Business Profile: Unique hand-crafted items from the Gettysburg Polish Pottery Store

In 2014, Rebecca Woodward and her husband Tim were presented with the opportunity to become a distributor of a line of Polish pottery. The two decided to take what they called “a little leap of faith.”

The outcome is the Gettysburg Polish Pottery store, located at 102 Baltimore St., just a block off Lincoln Square, which since 2014 has become a popular tourist attraction for people from across America and the world.

gettysburg polish pottery

Rebecca said she was familiar with polish pottery long before she had ever considered opening a store and wanted to share her experience with others. “I felt passionate about the product, as baking and cooking in polish pottery is an absolute joy,” she said.

Rebecca said it is common for distributors of Polish pottery to sell to small brick and mortar shops or online. But the Gettysburg Polish Pottery store is “unique in that the only thing we sell is Polish pottery.”

The shop stocks over 3,500 shapes of pottery, all imported from the Ceramica Artystyczna factory in Bolesławiec, Poland.

Polish pottery is lead and cadmium-free, safe for use in the oven, microwave, and dishwasher, and extremely resistant to chips and cracks. It maintains its temperature once removed from the oven, keeping food warm for serving, and cleans up easily.

Each piece is individually hand crafted and hand painted as an individual work of art; no two pieces are ever exactly alike.

“Our goal is customer satisfaction. We work very hard to assist our customers in finding the exact piece of pottery to add to their current stoneware or to help them get started in their collection of pottery for everyday use or for the Polish pottery collector,” said Rebecca and Tim on the store’s website.

Rebecca said the shop had closed during the pandemic, but was able to set up an online store to continue selling the collection.

“During the pandemic, I was continuously putting up pictures of the unique patterns and pieces on Facebook,” said Rebecca. “We were in the shop every day while we were closed because we were filling online orders.”

The Woodwards also continued selling locally during the pandemic through curbside pickup.

The Gettysburg Polish Pottery store is now an accepted and integrated part of the diverse make-up of small businesses in Gettysburg. “This experience has been incredibly rewarding,” she said.  

“It’s nice when everyone is supportive of everybody else’s business. There’s a big asset to being in a small town population-wise, but a big town in the grand scheme of owning a business in a tourist town,” she said.

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Vanessa Igras is a second-year student at Gettysburg College and is studying International Affairs and Anthropology with a concentration in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. As a daughter of Polish immigrants, Vanessa enjoys learning about the interdependence between culture and community. With this in mind, she hopes that her work with Gettysburg Connection will highlight the value of diversity in Adams County and the weight it holds in creating a more unified community.

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Sandy Busche
Sandy Busche
2 years ago

Becky and Tim are lovely folks to talk with and do business with! Their shop is a delight to wander through. I’ve only made one purchase there, but plan on more, especially in light of Poland’s recent, extreme effort to help Ukraine’s refugees!!

ralph duquette
ralph duquette
2 years ago

My mother’s people were from Silesia, now a part of Poland and, thanks to your article, I was reminded about the pottery shop. Visited it just once while my middle kid attended Gettysburg College, always intending to return. So, for my 31st anniversary, I decided to pick up a few pieces. Also visited the Christmas Haus and the connected Gettysburg Chocolate Market where I purchased some tasty treats. Herself already has coffee in the mug!

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