Nestled deep within miles of rich farmland in the rural area of Red Wing,Minnesota is the Featherstone Farm and Pottery located on 210th Avenue off of Goodhue County Road 1 in Featherstone Township. In the east yard you will find the pottery and kiln of brother potters Tom and Jeff Larkin. It is here on their uncle Ferman’s farm that they have been crafting pottery now for over two decades.

When Jeffrey was a young man he fell in love with pottery as an art form. This infatuation led him to the University of Minnesota where he studied under Warren MacKenzie and then across the Atlantic to the Leach Pottery in St. Ives, England. It was here that he studied under the tutelage of Bernard Leach, the most famous and acclaimed of all British studio potters. Upon his return to the United States he taught all of what he knew to his younger brother, Thomas.

After they both became skilled in the art of pottery they constructed a 30-foot pottery kiln, as well as renovating the old hen house into a pottery studio and showroom on the scenic grounds of the farm that has been in their mother’s family now for over a century. As the years have gone on, these two men have mastered their trade and have become truly skilled artists. All are welcome to visit their pottery to observe and purchase, the many items that are on display.

The Story of Featherstone Farm

The Story of the Featherstone FarmThe story of the Featherstone Farm and Pottery begins in 1858, the year that Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union. It was in this year that Sidney Featherstone arrived in Goodhue County from Ontario, Canada. He soon settled on land that had just been opened to homesteading in what is now Featherstone Township, 6 miles outside of Red Wing. Later in life, he passed on his 4 farms, giving each to one of his sons. One of these farms was that which is now in the possession of Ferman Featherstone, Tom and Jeff’s uncle. It is here that they chose to locate their pottery and where it remains today.