The Purpose of this Blog

Since the death of Museum and Seagrove Pottery Festival founder, Richard Gillson, there has been a series of events in the Seagrove area determined to:

1. Destroy or overthrow the 26 year old Seagrove Pottery Festival, a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event.

and

2. Negatively impact The Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery's financial situation and affect it's ability to perform according to it's non-profit charter and mission.

This blog is an information depository for facts as they become known and available.

The Seagrove Area is defined by N.C. Statute and is the Birthplace of North Carolina Traditional Pottery.

Important decisions need to be made that affect the hundreds of talented men and women potters of the Seagrove area. This blog should help them make educated and informed decisions about important issues that affect them.

All relevent information in support of The Seagrove Pottery Festival will be posted here.

Complaint filed over festival rift

Complaint filed over festival rift

By Mary Anderson -- Staff Writer
Posted: 10/26/08 - 10:12:42 pm CDT



SEAGROVE — Will there be two pottery festivals on the same weekend in November?

The Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery (MNCTP) in Seagrove is taking steps to prevent that.

MNCTP has filed a complaint against the Town of Seagrove seeking a temporary restraining order and then a permanent injunction against the Celebration of Seagrove Potters to hold a festival on the third weekend in November when the traditional Seagrove Pottery Festival takes place. MNCTP coordinates the Seagrove Pottery Festival.

The complaint, filed by Greensboro attorney Nancy Quinn in Randolph civil court on Oct. 2, also asks for a sum in excess of $10,000 plus interest and compensatory damages, a declaratory judgment that the town ordinance was improperly applied and an injunction to prevent the SAPA craft and pottery festival.

The Celebration potters will hold their festival under the auspices of SAPA, the Seagrove Area Potters Association. MNCTP claims SAPA is not a 501.c.3. nonprofit corporation and violates the Seagrove town ordinance that vendor permits are valid only for nonprofit groups. The complaint asks the court to determine whether the permit was properly granted.


SAPA is a 501.c.6 nonprofit organization, an Internal Revenue Service designation specifically for professional and trade organizations.

The complaint comes after months of disagreement among potters which became public last June, when a group of dissenting potters joined forces and announced that they were withdrawing from the Seagrove Pottery Festival and would hold a separate festival on the same weekend.

Members of the MNCTP were outraged and accused the dissenters of trying to steal and destroy the traditional pottery festival. Potter Phil Morgan, now president of the MNCTP board, called it a power play that appeared to be a hostile takeover.

Potter Ben Owen III said the more than 60 potters who wanted an alternate festival wanted their own voice in the community and the potters had been left out of decisions made by the MNCTP board.

On June 27, the Seagrove Board of Commissioners approved permits for the Seagrove Pottery Festival and the Festival of Seagrove Potters to hold pottery festivals on Nov. 22 and 23. The Festival of Seagrove Potters later withdrew that application when opponents argued that the permit would be valid only for Owen, who signed the application, and that every potter involved would need an individual permit.

The dissenting potters changed their name to Celebration of Seagrove Potters and the town board granted a new permit under the umbrella of SAPA. The Celebration group proceeded with plans to hold their festival at the vacant Luck’s Inc. plant on the edge of town.

When this permit was approved by the town commissioners in August, the MNCTP board had already retained Quinn, who served notice of possible legal action.

The complaint further alleges:

X That the Seagrove Board of Commissioners were acting as a Board of Adjustment and N.C. law authorizes aggrieved parties to seek a review of decisions by Boards of Adjustment.

X That the Seagrove Pottery Festival is vital to the survival of the MNCTP and complements the N.C. General Assembly’s mandate that the Seagrove area is the state birthplace of traditional pottery and that the Seagrove Pottery Festival is the premier pottery festival of N.C.

X That holding a second festival craft and pottery festival through SAPA at the same time would cause irreparable harm to the MNCTP by requiring it and its member potters to either choose between festivals, attend both with duplicative expenses, cause confusion with the general public visiting the town for the festival and diminish the value of the reputation they have built up over the last 27 years.

Seagrove Mayor Mike Walker referred questions to the town attorney, Bob Wilhoit, who could not be reached late Friday.

The 27th annual Seagrove Pottery Festival

What follows is a news release about several Moore County potters (known as The Celebration of Seagrove Potters), designed to compete with the original Seagrove Pottery Festival. The original 27th annual Seagrove Pottery Festival is operated by the Seagrove Pottery Museum in downtown Seagrove, and will focus on the legacy of its founder, Richard Gillson, who suffered a tragic death earlier this year.


THE CELEBRATION OF SEAGROVE POTTERS

The Celebration of Seagrove Potters warmly welcomes you to experience a 200-year-old tradition and spend a leisurely time browsing and shopping, seeing the process, developing and renewing relationships with us - the potters of Seagrove. This festival offers shoppers a one-stop, indoor shopping opportunity to purchase clay work made only in the area defined authentically as Seagrove. Visit the Web site for details and for ticket information for the Gala Preview Party on Friday evening from 6:30-9pm.

Celebration of Seagrove Potters
Phone: 336/381-4921

Event Web site: http://www.celebrationofseagrovepotters.com
Location: The Historic Lucks Cannery, NC 705 (Pottery Highway) in Seagrove
Cost: Free - $35

(Be prepared to spend 35 dollars to get into the old bean factory and spend time with those that have diligently tried to destroy the Seagrove Pottery Museum, its Festival, and the life's work of Richard Gillson.)

Yes, 35 dollars.

The Celebration of Seagrove Potters is a seperate and subservient, sometimes called "lesser" event to the original Seagrove Pottery Festival.

Those familiar with the Seagrove Tradition know that the 27th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival will be held at Seagrove Elementary School on November 22nd and 23rd.

Seagrove, North Carolina is one of the largest communities of potters in the United States with roots dating back to the late Eighteenth Century. The Festival emphasizes hand-made pottery and traditional crafts.

Pottery lovers know that this is the time to come, as it is the only time during the year that most of the Seagrove area potters sell their reds, blues, purples, yellows, greens, blacks – and the list goes on of gorgeous colors and styles of pots – all at one place..

