JJ Potts Studio

JJ Potts Studio is an American family-run ceramics and pottery studio based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It began in 2001 when two brothers, Adam and Jeremy Neff, together with friends Scott and John, threw their first ceramic garden mushrooms in a high school pottery class. They named the pieces "Shroomyz," began selling them to garden shops around their hometown, and turned the family garage into a workshop where their father Mark invested in a small kiln. The studio has since grown into a three-generation family pottery business that ships handcrafted stoneware and ceramic garden art to homes and gardens nationwide. Everything JJ Potts sells is wheel-thrown by hand and finished in the Salt Lake City studio. The product range spans garden art — mushrooms, gnomes, worm figures, flower puddlers and trinket dishes built to survive real outdoor seasons — and functional kitchen and dining stoneware such as mugs, bowls and tableware. The original Shroomyz mushroom remains the studio's bestseller a quarter-century later, and it has been extended into themed collections including Patriotic, Gumdrop, Crystal, Fantasy, Funtasmic and Natural variety packs, plus Micro, Fairy and Pico packs. Companion lines include Gnomyz gnomes, Wormyz, Flower Puddlers and Garden Trinket Dishes. The brand sells primarily direct to consumers through its online store, jjpottsstore.com, where it presents itself as "JJ Potts the Store" and emphasizes handmade craftsmanship, durable glazes and pieces designed to be used rather than merely admired. Customer testimonials on the site repeatedly praise the quality, color and packing of the ceramics. The studio also has a wholesale and retail history rooted in garden shops, having been distributed along the West Coast from 2004 by a traveling salesman known as Bud. JJ Potts Studio remains privately held and family-owned, describing itself as a family pottery affair three generations deep. Its identity is closely tied to its Salt Lake City workshop, its kiln-fired production process, and the whimsical, colorful garden ceramics that started with a single handmade mushroom.

JJ Potts Studio traces its origins to 2001, when two brothers, Adam and Jeremy Neff, along with friends Scott and John, threw their first ceramic garden mushrooms in a high school pottery class. They named the pieces "Shroomyz" and began selling them to garden shops around their hometown. The first JJ Potts product catalog dates from that founding year, and Shroomyz remains the studio's bestseller a quarter-century later. Between 2001 and 2003, as local demand grew, the brothers converted their parents' garage into a workshop. Their father Mark invested in a small kiln, and production ran in off-hours — after school, between sports and social outings. With little formal pottery experience, the brothers studied manufacturing techniques and tested them in the garage, improvising tools from hardware-store plaster, Super Soaker squirt guns, chicken wire and wet-dry vacuums. The studio eventually filled the garage, and orders were packaged in the driveway, where escaped packing peanuts occasionally drifted into a neighbor's yard. Jeremy recalled watching the home electricity meter spin and realizing they had outgrown the space. From 2004 to 2008 the business set up shop more formally. In 2004, Bud — an 80-year-old traveling salesman — discovered Shroomyz and began running them up and down the West Coast, and orders piled in. This period marked the studio's transition from a garage operation into a broader wholesale and retail presence. Over the following years JJ Potts grew into a family pottery affair three generations deep, with handcrafted stoneware and ceramic garden art shipping to homes and gardens nationwide. Every piece is still wheel-thrown by hand and finished in the Salt Lake City studio. The product line expanded beyond the original Shroomyz mushrooms into themed mushroom collections (Patriotic, Gumdrop, Crystal, Fantasy, Funtasmic and Natural, plus Micro, Fairy and Pico packs), Gnomyz gnomes, Wormyz, Flower Puddlers, garden trinket dishes, and functional kitchen and dining stoneware such as mugs, bowls and tableware. The studio also sells tile and hand-sculpted pieces built to survive real outdoor seasons. Today the brand sells primarily through its online store, jjpottsstore.com, presented as "JJ Potts the Store," where it markets itself as family-run since 2001 and emphasizes wheel-thrown, hand-glazed, kiln-fired production in Salt Lake City. Customer testimonials on the site highlight the quality, color, craftsmanship and careful packing of the ceramics. The company remains privately held and family-owned.

• 2008

  The studio has established a broader wholesale and retail presence beyond the family garage.

• 2004

  Bud, an 80-year-old traveling salesman, discovers Shroomyz and begins distributing them along the West Coast, driving a surge in orders.

• 2003

  The brothers convert their parents' garage into a workshop; father Mark invests in a small kiln, and production runs in off-hours.

• 2001

  JJ Potts begins in a high school pottery class; brothers Adam and Jeremy Neff, with friends Scott and John, throw their first ceramic garden mushrooms, named Shroomyz, and sell them to local garden shops.

• 2001

  The first JJ Potts product catalog is produced.

Handmade, family-run American pottery studio selling whimsical, durable, kiln-fired ceramic garden art and functional stoneware direct to consumers.

• Shroomyz

  The studio's original and best-selling ceramic garden mushroom, available in themed collections including Patriotic, Gumdrop, Crystal, Fantasy, Funtasmic and Natural, plus Micro, Fairy and Pico packs.

• Gnomyz

  Hand-sculpted ceramic garden gnomes, sold in packs such as Classic Colors.

• Wormyz

  Whimsical ceramic worm garden figures.

• Flower Puddlers

  Ceramic garden art pieces sold individually and in assorted-color packs.

• Garden Trinket Dishes

  Small ceramic dishes for garden and home, sold in packs.

• Kitchen & Dining stoneware

  Functional stoneware mugs, bowls and tableware made to be used every day.

1. 1Handmade Ceramic Mushrooms, Mugs & Pottery — JJ Potts Studio – JJ Potts the Storejjpottsstore.com
2. 2About us – JJ Potts the Storejjpottsstore.com
3. 3Roo Pottery – Whimsical Garden Art & Ceramics – JJ Potts the Storejjpottsstore.com
4. 4Handmade Pottery & Ceramics – JJ Potts the Storejjpottsstore.com
5. 5JJ Potts Studio – Wikidatawikidata.org