Frankoma History

Frankoma Pottery was first created in 1933 near Norman, OK by the world-renowned sculptor, craftsman, educator, and humanitarian, John Frank. From the beginning, he designed his products to be functional as well as artistic and to reflect the beauty of the Southwest. Frankoma strives to use colors and designs reminiscent of the world around us.

John Frank also brought something else to the business. He stated that 'the clay carries a piece of each person who touches it' and he refused to hire anyone who did not love their job. We feel the same way – there is something about the clay which holds on to the spirit of the eight to ten artisans who handle each piece.

Our rich terra cotta is obtained from our own Sugar Loaf Hill clay mine near the plant in Sapulpa, OK. This tradition has always been a part of Frankoma's product and makes us the only pottery we know which controls every step of our process beginning with digging the clay from the ground. We are one of the last remaining potteries in the United States and continue to offer a truly American handcrafted product.

Our clay is cleaned and processed to form a rich, dark gray clay that is formed by individual craftsmen into the finished shapes. Each piece is individually hand trimmed to remove rough edges and ensure that the detail shows properly.  After the first trip through the kiln, the clay develops its signature terra cotta color. We then glaze each piece individually in one of our Frankoma colors. Most pieces are then brushed to remove glaze from some areas so that the beautiful terra cotta color will show through. The pieces are then fired a second time to create a permanent piece of art work.

Because the pieces are individually manufactured, each piece is unique and carries its own character. This is particularly true with the hand-painted pieces where the artist's role is even more pronounced.

Frankoma continues to offer attractive, yet functional, dinnerware and bakeware for your cooking and serving needs. We strive to address modern tastes while maintaining the heritage of reflecting nature's beauty in our work. This balance makes Frankoma’s pottery unique.

After several years of struggle, Frankoma is completing its first year with new ownership. Our goal is to restore Frankoma to the status as a world-leading pottery that we once enjoyed. Manufacturing equipment has been refurbished, the show room has been renovated to show our products to their best appearance, and a free museum of several thousand pieces of Frankoma pottery (on loan from collectors Ray and Sherry Stoll) is now on display. We are also an authorized OK state tourist center with information about local attractions and offer a wide range of other products manufactured in OK.

As we move forward, we are building on the past with a combination of new and old products and new color combinations. We will particularly emphasize the holidays as we bring out new products for you to enjoy.

We're proud of our products and love to show them off. If you live in or travel to the Sapulpa, OK area, stop by our factory for a free factory tour (please call ahead, if possible, to make sure the plant is running during your visit).

Frankoma offers beauty to last your lifetime – and beyond. John Frank once said: “Things of quality have no fear of time.” We wholeheartedly agree.

Caring for your Frankoma Pottery

Caring for your Frankoma Pottery – new and old

Your Frankoma Pottery is easy to care for. It's microwaveable, dishwasher safe, and oven proof.

Microwaveable.  All current Frankoma pottery is microwave safe and has been since microwaves became popular. What does that mean? It means that for normal usage, there are no problems with microwaving the product. Sometimes, the piece will become warm to the touch, but that will not harm it - just be careful in picking it up. If you microwave for more than a few minutes, you may need oven mitts due to elements in the clay. We do not recommend long times (10 minutes or more) in the microwave. Also, metallic glazes (such as the Rendezvous pattern) should not be microwaved.

The variation between pieces is at least partly due to differences in water content. There is a large amount of terra cotta showing on some pieces (and some visible terra cotta on almost all pieces) and this picks up moisture when you wash it or put it in the dishwasher. When you microwave a mug with lots of moisture soaked into the pottery, it's going to get hot. So if you plan to make your tea in the morning in the mug, make sure it's thoroughly dry before putting it in the microwave - unless you don't mind the mug getting hot.

Do not microwave empty pottery. If your pottery is cold, you may wish to use a defrost setting briefly to warm it up before changing to full power.

Oven safe. All current Frankoma pottery is oven safe. HOWEVER, remember that all pottery is sensitive to thermal shock. If you place a room temperature (or, even worse, a cold) piece of pottery into a hot oven, there's a risk that it will break. The proper way to put Frankoma pottery into an oven is to put the item into a cold oven and then turn it on. Since the clay holds heat so well, it will gradually warm to oven temperature. That will be more gentle on the piece and also save you energy since you don't have to preheat.

Baking with Frankoma pottery is only slightly different than any other bake ware. Since you will be heating it slowly, the food will warm up gradually rather than being shocked with the temperature change. Many chefs think that this improves their baked products. Because the pottery retains heat, you may wish to remove it from the oven a few minutes before the food is fully cooked since the heat of the pottery will continue to cook the food.

You can use your Frankoma bakeware to serve from and it will keep the food warm longer than metal or glass serving pieces, often up to 45 minutes. Our tests show that it holds its temperature up to 40% better than other pottery, as well.

Do not place hot bake ware into a refrigerator – let it cool down first to avoid a temperature shock.

Dishwasher safe. Again, all current Frankoma pieces are dishwasher safe and I have no reason to believe this isn't true of older pieces, as well. But think about what that means. It means that the dishwasher won't harm the piece. But if you put the pieces into the dishwasher in such a way that they're clanking around and hitting each other, they can certainly be damaged (just as you'd never hit your Frankoma pieces against each other on your counter top). Make sure you load the dishwasher in such a way that the pieces aren't hitting each other.

Freezers. Freezing pottery is not recommended.  Frankoma pottery almost always has some unglazed areas (look on the bottom) and terra cotta will absorb water. If there's any moisture in the clay and you freeze it, the expanding water will break the piece. In theory, if you had a bone dry piece, the freezer wouldn't harm it, but it's too easy for the clay to pick up moisture, so I wouldn't take a chance.  If you do insist on freezing dry Frankoma Pottery, make sure to let it warm to room temperature and then place it in a cold oven to minimize the temperature shock. For the same reason, if you have outdoors Frankoma pottery (see the planters in our product line or some surprise products coming this summer!), make sure to bring it indoors before it freezes in the fall.

Cooktops. Nope. Pottery will not withstand the temperature shock - whether you have a solid surface countertop, gas stove, or electric range.

Lead free. All current Frankoma products (as well as any products made for the last 15 years or so) are completely lead-free. You can use them without concern about lead contamination unlike many imported products. Older Frankoma products, like virtually all the pottery manufactured world-wide, had lead in the glazes. Even though there is no evidence that high quality lead glazes add a significant amount of lead to food, it is worth taking the precaution of not cooking or storing acidic products (tomato sauce, fruits, etc) in older Frankoma products.

Cleaning. Frankoma glazes are scratch resistant and naturally tend to release food products, so cleaning is usually as simple as soaking in warm, soapy water for a few minutes, then wiping or scouring. You can also use your dishwasher.

The above applies to Frankoma pottery manufactured in the past 20 years. Since I no longer have access to the earlier formulas or processes used, we are unable to say with certainty how older pottery will behave. However, Frankoma has been used in ovens for many years, so it is reasonable to believe that the above recommendations probably apply to older pieces, as well.

Other than that, you can use Frankoma pieces just like you would any other dinnerware and serving ware. Just treat it with respect and it should last a lifetime (or longer, considering how many of you are using pieces you inherited from your grandparents!).