In addition to a wide range of potters from the Seagrove area, the festival also offers some 25 traditional craftspeople showcasing their talents. The Festival is based upon our heritage, so demonstrations will take place both days. You will see the blacksmith and tinsmith demonstrating their trade, as well as broom and basket making, woodcarving, weaving, rug hooking, spinning, and pot throwing. Large Percheron draft workhorses, known for their strength and large size, will be there along with a Civil War reenactment.

The 27th Pottery Festival Auction will take place on Sunday afternoon, beginning at 4:00 p.m. The Festival draws loyal collectors eager to place their bids on limited edition pottery, made specifically for this event. Each piece is signed and dated and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity stamped with the corporate seal. If you can’t be present for the auction, sealed bids will be accepted until noon on Sunday. Proceeds from the auction and Festival benefit the sponsoring non-profit organization, the Museum of North Carolina Traditional Pottery.

Die-hard shoppers will want to take advantage of the Early Bird preview, from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Admission is $12 per person and is valid for the entire day. Regular admission is $6 per person from noon – 6:00 p.m. Saturday and 09:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. Members of the Museum of Traditional North Carolina Pottery and children under the age of 12 will be admitted free with an adult. Advanced ticket sales are available for groups of 15 or more.

The first 500 children 12 or under accompanied by an adult each day will receive a hands on opportunity to glaze and see fired a piece of raku pottery as a free gift from the” Seagrove Pottery Museum”.

Thanks to all media outlets for their kind support in helping us publicise the 27th Seagrove Pottery Festival.

Additional information can be found on the Pottery Museum's website:
The original Seagrove Pottery Festival

Statement from The Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery

Date: September 25, 2008

From: The Board of Directors of the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery
d/b/a Seagrove Pottery Museum

To: All Potters, Artists and Craftspeople

Re: The SEAGROVE Pottery Festival


Richard Gillson created the Seagrove Pottery Festival 27 years ago and did much to help put Seagrove and its pottery industry on the map. We all serve on the board of the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery that produces the Seagrove Pottery Festival and our loyalties lie with keeping Richard’s vision for the Seagrove Area alive. We wanted to go on record with this statement of our support and dedication to his dreams and goal.

There is a group of potters in the Seagrove Area who have always tended to support the N.C. Pottery Center. Shortly after Richard Gillson’s untimely death, the Center was implicated in an attempt to steal the Seagrove Pottery Festival and destroy the Museum. Some of us finally took a public stand against the Pottery Center. Don Hudson, because of his intellect and personal contacts, led much of this activity. Don also became the focal point for intense personal attacks from this opposing group of potters.

We believe this decision to steal the Pottery Festival and destroy the Museum was taken last summer. Yes, that date is correct, because somebody had to make the request that the State Dept of Cultural Resources consider funding and an amount would have to have been provided in order to put it in their official budget request to take over the Pottery Center. This takes time, it could not have happened in December when the Pottery Center Board officially and publicly threw itself on the mercy of the State and requested to be taken over. We believe there was a plan already being implemented when Randolph County denied the Museum’s request for funding last year.

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources has been the best friend of the Pottery Center. It has pushed the Center’s interests to the exclusion of many other organizations that exist to promote a public awareness of the rich pottery traditions in North Carolina. Cultural Resource’s own assessment of what the Center has accomplished was delivered in support of a request to ask the Governor’s Budget Office to include funding in its budget proposal to allow the State to take over the Center and operate it as a state agency:

“The Center has not met its potential as an educational resource or realized its goal to become a destination for heritage tourists.”

With “support” like that, who needs opposition?

However, as it turned out, the Pottery Center couldn’t give itself away! The Governor’s Budget Office declined to insert funding for a state take over in the budget proposal.

Rather than discussing substantive issues, this other group has been arguing ever since about whether Don is a bad person and whether he should be a member of the Museum’s Board. Don worked closely with Richard Gillson for almost eleven years. Shortly before his death, Richard told Don that he feared that an attempt would be made to steal the Seagrove Pottery Festival. He asked Don to fight for the festival and the Museum

It looks to us as if the folks behind the decision to kill the Museum and steal the Festival don’t really want to have a dialogue with the Museum. They would rather demonize one effective Board member and ignore the rest of us.

We wish now to give notice clearly: This will not happen. We are united in our belief that the Museum and the Festival have a future in Seagrove. We are absolutely committed to keeping Richard Gillson’s original vision for the Seagrove Area Potteries alive to serve the public by promoting all potters in the Seagrove Area equally.

If the Center could bring itself to become less elitist and more inclusive, perhaps it would have a future instead of being on the verge of extinction and we could all talk and reach a consensus that provides a place at the table for every group that promotes pottery

It would help if the Center would seek the truth about what went wrong when the Museum was told that its festival was being taken away from it and would be given to the Center. At the very least, following such an outrage, the Center must affirm the Museum’s right to exist and promise not to try to steal or hurt pottery festivals that it never created and barely supported.

There are truly important issues for the pottery community to discuss. They include:

--The future of the Center’s collection and mission if it cannot sustain itself.
--Funding and implementation for any future pottery educational activities.
--Funding and implementation to promote pottery tourism in Randolph County, the Seagrove Area and beyond.
--Coordinating the activities of the major pottery festivals in North Carolina to help promote pottery year-round and the possible creation of additional festivals.
--Resolving the on-going sniping between half a dozen of the elite potters whose work has been promoted preferentially by the Center and the greater number of potters who create the real appeal of the famous Seagrove Area Potteries.
--Keeping Richard Gillson’s dream alive of a permanent home for the Seagrove Pottery Museum in downtown Seagrove.
--Implementing the letter and intent of G. S. 145-23, defining the “Seagrove Area Potteries” by taking steps to incorporate Chatham County fully.
--Relating promotion of the unique traditions of the Seagrove Area to promoting other pottery traditions statewide, with the goal of furthering mutual interests, with or without the N.C. Pottery Center, should it continue to exist.

For the Entire Board:


Linda Loggains Phil Morgan
Board President Vice President

New pottery festival gets new permit

New pottery festival gets new permit

By Mary Anderson -- Staff Writer
Posted: 09/07/08 - 12:32:31 pm CDT



SEAGROVE — The Seagrove board of commissioners approved a new permit for the Celebration of Seagrove Pottery festival and the attorney for the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery (MNCTP) reiterated its plan to pursue all legal remedies to stop the Celebration festival.

