Pottery Barn Announces Partnership with The Black Artist + Designers Guild

February 2, 2022  by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

Together, BADG and Pottery Barn wanted to create a collection that showcased a shared love of design, craftsmanship and celebrations. As a result, the new collaboration between Pottery Barn and BADG consists of products designed for entertaining, hosting and gathering. The collection marks a natural next step in the partnership between Pottery Barn and BADG which began when Pottery Barn sponsored BADG’s inaugural Obsidian Experience, a virtual concept designed to ignite new conversations about the space of home for Black families.

To create the collection, the Pottery Barn design team partnered with three interior designers who are all members of BADG: Penny Francis and Casi St. Julian of the New Orleans-based interior design firm Eclectic Home and color enthusiast Lisa Turner of the Beverly Hills-based design firm Interior Obsession. Each designer brought unique influences and design philosophies to the table. Penny Francis loves one-of-a-kind pieces that make a statement. Casi St. Julian designs dynamically layered spaces with personality. And Lisa Turner specializes in mixing color and architecture.

They dreamed up this collection as a united front, designed through the lens of “Black Joy,” featuring more than 25 pieces that draw on symbolic themes from each of their lives, including decorative accessories, bedding, pillows, throws, dinnerware, drinkware, barware, table linens, and games. Those themes — ‘Unity in the quest of inclusion and equity,’ ‘Triumph over tribulations,’ ‘Celebration of love and family,’ and ‘Harmony as a connected community’ — paired with Pottery Barn’s expertise in quality craftsmanship, allowed for the creation of a capsule that highlights the richness of Black culture and showcases the beauty in how Black communities and families gather and entertain.

“We are thrilled to partner with The Black Artists + Designers Guild and its community of creators, artists, and design professionals to highlight excellence in design and artistry,” said Marta Benson, Pottery Barn president. “The pieces within the collection, designed in partnership with BADG, illustrate a shared love of creating meaningful spaces, vibrant in color and joy, that I am excited for our customers to enjoy in their own homes.”

The partnership that allowed this collection to come to fruition, together with the thematic thread of "Black Joy," speaks to BADG's mission to create inclusive and equitable spaces in the design community. When asked about the larger impact of the collection's release, BADG founder Malene Barnett replied, "For us, ‘Black Joy’ is possibility and empowerment, a celebratory theme that is woven into our collection." She continued, "We are excited to have BADG Members Penny Francis, Casi St. Julian, and Lisa Turner provide creative direction on behalf of BADG. This partnership with Pottery Barn builds on our mission to honor ancestral legacies while embracing liberatory creative practices. We love creating spaces to celebrate Black culture in design, and our collection invites everyone to celebrate with us."

Standout pieces include the Unity Hurricane, crafted from mouth-blown ribbed glass with a laser-cut design on a strong metal base, and the Triumphant Vases which are hand-pressed in a mold and finished with a hand-applied, wax resistant pattern that reveals the terra cotta from within. The collection also offers tableware, including the Rhythm Charger and Rhythm Napkin Rings, handmade by artisans in Eswatini, in Southern Africa, which pair beautifully with the Celebration Dinnerware that captures the vibrant pops of color throughout the collection. These handmade items were crafted by a local organization whose products help empower women in Eswatini’s most remote areas. The collection ranges in price from $29.50 to $249.

The BADG x Pottery Barn collection will be available beginning January 28, 2022. To learn more about the collaboration and to shop the collection, visit PotteryBarn.com and join the conversation on social media with @PotteryBarn and @badguild.

The collaboration between Pottery Barn and BADG is reflective of a larger commitment across Williams-Sonoma, Inc. to increase Black representation among associates, vendors, partners and collaborators as well as a commitment to prioritizing progress toward racial justice and equity through action-based initiatives.