The simplistic lines, appealing form, and attractive colors of Heath Ceramics make its dining ware a modern addition to any home. The San Francisco based company draws its history to a singular woman, Edith Heath, who after catching the attention of taste makers and architects in the 1940s with her modern, visionary ceramic pieces, opened her own company.

In 1941 Edith, and her husband Brian Heath, moved to San Francisco from Chicago. While in Chicago, Edith had started classes at the Chicago Art Institute and Chicago Teachers College. She continued her art courses in California, studying at the San Francisco Art Institute and UC Berkeley. Edith pushed forward with her interest in ceramics, and the chemistry involved in making ceramics, and showed her pieces at an artists’ exhibition in 1944. The show would come to be a transformative moment in her life. Her work impressed the buyer for Gump’s, a San Francisco based department store. Other national department stores took notice and demand increased for Edith’s work, leading her and Brian to launch Heath Ceramics. 

After creating dining ware, Edith soon added a line of architectural tiles as a number of architects approached her about collaborating on building projects. Heath Ceramics would go on to work with some of the biggest names in architecture during her time, including renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with whom Edith created a line of dinnerware to go with some of his house designs. These collaborations would lead to Edith becoming the first non-architect to win the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in 1971 for her work in tiles.

Edith’s mid-century modern pieces also gained attention from Edgar Kaufmann Jr., the curator of design for the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Enticed by her work, he added a few of her pieces to MOMA’s permanent collection in the Architecture and Design department.

As described in her obituary in the SF Gate, Edith continually played with the craft of ceramics. Incorporating local clays from clay pits surrounding San Francisco, along with the use of distinctive glazes, Edith’s pieces came to have a noted speckled pattern which were visible through the glaze layers. Often, Heath Ceramic pieces were stamped with the company’s logo underneath.

Heath Ceramics struggled as Edith and Brian fell into poor health. An enterprising duo, Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic, purchased it from Edith in 2003. With great care, they are overseeing the transition of Edith’s vision to the present day, utilizing new glazes and ceramic designs to reinvigorate the well-loved brand.

https://www.heathceramics.com/pages/about 

Author Unknown. “Heath, Brian & Edith”. UC Berkley Environmental Design Archives. https://archives.ced.berkeley.edu/collections/heath-brian-edith 

Ginsburg, Martha. “Edith Heath – Renowned Ceramicist”. In SF Gate. January 1, 2003. Revised January 13, 2012. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Edith-Heath-renowned-ceramicist-2507635.php 

Nash, David. “Heath Ceramics Celebrates 70 Years of Modern Design” In Architectural Digest. February 26, 2018. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/heath-ceramics-san-francisco-70-years-of-modern-design