Students at Core Clay, a studio in Cincinnati, Ohio.

For Laura Davis, owner of Core Clay, a studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, the news of the impending closure of ceramic industry supplier Kemper Tools came as an unpleasant surprise. “They were the first company I turned to when I started the studio,” she says. “I found them to be an incredibly lovely company to deal with.”

“They didn’t discriminate between one clay center and another,” she says. “There were no geographic boundaries; they let everyone buy.”

On June 6, Kemper Tools president Herb Stampfl announced via email that a planned combined sale of the company’s building and business hit a snag. “Although it wasn’t supposed to be possible, the building sold but the sale of the business did not,” Stampfl wrote. “As a result, we are now having to rent the building that we formerly owned. With the new rents it is no longer possible to remain profitable. As a result, regrettably I need to inform you that Kemper Tools will be closing its business.”

Plot Twist

Then, on August 6, Stampfl made another announcement that a possible buyer had been found for the California-based business. “Since so many customers have expressed their dismay that Kemper Tools might no longer be available, I felt a need to share the potential sale and the continuation of Kemper Tool product availability in the future and beyond,” he reported, adding, “Please be patient and stay tuned as we will be sharing more good news as we finalize things.”

When a closure seemed to be in the offing, the company offered to honor commitments to their customers and accepted orders up through July 31.

“We didn’t want to leave anyone in a lurch,” Stampfl said in a phone interview.

He noted that they planned to supply schools, instructors and potters with whatever they needed. “We filled a lot of orders,” he says. Now that a new buyer will be taking over, customers can breathe easier. Stampfl says the staff will be retained, although the company will relocate to another building in the area.

The company’s history goes back to 1947 when a friend asked Jack Kemper to make a tool for his pottery class. “Jack made his first ceramic tool in his garage in California,” according to the company website. “As you can guess, soon everyone wanted one of these tools. The first tool was functional and well-constructed. However, Jack was just not satisfied and took his simple design and improved it with the intent of making it comfortable in the hand of the artist as well as a nice-looking tool.” Stampfl, who began working at the company in 1968, purchased it in 1981.

Left: Kemper Ceramic Tool Set on the Blick website. Right: Homage to Dutch Tulip Vase by Catherine Waller.

Favorites and Go-To’s

Tools don’t last forever. In fact, as Davis explains, they get lost, wood tools wear down and metal tools get dull, so having reliable suppliers is important. New potters will always need tools, as well. In terms of the market, Davis believes that more people are purchasing lower-quality ceramic tools from Amazon because they’re drawn in by lower prices. She praises Kemper Tools for their combination of quality, service and affordable prices.

For her part, California ceramic artist Catherine Waller prefers to purchase from a local ceramics shop; the kind Kemper Tools has supplied for decades.

“I go to the brick-and-mortar store and check out all the tools to see if I need one of them,” says Waller, whose hand-built ceramic vessels are featured on her website.

“I don’t replace unless I lose one. Tools are very personal. They need to be examined and considered. If something about them is interesting, I will purchase.”

As with many art and craft mediums, practitioners often come to rely on certain tools. “If I had to choose one, the KSP4 would be my go-to Kemper Tool,” says Ryan Durbin, a Kentucky-based potter and co-host of the Wheel Talk Podcast. “It’s a trimming tool that works well for a quick trim on my bowls, plates or otherwise.”

Davis is partial to the classic orange sponge she purchases from Kemper Tools. “The sponge is a thing you get really attached to,” she explains. “The type you start with is the one you use your entire career.”

Paying attention to new students’ needs has changed the way Davis supplies tools at her studio. For years, she had students purchase a beginner set, but with a third of new students not continuing beyond initial classes, many tools were just thrown away. Now, she says, her studio rents tools to beginners.

“Kemper tools are normally the first name-brand tools students get introduced to with their wooden knives, ribs, trimming tools, etc., all in a single kit,” Durbin says.

“It’s affordable and good enough quality for a beginner to have the right tools to carry them to the next level of their learnings.”

What’s Next

Buoyed by the predicted sale of the business, Herb Stampfl is eager to start a new chapter. “I’m 81, so I hope to retire,” he says. “I’m looking forward to doing lots of travel.” In the meantime, he’s thrilled that his employees will be kept on with the business, a company that’s been part of the ceramics world for almost 70 years.