May 15, 2017

Meet Jill Rosenwald of Jill Rosenwald Studio in Fort Point Channel

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Rosenwald.

Jill, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My first real studio was a large space opened with my husband in 1996 in Boston’s Fort Point Channel neighborhood. It was there that we both designed and created our own lines that were shipped to stores like Barneys and Neiman Marcus across the country.

The brand has always reflected my personality and interests, so while it’s constantly evolving I wouldn’t say it has changed. I have always loved making beautiful colorful things, and I love that we make them for the smart and stylish people that enjoy them. It has always been important to me to bring great quality and craftsmanship to our customers because I like them appreciate cool handmade objects. Nevertheless, the type of work we do has certainly changed over the course of my career. I began with clay jewelry (ouch! heavy on the lobes!), transitioned into wall pieces, then functional pots which we continue to make today. I dipped my toe into the baby business for a little while, and then in the early 2000’s made a mad first foray into licensing. I made many mistakes back then but I am proud to say that today our brand both the pottery and the textiles are about bold design that brings a little piece of happy into peoples’ lives.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The biggest obstacle was marketing my work effectively. In the old days, (pre internet) my mom would drive through a busy hip downtown while I madly wrote down the names of stores that might possibly be a good fit for my work. Then came the cold calls. Humiliating, but necessary. Eventually, I would show up at said shop with my work in a carry case- have a meeting with the buyer to see if there was interest, and hope to make a sale! It is hard to imagine now, but back then I didn’t have a design community with which to share information. I was on my own. These days, tools like Instagram have made meeting other designers a wonderful and snappy adventure. The design world at your fingertips…Amazing.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Jill Rosenwald studio – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
For nearly 20 years, my husband Lawrence McRae and I have created modern, polished and show-stopping works of art here in Boston’s historic Fort Point Channel. We are known for our pottery pieces: giftware, tableware, serve ware and lamps that are all handmade in our downtown Boston studio.

We are pursuing the American dream here at the studio; we’re making this very sincere, beautiful thing (handmade pottery) for individuals in a time when that’s rare and very hard to come by. If you were to order a piece from us at our studio, there are going to be at least six people that will create, touch, and make that piece before it arrives in your home. When you own one of our pieces, you definitely feel that you have made a bold choice and now you’re a part of something special. I am very proud of that.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We have set up space for a showroom recently that will be opened up to the trade, and the public by appointment. It is separate from our working space and its’ main objective will be to share what we do best with clients. We want them to be able to see first-hand how we can create custom objects for them to their specifications. We are super pumped about it…and it is almost ready for a grand opening.

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