Pottery Barn’s Collaboration With The Black Artists + Designers Guild Is A Celebration

It’s well-documented that there’s a marked lack of representation of Black creators, designers, and makers in both the retail and design industries. In January, Pottery Barn announced a collaboration with the Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG) that aims to take a step toward changing that.

Launched on Jan. 28, the collection between the home retailer and BADG features products made for entertaining, gathering, and hosting, which were dreamed up in a partnership between the Pottery Barn design team and three interior designers and members of BADG: Penny Francis and Casi St. Julian of Eclectic Home, and Lisa Turner of Interior Obsession. Together, they created a vibrant line that not only supports BADG’s mission of creating more inclusive and equitable spaces in the design community, but also celebrates “Black Joy.”

“For us, ‘Black Joy’ is possibility and empowerment, a celebratory theme that is woven into our collection,” said BADG founder Malene Barnett in a statement. “... This partnership with Pottery Barn builds on our mission to honor ancestral legacies while embracing liberatory creative practices. We love creating spaces to celebrate Black culture in design, and our collection invites everyone to celebrate with us.”

It’s through this lens that they created a collection of more than 25 pieces. Those include decorative accessories, bedding, dinnerware, barware, games, and more, each of which are described as drawing on a symbolic theme from the designers’ lives — “Unity in the quest of inclusion and equity,” “Triumph over tribulations,” “Celebration of love and family,” and “Harmony as a connected community.”

“We are thrilled to partner with The Black Artists + Designers Guild and its community of creators, artists, and design professionals to highlight excellence in design and artistry,” said Marta Benson, Pottery Barn President, in a press release. “The pieces within the collection, designed in partnership with BADG, illustrate a shared love of creating meaningful spaces, vibrant in color and joy, that I am excited for our customers to enjoy in their own homes.”

This isn’t the first time Pottery Barn has worked with BADG; previously, Pottery Barn sponsored BADG’s inaugural Obsidian Experience. This most recent collaboration, it explains, is a natural next step in its partnership with the the collective, and according to the retailer, it’s “reflective of a larger commitment across Williams-Sonoma, Inc. to increase Black representation among associates, vendors, partners, and collaborators as well as a commitment to prioritizing progress toward racial justice and equity through action-based initiatives.”

The BADG x Pottery Barn collection ranges in price from $29.50 to $249, and is available to shop now on PotteryBarn.com.