“Color is my main inspiration,” says Kathleen of K. DeBord Pottery. “No matter what my subject matter, the combination of colors and shapes is my main concern.” Birds, gardens, plants and produce are where she gets her images,” she says. She likes cheery designs that make a table look bright and festive.

Kathleen started her business about 35 years ago in her garage. She has worked out of her Carmel Valley studio since 1995 where she does every step of the pottery making process beginning with the mixing of the clay, forming, painting, firing, glazing and then firing again. “This is labor-intensive work and I care about every piece,” she says, “I love painting the work and seeing it transform. It’s what I love to do!”

Kathleen is a native Californian, she lives in the Carmel Highlands with her artist husband Keith Lindberg. She has a Fine Arts Degree from California State University, Fresno and a master’s degree in art education.

Her customers have ranged from national catalogs to tiny individually owned shops. She said that she prefers the smaller accounts where she can do business on a personal level.