The permit withdrawal, new permit approval and comments from the attorney were the only business at the regular town board meeting on Sept. 2. Mayor Mike Walker said the new permit was issued for the Celebration of Seagrove Pottery, under the umbrella of the nonprofit Seagrove Area Potters Association (SAPA).

The MNCTP, sponsor of the traditional Seagrove Pottery Festival the weekend before Thanksgiving, is protesting the Celebration festival on the same weekend.

Greensboro attorney Nancy Quinn presented the commissioners with a document outlining the objections to the Celebration festival as a “respectful request that the Seagrove Town Council do the right thing, follow its own ordinances and refuse to permit another festival to threaten the success of the 27th annual Seagrove Pottery Festival.”

Commissioners Barbara Graves, Scott Auman, Gordon Milks Jr. and David Garner had just approved the new permit for the Celebration festival. The commissioners had made no comments on the permit request. They also accepted Quinn’s document without comment. Commissioner Ruby Mullin, who is recovering from knee surgery, was not present.


Asheboro attorney Jon Megerian, representing the Celebration festival, had asked to withdraw the first permit, issued to Ben Owen III, and presented the new permit for approval.

The MNCTP had argued that the first permit would allow only Owen to participate and every individual potter would have to apply for a permit. Quinn also said that even as Owen was denying any connection to the N.C. Pottery Center or SAPA, other potters had, through dozens of emails, stated that “everybody knew from the start that the new festival would be produced under the umbrella of SAPA.”

Quinn also charged that the Celebration festival was created for the purpose of hurting or destroying the Seagrove Pottery festival and the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery, that the Celebration festival at the former Luck’s cannery was unsuitable and unsafe and questioned whether SAPA had complied with county regulations regarding signage.

If the MNCTP files suit, Quinn said, it will “most energetically” pursue legal means “to nail down, under oath, the improper purposes with which this group began and continues to operate.”

Quinn said the truth will show that local politicians — town and county — acted improperly and in concert with a few potters whose agenda merits closer scrutiny.

On Thursday, Mayor Walker said he had seen the potters “come together and pull together to put on this new festival” and for the benefit of the town and potters, he hoped that both festivals would be successful.

X Contact: 626-6116 or manderson(at)))courier-tribune.com

http://courier-tribune.com/articles/2008/09/08/news/gn2.txt

Commissioners nix support for unappreciative Pottery Center

Some come to the Randolph County Commissioners requesting help for a project that board members feel they simply cannot accommodate.

Others seem less than appreciative of help from the board, and so see that offer rescinded.

Such was the case at Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting where the board took back their financial support for the N.C. Pottery Center.

The vote on financial support for the N.C. Pottery Center was unanimous in a decision to withdraw the county’s offer of $25,000 in operation and maintenance funding for the struggling art center.

Commissioner Phil Kemp said, at a recent pottery board meeting, members voted against the possibility of letting the buildings and property go to Randolph Community College, in the event that the center has to end operation.

Kemp reported board members informed him that, should the center close, they had the right to sell the property and do what they wanted to with the proceeds as long as the money goes to another 501(c)3 operation.

He said the Pottery Center board voted to “nullify its agreement with the county.”

Frye questioned if the property could be sold outright without consulting the state since $750,000 in state funding went into the construction of the Pottery Center. He asked County Attorney Darren Allen to look into the matter.

Earlier this year, the center offered to gift itself to the state Department of Cultural Resources (DCR) to take over the center at a cost of $186,818 annually. As part of that arrangement, commissioners voted to provide $25,000 annually in operations and maintenance support for the facility.

But the governor didn’t include that item in his budget, leaving the center at loose ends for money for the coming year.

In July, the center’s board sent out a plea for help from members and the surrounding community. Denny Mecham, the center director, resigned.

At the time, the center’s board entertained the notion of leasing the site to RCC for one year, if operation had to cease. They held out the option to have the property returned one year later, if funding for the center could be found.

Kemp said the center’s board hopes to continue along on donations until the 2009 state budget is written. At that time, they hope the center will be adopted by the state.

Kemp said the center’s board had been less than civil in its dealings with the county.

He said their attitude made him question whether the county should continue to support the center since the original deal was based on an agreement with a state agency that had fallen through.

“If they want to be there, they ought to look after it (the property),” he said.

James Chriscoe, county buildings/maintenance director, told commissioners that in the 2007-08 budget, the county spent $5,000 in materials to do projects like fix air conditioning units and repair light fixtures. In the new budget year, the county had already spent $1,000 in materials, he said.

Chriscoe said when the cost of labor is included, the county’s total investment in the center could be valued at about twice that amount.

He said the center’s board has now asked for repairs to an air conditioning unit at the house on the property. He said he has been told the board wants to rent the property out to generate funds for the center.

Kemp offered a resolution to discontinue upkeep of the N.C. Pottery Center property, return the recently purchased air conditioning equipment and wish the board well in their success.

Commissioner Arnold Lanier added, “Turn the water off. The well’s dry.”

The board voted unanimously to make it so.

(The Museum gave The NC Pottery Center life, property, a house, money, pottery and staff support, and what did the Center do for the Museum in return? For one, the Center tried to kill off the Museum and steal its festival.)

From Courier-Tribune article : Commissioners nix left turn for Cracker Barrel.

Legal issues regarding the Celebration of Seagrove Potters

Date: August 12, 2008

From: Nancy Quinn, Attorney at Law, For the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery
To: The Honorable Mike Walker, Mayor of Seagrove and the Seagrove Town Council

Re: Legal issues regarding the Celebration of Seagrove Potters


The Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery respectfully asks the Seagrove Town Council to take appropriate steps to clarify its position on the Celebration of Seagrove Potters so that issues potentially subject to court review will become ripe for adjudication before preparations go much further in a state of continuing uncertainty.

At the end of June, 2008, the Town of Seagrove approved an application from Ben Owen III for a Street Vendor License.

Article 2,Section 2.1(2)(a) and (b) requires that Applications for a street vendor license shall include (a) The name, permanent address and phone number of the applicant, and (b) the name, permanent address and phone number of the vendor if different.

Mr. Owen’s application did not indicate that the Vendor’s identity was any different from the Applicant’s, so either Ben Owen III is the Applicant or his Application is fatally defective for not providing information clearly required by the ordinance.

