Bob Kingsmill

Bob is the whack-a-doodle we have to thank for the shop on Granville Island. In the 70’s Granville island was changing: it was an industrial sort of wasteland that smelled like fish and it was opening up spaces of its’ warehouses to be rented to artists & small businesses for a low cost. Many artists rushed in (most thinking that they were crazy) and applied to get in to re-use these spaces to build their studios and thus unintentionally creating a vibrant creative community that’s still going strong.

So, clad in pinstripe coveralls and with some leaky elbows full of grease and scouring the beaches for driftwood in order to build tables and shelves for the pottery studio and trading ceramic murals for cabinets (which we still store our overstock pottery in) Bob along with the help of his partner Mary Anne created the shop you see today 47 years later. And are we ever grateful that they also invited other potters to share the shop/studio with him!

Bob claims to be retired now, although he’s still doing just “one more kiln load” and sending some work over from his gallery and studio at his home in Vernon BC. If you are ever in that area, be sure to visit while you still can! Bob is.. prolific, it is difficult to write about him for he has done so much, from being a basketball star to a journalist to a teacher and a potter. He is probably most well known for his murals, incredible wit and generosity and maybe pulling a prank or two. Luckily, in 2023, Don Klepp wrote a book about him called “Robert Kingsmill - The Man and His Art” where you can learn more about his decades long career and flip through images of his art.

If you have any stories of Bob: we love to hear them! Please email or call us and tell us all about him!