Meet Jennifer Barbour

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Barbour and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Justin and I had stepped away from our busy working lives to reclaim time with our boys. The idea was to take a brief sabbatical on a sailboat to recharge and connect with one another. Months later, COVID was in full swing and we were faced with what to do next during uncertain times. We wanted to extend this close family time and not have to get back to busy living. We looked to my hobby creating pottery to provide a paycheck during the pandemic. We were able to sell at the Olde Beaufort Farmer’s Market, maintained a simple lifestyle, and began to see that making pottery could be our new career path.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I absolutely love creating pieces I know will be held in someone’s hands and used daily. Pottery is a humble art – it’s physical, messy, heavy, and sometimes explodes after much labor. I gravitated towards this art medium later in life, attracted mostly by its practical nature, but also the beauty in clay. It took a huge leap of faith to make pottery our career, but we quickly saw that it was a lifestyle change we were willing to fight for. During Covid, Justin and I cherished time with our boys and found we enjoyed working together. Was it easy? No. Thankfully I love a challenge. We lived a simple life, debt free, our days slowing, and we found that enough was a feast. A deep faith in God, hard work ethic, and a commitment to our family has enabled this small business to succeed.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We love our Beaufort and New Bern Farmer’s Market Community! So please, visit these wonderful places on a Saturday. Know that your purchases make a direct impact on the fine people selling their work. Get outside and enjoy the 3 mile hiking trail at Ft. Macon. Stay and take a swim in the Atlantic, or go surfing if you can! Take a day to visit Tryon Palace and immerse yourself in the living history on display there. In Oriental on Wednesday evenings, see if you can crew on a sailboat during the weekly keelboat race. Food options? Get a free pizza at Silos on Tuesday, coffee at the Bean, Publix Cuban subs and cheese board fixings. Crema Brew in New Bern for more coffee and the best desserts.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My amazing husband, Justin is as every bit a part of the success of our small business. He keeps me grounded, focused, and does all the things I don’t want to do so that I can create. I’m so fortunate that we both love working together.

Website: https://www.saltoftheearthnc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saltoftheearthnc/ (@SaltoftheEarthNC)

Image Credits
Jennifer Cole Rodriquez @JenniferColeImages