One potter authorized to display and sell his wares at the Historic Luck’s Bean Plant in Seagrove does not a pottery festival make.

Until enough potters are approved by the Town of Seagrove to hold a second pottery festival in town or a non-profit organization to sponsor such an event is accepted and approved by the Town, the possibility of Ben Owen III selling his pottery at that time and place would appear not to rise to a level actionable at law.

According to Article 2, Section 2.1(1) (a), “A license issued by the Town of Seagrove shall be required of all street vendors operating within the town limits.”

Subsection 1.5(1) defines a Street Vendor as “Any person [emphasis added] who engages in a temporary business whereby he/she transports an inventory of goods to a building, vacant lot or other location and who, at that location displays the goods for sale and sales the goods at retail or offers the goods for sale at retail.”


Under 6) Special Events (if applicable) of his Application, Mr. Owen wrote “Festival of Seagrove Potters.”

The “Festival of Seagrove Potters” is not a public event “celebrated and recognized by the Town of Seagrove.” (See 1.5(3) and Article 4, which recognizes only the Southern Randolph County Days as a Special Event Recognized by the Town of Seagrove.

The “Festival of Seagrove Potters” is not a natural person or an entity that enjoys legal recognition of any sort. Indeed, the name under which this second pottery festival now seeks to operate has been changed to “Celebration of Seagrove Potters.”

Article 2, Section 2.1(6) provides that “A street vendor license is not transferable.”

Ben Owen III therefore cannot transfer his Street Vendor License to any other person, much less to an organization that lacks legal standing and whose very name and supervision appears to be in a state of constant flux and possibly even of willful misinformation.

For any other potter to acquire a legitimate permit to sell at the Celebration of Seagrove Potters, or whatever it will be called by November 22 and 23, 2008, he or she must comply with the provisions of Article 2, Section 2.1(2)(i) which requires, “An application fee of $15.00. No application fee is required for a vending operation or any vendor operating under a non-profit sponsor where one hundred (100%) percent of the proceeds less the operating costs are to benefit a local charity or civic, non-profit purpose.

Not only must each potter apply for a permit and pay said application fee, but must also comply with the provisions of Article2, Section 2.1(7) and pay a licensing fee: “A general vendor license shall be available upon payment of a $15.00 street vendor’s license tax and approval of a street vendor application by the Town of Seagrove Board of Commissioners. No street vendor’s license tax shall be collected for a vending operation or any vendor operating under a non-profit sponsor where 100 (100%) percent of the proceeds less the operations costs are to benefit a local charity or civic, non-profit purpose.”

The Town of Seagrove Board of Commissioners is bound by its own enactments to consider several issues before granting a street vendor license to any party.

Under Article 1, Section 1.2 Statement of Purpose, it is established that “The purpose of this ordinance is to allow vendors to operate in such a manner as to promote [emphasis added] the Town’s economic and social activities.”

For 26 years, the Seagrove Pottery Festival as it has been produced by the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery has been one of the largest economic and social activities occurring in Seagrove proper. If the stated purpose of the street vendor ordinances in the Town of Seagrove were followed, the standard for approving any other event to be held at the same time would have to be that such event proves that it will “promote” the Seagrove Pottery Festival.

Article 2, Section 2.1(b) requires the Board of Commissioners to deny an application for a street vendor’s license if it finds or concludes “5) that the proposed vending operation does interfere with a previously approved vending operation….”

The Seagrove Pottery Festival is “a previously approved vending operation” of 26 years duration and, in fact, the permit allowing the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery to hold the 27th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival was approved before the Commissioners ever took up the matter of allowing Ben Owen III to sell his pottery at the Luck’s Bean Plant on November 22 and 23.

A press release issued by the Celebration of Seagrove Potters on August 10, 2008, began: “Seagrove Area Potters Association, a group of artists who formed in 2003, recently voted to merge with the area's newest organization to promote the potters of Seagrove and the new group's upcoming festival. Association members will join forces with the newly formed Celebration of Seagrove Potters to host the pottery event Nov. 22 and 23 at the historic Luck's Bean plant in Seagrove on Hwy. 705.”

The Seagrove Area Potters Association is otherwise known as SAPA.

Ben Owen III, the Applicant and only street vendor presently authorized to sell at this supposedly new pottery festival, has offered comments on the public record that are inconsistent with other assertions made by potters who are identified as playing leading roles in creating this second festival and with factual developments as they have recently unfolded:

“The group is not formally organized, but will operate as an arm of a nonprofit organization, which cannot be announced until that organization’s board meets.”
Owen emphasized that neither the N.C. Pottery Center nor the Seagrove Area Potters Association (SAPA) was involved with the second festival.
From the Asheboro Courier-Tribune for 6/13/08, quoting Ben Owen III.

Compare this to comments made by Paul Ray in an e-mail dated July 18, 2008 and shared with dozens of local potters: “It was announced at one of the first meetings, the Celebration of Seagrove Potters will fall under the umbrella of SAPA.”

The Board of Commissioners should require Ben Owen III to come forth and clarify his comments that now appear potentially to have been deliberately meant to mislead. Either he had a qualified non-profit organization in mind at the time he spoke and that organization was neither the Pottery Center nor SAPA, or he misled the public.

In any event, SAPA is not a non-profit organization. It is classified under the Internal Revenue Code as a 501(c)(6) and not a 501(c)(3) organization.

Therefore, if SAPA is indeed the intended sponsor of this second festival, every potter who intends to participate in it would still have to pay to apply for a permit and pay for a license.

Furthermore, the Seagrove Board of Commissioners would have to approve or disapprove of each such application based on the law as written in Seagrove.

Everybody who has dealt with these issues either knows or certainly should know that the Celebration of Seagrove Potters is intended to further the agenda of some potters, mostly from Moore County, to destroy the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery and to hurt the Seagrove Pottery Festival.

Sally Larson is the president of SAPA. In an e-mail directed to Linda Loggains, the President of the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery, dated June 21, 2008, Ms. Larson stated: “What I’m most worried about is the further division among the potters which will ultimately hurt everyone. There could be nothing worse than two really weak festivals in our area, all the promotional groundwork you have done throughout the years will be damaged beyond repair and everyone will suffer.”

