Established in 2022 by visual artist Jackson Sprague, Kopf is a studio pottery in Plymouth, Devon crafting usable objects to be enjoyed for how they feel, look, and function as unique but commonplace vessels. Recently added to the shop is ‘Off Table’, a section dedicated to commissioned projects and less functional objects that have evolved from Kopf Pottery tablewares.

Kopf derives from the Germanic kopf: “drinking vessel”; kupf:“mug, bowl, head”; and kuppaz: “round object, bowl, crown of the head”. Jackson’s grandfather Jack Karpenkopf was born on the boat to America in 1906. Fleeing persecution in Poland, the family removed ‘kopf’ from their surname and left it on Ellis Island. In the photograph above, Jackson’s grandfather stands in the doorway of his shoe store Karp’s Bootery in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 

Jackson Sprague’s sculptural work has been reviewed widely including in Artforum, Art Monthly and Art Review and appears in private and public collections including The Roberts Institute of Art and Cass Sculpture Foundation. Jackson studied at The Royal College of Art and Goldsmiths College.