Started when hobby potter Sean VanderVliet quit the world of start-ups to pursue pottery full-time, Fenway Clayworks produces modern lighting, dinnerware, and other functional ceramics that “your grandkids will fight over someday.” When we caught up with VanderVliet in his RiNo home studio for our Spring 2019 issue, he had been doing full-time pottery for about a year and was anxious to find ways to scale his operation, which at the time consisted of just himself. After getting a few more years of business under his belt and adding a pottery assistant and Cream Modern‘s Brett Andersen (who turns all the wood elements for Fenway’s products) to the team, Sean was poised for an opportunity to take Fenway Clayworks to the next level.

And that’s where Room & Board came in. For the Minnesota-based company, working with small businesses and makers is in their DNA. “It’s one of the defining philosophies at Room & Board,” says Brian Linehan, Merchandising and Design Manager at Room & Board. “Much of the success we’ve seen over the last 40 years is a direct result of our vendor partnerships and the time we all dedicate to making lasting relationships.” Since its founding in 1980, the modern furniture retailer has developed an extensive network of American artisans and craftspeople who hand-produce 90% of their home decor, from minimalist wood furniture from New York to Ohio-born picture frames, to lighting that hails from California.

 

Room & Board had been at the back of VanderVliet’s mind ever since he launched Fenway Clayworks, having been introduced to the brand by his Minnesota-born wife and instantly connecting with its clean, modern stylings. “We actually got a lot of our furniture in our house from their Denver store,” says VanderVliet. “So when I started making lamps and they started getting better and better and looked like they may fit [Room & Board’s] product lines, I decided to reach out.”

 

Linehan says the process of finding and deciding on local artisans often follows this sort of organic process, guided by the retailer’s 19 brick-and-mortar stores and the relationships built there.” Our strategy is typically not to focus on local vendors to showcase in a specific region or store, but instead to use our stores and the relationships we build in those locations to help guide us to new opportunities that we share with our customers nationwide” says Linehan.

The Meriden Lamp is hopefully the start of a long term partnership between the two companies, although like most newly introduced projects, the lamp is currently an indefinite addition. “This lamp was chosen as a starting point for the partnership, which gives us a good foundation to explore other designs in the future” says Linehan. “We love when our vendors are able to grow and learn with us.”