If, now, SAPA is in charge of the new festival and it will be under Ms. Larson’s leadership, how can she possibly explain away her prior stated belief that two festivals at the same time and in the same place would “damage beyond repair” years of promotional effort by the Museum, with the result that “everyone will suffer?”

And, if such concerns were legitimate for Ms. Larson to express earlier, are they not legitimate for the Seagrove Town Council to consider in relation to the propriety of permitting a second festival to occur on the same weekend as the Seagrove Pottery Festival has always been held.

Mayor Walker himself appears to have gone on the public record to acknowledge that the second festival will unavoidably hurt the first: “When you pull 60 or more potters from the one festival, it's going to make a difference," he said. Attendance is probably going to go down for everybody." Mayor Walker quoted in the Triad Business Journal, July 4, 2008.

Accordingly, it would be unlawful for the Board of Commissioners to authorize a competing festival.

Furthermore, it is a matter susceptible to further investigation and proof that leading figures in creating this new festival have expressed their intent “to squash the Museum like a bug” and to “destroy the Seagrove Pottery Festival.”

The comments they have made on the subject flatly contradict the stated intentions, motivation and expectations they spin in public and through press releases.

Mayor Walker himself must regard allowing a competing festival on the same weekend as some sort of intentional punishment of the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery for refusing to bow to the pressure he tried to bring to bear upon Linda Loggains when he told her that the Museum would have to remove one of its members, Don Hudson, immediately or he would see to it that the other group received a permit to hold a competing festival.

Should the truth of such an assertion be established, such a heavy-handed attempt to intimidate the Museum would have to be regarded as actionable and would ipso facto establish that the competing festival was meant to hurt, not to promote, a previously approved event.

But, as said before, one potter selling at the Historic Luck’s Bean Plant does not a pottery festival make.

If and when the Board of Commissioners authorizes enough potters to create a second festival or identifies and recognizes a legitimate non-profit with the ability to create such a festival, the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery reserves all of its rights to file suit to require a Writ of Mandamus to be issued for the Town of Seagrove to enforce its own ordinances and to seek injunctive relief forbidding such a festival to go forward on the grounds that it was created with the intent of damaging the original Seagrove Pottery Festival and that it would clearly have such an effect.

In pursuit of these remedies, the Museum would expect to be able to utilize all legitimate tools of legal discovery in order to obtain documents, recordings and to compel that statements be given under oath in support of its case and to establish grounds for appropriate relief to be granted.

The Truths of Financial Accountability

The Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery has always known that financial accountability is an important part of responsibility and trust. The Museum has for many years made a summary of its year by year Revenue and Expense Reports available at its annual meeting in January, despite false accusations that have been circulated freely to the effect that "the museum board has not been open with its budgeting and spending practices."


Financial reports for the last 24 years are available and open for inspection at the Museum's Pottery Information Center. Anyone who has legitimate concerns is welcomed to specify any other documents that would help clear up any doubts and the Board will consider releasing those documents as well.

The Museum has called upon the N.C. Pottery Center and SAPA to open their own financial records and books, and to make copies of the minutes of the respective boards that direct them available to any interested potters and the public.

Thus far, they have refused to do so.

Honest differences of opinion are understandable and acceptable. However, intentional deceit aimed at stirring up dissent can only hurt the Seagrove Area potters and call into question the motives of those spreading lies.

Seagrove Pottery Festival selected as Top 20 event

Contact: Tammy O’Kelley, Director of Tourism
(336) 626-0364, ext 203

SEAGROVE – The 27th Annual Seagrove Pottery Festival has been selected as one of Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events for November, 2008. The event was first selected for the Top 20 list in November, 2007.

According to Tammy O’Kelley, director of tourism for Randolph County, inclusion in the Top 20 event list will extend the festival’s ability to market itself exponentially. “This is a very prestigious designation to have received two years in a row. Having this significant a media focus on the Seagrove Pottery Festival will help draw visitors from outside a larger radius, which means if they come, they will stay longer and have a greater financial impact on the local economy.”

The Southeast Tourism Society (STS) Top 20 Events publication receives extensive exposure in print, Internet, television and radio media throughout the U.S. and Canada. More than 800 newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations, and AAA offices receive the Top 20 listings. The list is also featured on the STS Web site at SoutheastTourism.org, as well as their consumer Web site at EscapeToTheSoutheast.com. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution prints the Top 20 Events as a regular quarterly feature in its travel section; and it was recently featured on the New Orleans-based radio show “Travel Talk Radio.”

This year’s pottery festival will take place on November 22 and 23 at Seagrove Elementary School. It is currently the only event where potters in the Seagrove area come together under one roof in their hometown to demonstrate, display and sell their work. The festival features first choice on new designs made especially for the event, limited edition special commemorative pieces and their popular Sunday auction.

For more information on the Seagrove Pottery Festival, contact the Museum of North Carolina Traditional Pottery at (336) 873-7887, or the Heart of North Carolina Visitor Information Center at (336) 626-0364.

The Heart of North Carolina is the official destination marketing organization for Randolph County Tourism Development Authority, representing Archdale, Asheboro, Franklinville, Liberty, Ramseur, Randleman, Seagrove, Staley, and Trinity. For additional information, please call (336) 626-0364 or go to HeartofNorthCarolina.com.

###

Who really runs the show?

When speaking about the formation of infrastructure committes to work on a festival designed to compete with the Seagrove Pottery Festival, Ben Owen III is quoted from the Asheboro Courier-Tribune for 6/13/08:

"The group is not formally organized, but will operate as an arm of a nonprofit organization, which cannot be announced until that organization’s board meets.

Owen emphasized that neither the N.C. Pottery Center nor the Seagrove Area Potters Association (SAPA) was involved with the second festival."

In a 7/22/08 e-mail from a member of the Infrastructure Committee of the Celebration of Seagrove Potters:

"It was announced at one of the first meetings, the Celebration of Seagrove
Potters will fall under the umbrella of SAPA (Seagrove Area Potters Association)."

The competing festival permit is issued in the name of Ben Owen III.

Come on now Mr. Owen, who is really running the show?

Seagrove and Sanford - Two festivals working together

For the past seven years the Seagrove Pottery Festival and the Sanford Pottery Festival, North Carolina's two largest pottery festivals, have worked together to promote Seagrove area pottery.

