Photo & logo: Heath CeramicsWhen a brand name becomes interchangeable for the product it produces, it becomes part of our cultural fabric. It becomes a “household name,” and it’s what marketing dreams are made of. Think Escalator, Thermos, Band-Aid, Frisbee, Velcro, Q-Tip, Kleenex, and Google.
However, there are other such brand names that exist in a tighter, but no less impressive cultural sphere. Ones that might not take the spotlight on an international brand stage, but stand the test of time to become part of our lexicon.
One of those brand names is Heath, or Heath Ceramics. It’s a California-based company that’s synonymous with ceramics, as much as timeless design, heirloom quality, and handmade craft. And it has a fascinating story to tell, starting with its founder, Edith Heath.
Who is Edith Heath?
Edith Heath is a legend, especially to denizens of design. As a potter, she’s considered in the same company as artist Ruth Asawa and designers Ray and Charles Eames for her legacy of twentieth-century modernist innovation.
She also founded Heath Ceramics in California in 1948 with the help of her husband Brian Heath. In fact, last year, the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) featured an exhibit called “Edith Heath: A Life in Clay“ to celebrate her work, life, and design philosophy.
OMCA curator, Drew Johnson, sums it up best of all, as featured on Heath’s website:
Edith Heath transformed our notion of ‘good design,’ pioneering a new aesthetic of natural, stylish yet functional products made from local materials and designed to endure.
Some of the Edith-inspired stylish, yet functional products, such as Heath’s “Main Plate,” are still the preferred dishware of restaurateurs, like Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse restaurant and the farm-to-table movement.
Photo: Heath CeramicsAbout Heath Ceramics
In 2023, Heath Ceramics celebrated its 75th anniversary. I think this quote from Heath’s website puts the company, its legacy, and its future in perfect perspective:
What began as a small-scale pottery in 1948, with Edith & Brian Heath, has evolved into a pure and simple way of life and business, that shares one creative heart, and many forms of expression. Heath is an American maker of goods for your home — led by husband and wife, Robin & Cathy — who are shaping the relationship we have to the things we own, and the way we come to own them.
Heath still manufactures all of its products in two Bay Area facilities: the San Francisco tile factory and the original 1959 building in Sausalito, at which you can take a factory tour.
The first-ever documentary about Heath
In 2019, Southern California’s PBS station KCET told Edith’s story. They aired the first documentary about Edith Heath and Heath Ceramics as part of its arts and culture series ARTBOUND. It’s called Heath Ceramics: The Making of a California Classic.
“Artbound” looks at the dinnerware of Heath Ceramics and a design that has stood the test of time since the company began in the late 1940’s. Through the writings of Edith Heath, the founder and designer of Heath Ceramics and voiced by renowned chef Nancy Silverton, this episode explores the groundbreaking work of a woman who created a classic of American design. — KCET
This Zinzin namer gives the documentary two-thumbs up. So, watch it when you have time! (Its run time is 58:54.) If you don’t get a chance to see it, here are several of my favorite (delightfully unexpected) facts, snippets, and observations:
Practicality matters
As a kid during the Great Depression, Edith Heath’s family lost their farm in Iowa. They lost their belongings too, except for a set of fine china (because no one could afford to buy it at auction). This impacted Edith’s viewpoint of products that were nice to look at, but impractical.
Science and art intertwined
In Edith’s adult life, she petitioned the University of California to study a course on ceramics chemistry to learn more about eutectics. “To Edith Heath, the science was just as important as the art.” — Catherine Baily, Owner & Creative Director, Heath Ceramics
Edith, a prolific writer
Heath Ceramics houses Edith’s archive of personal journals and letters, which serves as the philosophical underpinnings of her work.
This particular quote from Edith’s writings stuck with me: “I’m certain many women do the same — trying to explain to oneself the meaning of life, theoretically free and emancipated, but living in dread of an emasculating word or deed.” (On being a woman in a “man’s industrial world.”)
The quest for the perfect clay
Edith’s goal was to find an undiscovered clay with unique properties expressive of the region. She and her husband spent weekends seeking out clay pits. There’s one located in Northern California that is — and remains — the foundation of Heath Ceramics.
A rare honor
Edith Heath is the only ceramicist to win the prestigious Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects for her custom tile design on the exterior of the Norton Simon Art Museum.
The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, with its distinctive Heath Tile exterior cladding. Photo: Heath CeramicsParting thoughts
The Heath brand is stronger than ever. After Edith Heath died at age 94 in early December 2005, Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey became the new owners of Heath Ceramics and still operate it with a vision of preservation and forward-thinking. (Check out Heath’s Certified B-Corp status; it’s pretty impressive.)
The name Heath continues to be synonymous with beautiful, functional design of California ceramics from California clay. And its brand will forever be glazed in the story of Edith Heath’s tenacity, determination, curiosity, creativity, and vision.
Naming advice from Zinzin
Not all brands come with an amazing story like Heath. So, Zinzin always reminds brands (in tenet #36 in of our Manifesto): Tell a Good Story.
Successful brands tell compelling stories. Stories are how we connect with each other, and they’re how people become emotionally engaged with brands.
Part of that story value comes from what is inherent in a name before you adopt it, and part of that value comes after with the stories you create and invest in your brand.
Storytelling never ends — it’s how you turn a name that might belong to any company or product into a brand that can only belong to you.
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