Mark of the Potter

Most pottery shops sit on a street. Mark of the Potter sits on a river. The gallery occupies a mill the Watts family built in the 1930s, and the river that once turned its grinding stones now rushes past the back of the building. You come for handmade mugs and bowls and stay to feed the trout.

From the gallery's website and its mountain retreat page, October 2026.

According to the gallery, local artists produce and sell American-made functional pottery there, meaning mugs, bowls and plates meant for daily use rather than the shelf. It's a good place to buy a first piece of North Georgia pottery. For the older folk-pottery tradition, with its alkaline glazes and face jugs, visit the Folk Pottery Museum in the Sautee Nacoochee Valley first, which is free and gives you context for what you're looking at.

Rainbow, brook and brown trout gather in the river below the shop balcony waiting for visitors to feed them. The gallery calls them its giant pet trout, and feeding them has become a regular reason to stop. It's an easy stop with kids. Since the fish are fed regularly, they come when you toss food over the rail.

Mills operated along the Soque River as early as the 1820s. In 1928 Robert Watts and his father, Allen "Grandpa" Watts, bought the Hill's Mill property and built the mill that stands today, during the Depression. According to the gallery, a couple later found the mill closed because of flood damage, bought it as a retirement project, repaired the buildings, set up a studio and turned the upstairs into an apartment. Mark of the Potter opened in 1969. The full story is on our history page.

Beyond the shop floor, the gallery does a few things most pottery stops don't. Private pottery classes are available on request, and the apartment above the gallery in the old mill is a vacation rental booked through Airbnb. Both are listed on the gallery's own mountain retreat page.

The gallery says it has operated for more than 50 years and sells one-of-a-kind functional pieces made by skilled artists. That makes it a practical place for a gift or a first handmade mug, since you can pick it up in your hand before you buy. If a piece sells out or you'd rather not carry it, the online shop is the backup.