Below are links to the 2008 Sanford Pottery Festival publication articles that promote the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery and Seagrove area.


2008 Seagrove and Sanford - 416KB .pdf file.
Seagrove and Sanford Working Together

2008 Tribute to Richard Gillson - 8274KB .pdf file.
A Tribute to Richard Gillson

Festival Permits and Street Vendor Ordinances

The Town of Seagrove Street Vendor Ordinance states that an application for a permit will be denied if the Board concludes:

5) that the proposed vending operation does interfere with a previously approved vending operation....

A festival permit had already been issued to the Seagrove Pottery Festival when the Town Council voted to approve a permit for a second festival. The Seagrove Pottery Festival has operated for the past 26 years (at the same location), and has been protected by the Town of Seagrove as a "Special Event" for many of those years.

One may find it curious why the Town of Seagrove determined that a second festival would not interfere with the original Seagrove Pottery Festival. Seagrove mayor Mike Walker has stated that his interest is in keeping the Festival as a top tourist attraction, and that a second festival would decrease attendance at the original festival.

Following is quoted from the Triad Business Journal Steve Ivey's article of July 4, 2008. The entire article is reproduced below.

Michael Walker, Seagrove's mayor, has said he will remain neutral on whether the town should have one or two festivals this fall. His interest, he said, is keeping the festival's place among the top tourist attractions.

"When you pull 60 or more potters from the one festival, it's going to make a difference," he said. "Attendance is probably going to go down for everybody."

It appears the Town's decision to issue a subsequent permit for a competing festival contradicts Mayor Walker's comments on neutrality. The Street Vendor Ordinance is clear in it's wording and intent. The Seagrove Pottery Festival is a nationally recognized Top 20 event. If the Town had remained neutral, why wouldn't they at least follow a strict interpretation of the above ordinance before issuing a second permit?



Friday, July 4, 2008
Factions split in debate over pottery festival
The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area - by Steve Ivey The Business Journal Serving the Greater Triad Area

Dissension among the pottery community in the Seagrove area may fracture one of the region's top annual tourist attractions this fall.

The split among local artisans could result in two competing pottery festivals on the same weekend in November, a change some community members worry will hurt overall attendance and, in turn, the pottery trade so vital to the area's economy.

In one camp are supporters of the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery, which promotes and runs the Seagrove Pottery Festival each November -- an event that draws between 3,000 and 5,000 visitors annually. It has been recognized as one of the top 20 festivals in the Southeast.

On the other side are Seagrove potters linked to the N.C. Pottery Center, an exhibition center two blocks from the museum. The potters -- including well-known artisans such as Ben Owen III, Mark Hewitt and Will McCanless -- contend they are losing their say in the annual event to outsiders.

In reaction, on June 27, the group asked for and received a permit from the town of Seagrove to host its own separate festival on the same weekend in November.

The divide has roiled the small community in southern Randolph County and left many of the roughly 125 potters and town officials concerned about the festival, which for 26 years has been a major economic engine for the town and their businesses.

Debate between the two sides has grown vitriolic at times. Potters who split from the museum have accused officials there of "hatefulness" and "counter-productive influence." Museum officials have called the other group a "cancer" on the town and said they are "cannibalizing" the achievements of the museum's deceased former leader.

Michael Walker, Seagrove's mayor, has said he will remain neutral on whether the town should have one or two festivals this fall. His interest, he said, is keeping the festival's place among the top tourist attractions.

"When you pull 60 or more potters from the one festival, it's going to make a difference," he said. "Attendance is probably going to go down for everybody."

Dissatisfaction among some potters in Seagrove has been brewing since 2006, when the state legislature added Lee County to the official "Seagrove Pottery Area." These potters worried that potters from the Lee County town of Sanford ­-- 50 miles away -- who have held a festival every spring since 2002, would try to take over the Seagrove festival and only promote and drive traffic toward the galleries and shops.

They also were opposed to a new welcome center at the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery, which included maps and information about potters in Sanford and not just Seagrove.

Byron Knight, owner of Blue Moon Gallery and Ole Fish House Pottery in Seagrove, was among the 60 or so potters who supported the permit to host a second festival. He said Seagrove potters were concerned the original festival and museum were straying from promoting local artisans and businesses.

"We here just felt like we didn't have a voice anymore," he said. "When we tried to voice an opinion, we didn't have anybody to talk to."

In their petition to town officials, the dissident group also claimed the museum had expanded the festival so a quarter of the 100 exhibitors were non-pottery crafts, mostly from outside Seagrove, including some from Virginia, Ohio and overseas. The museum organizers, the petition said, were interested in "increasing divisiveness and turmoil within our community."

Knight said the new festival, to be called the Festival of Seagrove Potters, will be "run by the potters for the potters, so everybody has a voice in what happens with running the show."

The imbroglio escalated earlier this year with the death of Richard Gillson, the museum's longtime director. He fell from a ladder in the museum and died in January.

Museum opponents say the museum has since come under the influence of board member Don Hudson, partner in a Sanford pottery studio.

But Hudson said his critics have used the period following Gillson's death to make a power play for the festival.

Hudson distributed 30,000 copies of an opinion pamphlet titled "Frankenstein's Monster," likening the supporters of the N.C. Pottery Center and their upstart festival to "a monster run amok."

In the pamphlet, Hudson says the center is in financial trouble and says its supporters "plant seeds of discord and strife in a community already under stress of intense competition from within and even more so from without."

In an interview, Hudson said the center and its supporters are only interested in promoting the town's "superstars."

"This renegade group started their own map (of area potters) which is elitist and exclusionary, and they cut out everybody they did not like. And they do not like Sanford."

The festival generates more than $50,000 each fall for the museum from gate receipts and booth rentals at Seagrove Elementary School. Many potters in town also make enough money during the November festival to get them through lean winter months. Hudson said supporters of a second festival are only hurting themselves by "destroying something that has worked so well just to gain control."

In the interview, Hudson said he would challenge the center's supporters to a public debate in Seagrove.

Knight compared his group's efforts to the Ann Arbor Summer Arts Festival, held every June in Michigan. That fair started as one event but eventually evolved into seven separate events.

"The object is not to hurt anybody," he said. "People who are not from this community are calling the shots on the show."

