Dinner Service x East Fork Pottery: When Resilience Is Our Only Choice

When we partnered with Asheville-based pottery company East Fork, it was to welcome them to Brooklyn and celebrate their new Atlantic Street location (planned to open in mid-November) with a garment that captured their essence. East Fork’s clay creations are world-class, and their commitment to values—how they treat their employees, their community involvement, safe environmental practices, and their work toward inclusivity—is second to none and aligns perfectly with our own values. What East Fork stands for as a company made saying, "Yes, we’d love to work with you," easy.

And so, we got to work on our end — with the main focus being crafting a garment that shows the lifecycle of the pottery made at East Fork. The journey from clay, to shape, to loving use in someone’s home. We incorporated colors like Big-Sky Blue and Panna Cotta found in their signature pieces, weaving East Fork's artistry directly into our own fabric design. We also pulled visual cues from the original workshop — set on an old tobacco farm in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains — where founder Alex Matisse built a 36ft long wood-burning kiln from bricks and handmade wood racks to create and store the custom works made for a community ravenous for beautiful pottery. What we landed on is the East Fork Workshop Sweater. 

Just as we were finalizing samples and getting set to launch the garment, Hurricane Helene surged up from Florida and tore through Western North Carolina, leaving much of the Asheville community and surrounding areas completely devastated. The East Fork team found many of the employees personally impacted by the heavy winds and unprecedented flooding and destruction brought by the storm.  In addition, East Fork itself sustained irreparable damages to their Fairview Road facility and workshop.  When things settled and we were finally able to connect with our partner, we knew we needed to shift focus and find a way to help them rebuild.

What was once meant to be a garment commemorating the workshop wherever everything began, has now turned into a fundraising effort for the East Fork and Asheville community. Proceeds from every East Fork Workshop Sweater sale made by Dinner Service will go to the East Fork employees who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. All funds will be collected and distributed to those in need through East Fork’s Employee Emergency Fund, which will provide critical relief to their team members who faced extreme hardship as a result of the hurricane.

In times like these, don’t let the idea that small acts don’t matter fool you. Every little bit helps. It’s our responsibility to stand by our partners, friends, and neighbors in times of need. The hurricane may have passed, but there’s still so much left to rebuild, and many who need help. Here’s to resilience, rebuilding, and what truly matters.

East Fork & Asheville, we’re thinking of you. Stay safe, stay strong.