About The Us Behind Lickinflames
LickinFlames is a two person operation. Jim and Brenda Atchison work together to produce art work from clay. Jim does the clay work. Brenda does everything else, as well as asking the critical question, "What were you thinking" thus keeping Jim on point.
We started the business in 1973 as a way to earn extra school money from summer arts and crafts shows. While the business is not technically a new one, it's been redesigned in new ways and stays fresh through time.
We called that first pottery business, High Prairie Pottery.
In 1976, we started the business "full time" (an understatement) in Blackfoot, Idaho. We have been making pottery (or at least objects from clay) off and on ever since.
The name "High Prairie" is an actual place in the mountains of central Oregon, near Oakridge. Actually, it's more near Westfir. Westfir has shrunk to a mere hiccup in the road...but it remains a beautiful place. When I was born there, Westfir was a small but thriving "company town" with its own lumber mill, a company store where you could use a tab to make purchases, a teacherage (I'll let you look that up) and
lots of families I always considered to be friends. The Doctor who delivered me also dabbled in the Veterinary arts (seriously). My Dad coached 6-man football, basketball,
track and baseball. The story goes that they would give me a basketball and put me in the middle of the floor of the gym as half time entertainment at the B-ball games. I could not play the game then and still can't. It was obviously a small town. My parents dragged me to California when I was just five years old.
LickinFlames is a new brand of that first business.
The name LickinFlames comes from the unique.characteristics applied .to the individual pieces by the flames "licking" across the pieces in the kiln and in the post firing processes. Control freak that I am, it took a while for me to be able to give up some control to the flames. It seemed appropriate to name the brand after those magical flames.
Through the years, we've done arts and crafts shows on the lawns of local libraries, strip malls, indoor malls, street fairs, renaissance fairs and even in back yards of friends and family...we called them "pot parties." At one point we started selling wholesale with sales representatives at seven major wholesale gift markets. We supported 335 accounts in 37 states and had as many as nine folks in the crew. We've been down the routes of casting and hydraulic pressing, forming upwards of 500 pieces a day and we've had studios in single car garages, double car garages and in a 3000 sf facility. When we were younger (and didn't know any better), we traveled to as many as 25-30 craft shows a year. Our schedule is much more comfortable these days.
Jim has his degree in ceramics from the University of Idaho, and was one of the first to receive a degree in ceramics from there. Along the way he worked himself into "minors" in jewelry, sculpture and piano performance (yes, you read that correctly...piano performance)...and married his best friend, Brenda.
It was during a one year break from University of Idaho to take care of his diabetes (T1D since 1971) that he was able to take a class in pottery at what was then Diablo Valley Junior College. It was magical. Jim loves clay...period. He was a music major prior to that pottery class, but clay rather abruptly pushed the notion of "music major" aside.
Oh, don't get it wrong, Jim has other interests. Jim still does play the piano occasionally, and he likes to work in the yard. I wouldn't call it gardening...Jim and Brenda live on 4 acres of forest. If he's not working on clay he would be working on genealogy or playing in Irish sessions with his B/C button box (or bodhran or banjo). But the darn clay really defines him.
While a great deal of the focus is on Jim, as he makes the pots of the pottery...the stuff you see. There is a backbone to the business, the muse, the leader, the driver and the Mom of the family and her name is Brenda. Don't for a minute think that because most of the "About" page is about Jim that her role or importance should be thought of as lesser in any measure. Brenda is really responsible for running the business, the family and then in her spare time, makes LickinFlames happen.
Brenda, a native Idahoan and fellow University of Idaho graduate, is a recruiter for a large international recruiting company. She holds her MBA from Dominican University of California in International Business. She has spent over three decades serving in various offices of a large women's philanthropy and currently serves as a Past International President of the organization. She is an accomplished knitter and when she finds free time she will be knitting, dying or weaving.
Jim has had other careers and businesses through the years (the fish hatchery with 260 aquariums is a story in itself), but he has always done clay. Clay has always had a grip on Jim, it still teases him and drags him down slippery slopes and rabbit holes. He still has a Robert Brent potter's wheel with a serial number of "72" and just has never been able to let it go...but then he still uses it. The wheel and Jim are a great match as both are loud, cranky and regularly need parts replaced.
We live and work outside of Nevada City, CA, about an hour and half from Sacramento. No, this is not a hobby and no, we're not retired. Why on earth would we retire from something that we absolutely love to do. Jim sometimes asks himself, "what else would I do." While life and the work continue to evolve, the ideas and inspirations also keep evolving and for that we're extremely thankful.
p.s.: About that photo in the header...Jim wishes it was taken recently. Both Jim and Brenda like the photo. It reminds them of the color of their hair once upon a time...and of course, their grandchildren are a bit older than the age of their two daughters in the picture.