Knight said the new festival has not sold any booths yet, because doing so before they won a permit from the city would have been premature. But he said his group has more than 60 supporters, including some potters who have declined to participate in the museum festival the past few years.

And Knight conceded that the N.C. Pottery Center, which supports the second show, has requested additional state funds to stay afloat. But he said supporters of a separate festival plan to keep all the proceeds in Seagrove.

In their petition, the group said their festival, to be held at the former Luck's Beans plant in town, now owned by Seagrove Foods, will contribute a portion of the revenue to an arts program in Seagrove schools. They also vowed to make all of their financial books from the show publicly available.

"I think the festival has gotten away from the people," Knight said. "There have been all kinds of accusations. But we just want everybody to feel like they have a voice."

Museum Letter to N.C. General Assembly

Copies of this letter were hand delivered today to every member of the N.C. General Assembly today, along with copies of the 2008 Sanford Pottery Festival show publication to counter claims that it was critical of Seagrove.

The Sanford publication does detail certain failings of the N.C. Pottery Center, but is actually highly complimentary of Seagrove. More of this publication will be posted soon.

This letter calls for a formal investigation of Cultural Resources, its stewardship of public money and how it played politics, stepped on individual rights, exceeded its authority and mission and was willing to sacrifice the well-being of the two largest pottery festivals in N.C. for its narrow agenda.

Museum Letter to N.C. General Assembly

The Surveys

Exhibitors at the recent Sanford Pottery Festival had the opportunity to respond anonymously to a poll about the N.C. Pottery Center. Only ten percent of respondents had anything good to say about it.

Given a dozen factors that might contribute to financial success as a potter, respondents rated Pottery Festivals number one and the Center twelve.

That the Center never worked in a spirit of cooperation with the two largest pottery festivals in its own backyard (Seagrove and Sanford) might explain why the Center finds itself in a financially precarious situation after receiving millions of dollars in support, much of it at taxpayers’ expense, over the last decade.

When a larger survey of all the Seagrove Area Potters was attempted, supporters of the Center protested so vigorously that it was withdrawn. This was the genesis of the latest attempt to attack the Seagrove Pottery Festival and is, very simply, where the battle lines in Seagrove are drawn.

Readers who want to see the survey that scared Pottery Center supporters can find them by clicking the links below.

Few potters take any sort of pride in the Center, few people visit it and its supporters don’t want the truth to be known.

Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery Survey

Sanford Pottery Festival Survey

The North Carolina Pottery Center - Frankenstein's Monster

See the article that has been attacked by so many who support the N.C. Pottery Center and falsely cited as justification for creating a competing festival.

Frankenstein's Monster, The North Carolina Pottery Center

The N.C. Pottery Center tried to take the Seagrove Pottery Fetsival and its profits before this article was even published. This is clear from the April 1, 2008 minutes of SAPA (see post below), though many of its prominent members are continuing the fight to destroy the Segrove Pottery Festival and destroy the Museum to show their support of the Center.

Don Hudson served with Richard Gillson for ten years on the Museum board. He created the Sanford Pottery Festival and the State Fair Pottery Display with Richard to showcase the work of Seagrove Area potters.

Lies have been told saying that the recent Sanford Pottery Festival publication was critical of Seagrove. It is, in fact, strongly supportive of Seagrove and paid a moving tribute to Gillson and was dedicated to keeping his festival and his dream of creating a permanent home in downtown Seagrove for the Museum alive.

SAPA Board Meeting Minutes April 1, 2008

For those who care about the truth, the following was written by the President of SAPA to send a copy of minutes for a SAPA meeting held on April 1, 2008 to Don Hudson. Mr. Hudson did not ask her for these minutes and made no promises regarding their confidentiality. Since members of SAPA identified in these minutes are now taking positions that contradict their earlier statements, these minutes are being made available so that the public can evaluate their motives and credibility.

The minutes establish clearly that SAPA was aware that the N.C. Pottery Center had launched a hostile attempt to take over the Seagrove Pottery Festival and its profits. This could have no other effect than to destroy the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery shortly after Richard Gillson died.

The minutes express the belief that the abusive attack that was meant to destroy the Museum and steal its festival for the Center was orchestrated from state government (Cultural Resources/Arts Council) in Raleigh. It is a matter of public record that the N.C. Pottery Center has put itself in a financially precarious situation and that it, and its supporters, might have strong motives to try to take the profits of the Seagrove Pottery Festival for use by the Center.

Despite claiming to recognize that the Museum was victimized by the Center, many members of SAPA are prominently involved in efforts to undermine the Seagrove Pottery Festival by holding a competing event at the same time.

End.
Begin SAPA minutes 4/1/08. All emphasis added.

----- Original Message -----
From: Sally Larson
To: 'Don Hudson'
Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 4:18 PM
Subject: truce

Don, I have here the beginning minutes of our Board meeting on April 1st to show you that we are on the same side. This was the day we all found out about the festival take over. These are for your eyes only and are NOT to be shared or quoted in any way by anyone. I will trust you to respect my wishes. I was just as upset as everyone else when this came up and believe me, SAPA doesn’t want to see anything happen to the Museum, they are such a good fit with us representing the area pottery while we focus on marketing. SAPA has no intensions to “take over” the festival, in fact we are offering to help in any way we can and have already committed to promoting it through our publicist. I agree with you that there was some very underhanded actions taken and those people have been exposed. You need to back off so further action can happen. No one is going to do anything if they think you are going to get the credit for it. Know that you’ve started something and hand it over for others to deal with. We need to let the Museum become stronger and able to stand alone. They are so fragile right now they don’t need this combative publicity. Sally

SAPA Board meeting minutes
4/1/08
Present: Sally Larson, Bobby Marsh, Crystal King, Meredith Smildsin, Byron Knight, Linda Koonce.

The Board welcomed Michael and Mary Mahan who came to speak about their concerns surrounding the future of the Seagrove Pottery Festival and the Museum of Traditional Potters. Michael overheard Denny [Denny Meacham, Executive Director of the Pottery Center] tell Jeffery Dean that the pottery center was taking over the Seagrove Pottery Festival and when asked if it was alright with the Museum folks and she replied with “it doesn’t matter”. Michael was worried that the festival would not remain a local event and wanted to know if SAPA was willing to lend a hand in keeping it local. The Judies at the Museum said they first heard about it Monday.

