Dawn Klinger, owner and founder of Tagliaferro Ceramics, moved to southern Oregon about eight years ago. The Maryland native has found a home and her niche here in Talent. “Our clay studio is located in an old barn up Wagner Creek Road,” Dawn said. “I love working in this peaceful, natural environment...and being able to walk to work.”
Dawn has been working in clay since she was 14 and a freshman in high school in Jupiter, Florida. She went on to graduate from the Univer- sity of Arizona in Tucson with a B.F.A. in Fine Arts with an emphasis on ce- ramics. “My background is in sculp- ture and hand building. I wanted to use those skills to create a business and decided on hand building dinnerware using the slab techniques I used previously in my sculpture work.
“Tagliaferro is named after my grandfather, who along with my grandmother raised me. I spent many hours making things with him in his basement workshop and he encour- aged my passion for curiosity and creating.
“Through my travels across the country from my roots in Maryland to my current home in Oregon, I have gained inspiration from the people, culture and landscape of the these places. The colors, textures and inspirations behind my work reflect my life experiences, personal style and pur- suit of a beautiful but uncomplicated life.
“I founded Tagliaferro Ceramics with the intention of creating a business doing what I love to do and to share beautiful, functional, high qual- ity ceramic ware to customers who love and appreciate the warmth and authenticity of objects crafted slowly and thoughtfully by human hands.”
Tagliaferro’s dinner and serving ware is beautiful as well as function- al. It is dishwasher safe, microwave safe and the slab building techniques make them extremely durable.
“We take our time and infuse every piece with love and attention to detail,” Dawn continued. “Our clients can ex- pect handmade ceramic pieces that will last a lifetime and beyond. Our customer connections are extremely strong and we have many loyal clients both locally, nationally and even some abroad.”
From August 2016 to April 2020 she had a retail location in Ashland (be- tween Brother’s and Dobra Tea). “This allowed me to meet so many amazing people who are still our clients today. With Covid, we decided to close the store and move solely online. I miss seeing my customers smiling faces, but plan to open up our Wagner Creek Studio with more events and opportu- nities for the public to visit.
“I truly value the ability to work in a small town and have relationships with my local customers while still being able to sell around the world.”
Tagliaferro Ceramics is located at 10548 Wagner Creek Rd. You can call 541-535-3562 for more information. But the best way to reach Dawn is by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
