware
of it, because only in the past few months have they opened
their store -cum -studio on a one -day -a -week basis. They're
open on Sunday afternoons from 1-6 for the public to visit,
chat, watch them make pots and look at the Targe stock of
their work they have on hand.
They began opening, they say, because they like to meet
the people who buy their pots, to talk to them and get
feedback so they know if what they're doing is suitable to
their customers. Until then. and for the most part still. their
sales have been through retail outlets in Toronto. Kincardine
and at the Country Spire at Russeldale. They don't expect to
move a lot of pottery on Sundays they say. but they like to
give people a chance to see how pottery is done.
But on the other hand. they're only encouraging visitors on
Sundays because they want to be able to get their work done
the other six days of the week. If the studio was open all the
time, they fear, it would be hard to get enough time to sit
down and concentrate on their work. and earn their living.
And they have earned their living basically from their work
since they moved to the store. They have a bit of land. a small
barn and a chicken coop out back and they raise some of their
own food to keep costs down but their main source of income
is their pots.
The two obviously don't w$ste too much time at their work.
The old shelves of the store are lined with pots and vases and
piggy banks. Still their concern is with becoming more
efficient. Their biggest need, they say. is for a large gas kiln.
a 90 -cubic -foot job that will hold far more than the little
electric kiln they now have. They even had the spot picked out
for it in an addition at the rear of the store that they've been
putting back into shape. The gas kiln would also allow them to
switch from oxidation firing to reduction firing.
It was the desire for a gas kiln that actually brought them to
Beechwood in the first place. Zoning regulations are such in
the city that you cannot install a gas kiln unless you are in
area zoned for industrial use. This was an impossible
situation for two young potters so they began to look for a
place where regulations weren't so strict.
A friend of theirs had rented a farm near Winthrop a few
miles away and told them about the old store. They looked at
it, liked it and bought it. Ever since then they've been trying
to turn back the clock in the old building and turn the store
and living quarters back into adequate condition. There's still
a lot of work to do, they say.
When the building is the way they want it, however, it
should be ideal. The store provides a charming shop and all
kinds of shelves to store and display their work. The large
addition at the back will eventually accomodate not only the
kiln but the drying area as well. The living quarters are only a
few steps away. And the countryside is just outside the large
store windows providing relaxation and inspiration at a
glance. It's a far cry from Toronto where both of them learned
pottery.
Addy is a native of Iceland and lived in England before
coming to Canada about 10 years ago. While living in Toronto
she started taking pottery as a hobby, then studied for a year
under Robin Hopper at Central Technical School. one of the
fey, potters in Canada to be given the title Master Potter.
Rob came from Cambridge but went to Toronto to school
then returned to his home city where he worked for a
newspaper, then became manager of a shopping centre. He
was transferred to Toronto to another shopping centre and