Sally mentioned she had heard similar statements from Denny. She stated that there is a community here which needs to be represented and then there is the state organization. This is clearly bothering everyone. Byron had checked with someone he knows at the county level and she reported to him that this was a done deal, the Museum will not be allowed to have their property and the Festival will be turned over to the NC Pottery Center., This is all occurring with the County support. There was discussion whether the Traditional potters owned the rights to the Festival and concerns that the Festival as we know it will not continue. With the States involvement it is very possible that potters who had attended in the past will not be allowed into the NC Pottery Center Festival. According to Byron’s source in the Randolph government, the County claims there was a meeting with the three entities, the Museum, NC Pottery Center and the Commissioners in Raleigh and all three agreed to this change. There was no clarification on who attended the meeting. His source was concerned that if the Center takes over the Festival it will be a loss in revenue not only to the potters but also to Randolph County. Crystal asked if we now need to become the voice of Seagrove Potters. Byron felt that if this goes off the way we are hearing about there will be potters who will go under.

Sally read a letter Denny forwarded to her from County Manager Richard Wells: Denny, just have people call me. I’ll be glad to answer their questions. Keep in mind that I am out much of the time, especially right now with the ¼ cent referendum May 6 and I am the spokesperson.

SAPA and everyone else need to give me enough time to meet with the Museum folks and begin working on a plan. There is no need for folks to get excited. Getting everyone organized and informed will take some time.
RW

Michael was wondering who from the Museum actually met with the Commissioners because Judy Merritt didn’t know anything about it and she serves on their Board. It was obvious to everyone that if the Museum doesn’t put on the Festival and looses that income then they will go under and the idea that the state can take away the festival from them seems outrageous and the question is “how can they do that”? Sally had reported from a community member, not an official so it may be gossip that the problem may have arisen from the fact that Richard didn’t report the use of the funds they received from the County and that the County is concerned that the money was used to buy the building. Linda mentioned that when a grant is involved every penny must be itemized and that may be the core of the problem.

Sally felt that this was an opportunity for all of us to come together as a community and this may be the good that comes out of this. She said there wasn’t any reason that the Center can’t put on their own event and Michael said we want to maintain the Seagrove Pottery Festival run by local potters. Why can’t the Center “invite” the Museum to run their festival on their grounds?

Sally suggested we all do some research before we jump to conclusions. She will call Richard Wells, Bobby will call the School principal and Byron will check with his source and get back together. Crystal feels SAPA should make a statement that we are backing the potters in supporting the continuation of the Festival as it has been.

Sally thanked Michael and Mary for coming and called the meeting to order.

Sally Larson

The Sanford/Seagrove Relationship

On Friday, June 27, 2008 at 2:57 PM I received the following in an e-mail message to The Courier-Tribune's Mary Anderson:

"I, Don Hudson, and Phil Morgan, challenge Ben Owen III and any other potter of his choice to a debate open to the public to be held under the auspices of The Courier-Tribune."

Sounds like a golden opportunity to get down to the real issues.

Results of Town Council Meeting

The application submitted by potter Ben Owen III, et. al., was not properly filled out - it had the wrong festival location, it did not have the property owner's signature and it was not notarized.

The town attorney told the Council he could not recommend voting on a defective application, and he hinted that the application could be withdrawn. He stated repeatedly that the application could be withdrawn and Mr. Owen finally withdrew it.

The Museum had substantial support at this meeting and Museum president Linda Loggains again stated that Seagrove Pottery Festival proceeds are used to operate it's free Information Center in downtown Seagrove. The Museum Information Center greets public visitors, hands out free maps of area potteries, displays sample pottery from area potteries, and represents all potters equally. This activity in turn sends visitors out to visit the local shops of their choice.

The Town of Seagrove missed a great opportunity to deny the application and tell all potters that the Seagrove Pottery Festival was an event that would be protected for the good of the entire community.

Seagrove Town Council Meeting

At 7 PM this Friday, June 20th, the Seagrove Town Council will be meeting to consider a required permit for the above mentioned private festival.

It will be located at the Seagrove Fire Department to allow more room for the potters and the community to attend.

Please plan on attending in support of the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery.

Rebellion in Seagrove- What's at Stake

There is a potter rebellion against the Museum of N.C. Traditional Pottery, and a desire to stage a seperate festival the same weekend as the Seagrove Pottery Festival. Refer to Southern Pines The Pilot staff writer John Chappell's "Potters Rebel on Festival" article as well as a statement of intent or resolution that has been published in area newspapers as a "letter to the editor".

The public should be aware that immediately following the death of Seagrove Pottery Festival founder Richard Gillson, an attempt was made to transfer control of the 26 year old festival and bankrupt the Museum through the efforts of a high ranking Randolph County employee. That particular effort failed.

Seagrove potter and Museum supporter Phil Morgan may be accurate in his determination that plans for a private festival is a power play that appears to be a hostile takeover of the Seagrove Pottery Festival. Many Museum supporters are not willing to rebel against an organization that continues to support them economically and provide a lucrative sales event.

The Seagrove Pottery Festival, named as a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event for the second year in a row, is a financial bonanza for many area potters, and it is unfortunate that some potters do not understand the issues and the risks associated with the destruction of a Top 20 sales event.

According to Chappell's article, potter Ben Owen stated that the Seagrove Pottery Festival should have always been his group's festival.

The festival is owned and operated by the Museum according to it's non-profit charter. The Museum uses festival proceeds to maintain a free information facility that continues to promote local potters throughtout the entire year.

The downtown Seagrove Museum showcases local pottery, distributes maps and educates the public about the scores of shops in the area while helping them plan their visits. Most simply stated, a large portion of Seagrove Pottery Festival proceeds are invested back into the Seagrove pottery community, and the Museum supports and represents all Seagrove area potters in a fair and equitable manner.

A second festival will harm attendance at the Seagrove Pottery Festival and may cause financial harm to the Museum. It could also cause a negative impact on the ecomonic vitality of less fortunate potters within the Seagrove area.

A rebellion does not appear to be a wise or intelligent solution to economic challenges that face the Seagrove area. Seagrove potters who would prefer to simply make pots should take interest in such a rebellion, expecially one that could seriously affect their business of selling those pots.