Danny Kaplan Expands His Ceramic Studio in North Adams
Ceramist Danny Kaplan moved much of his production to a converted textile mill in North Adams, Massachusetts, after his production manager relocated there. The updated warehouse supports three kilns and larger sculptural work, while his Brooklyn workshop continues producing lamps and hand-built pieces. His Delf collaboration with Lesser Miracle expanded this fall into oak furniture with ceramic tile details.
Danny Kaplan, a New York–based designer and ceramist, had been looking for a bigger Brooklyn shop when high rents and buildout demands complicated the search. His production manager, Val Shamma, was moving to North Adams, so Kaplan relocated much of his casting and large sculptural work to a ground-floor warehouse in a former textile mill there.
The space was rewired for three kilns and gained a glass garage door for daylight. His Bushwick studio still makes lamps and hand-built pieces. Delf II, with Lesser Miracle’s Vince Patti, adds oiled-oak console, coffee table, desk, and nightstand designs with glazed ceramic tiles assembled in Brooklyn.
The move could strengthen North Adams’s creative economy by bringing a working studio and potential visiting artists into a former mill, while giving Kaplan access to space and peers. It may also show how small design businesses can distribute production between city and regional workshops, affecting local suppliers, fabricators, and furniture collaborators. For Brooklyn, the retained lamp and hand-built work suggests some craft jobs remain, though the balance of production may shift.