Portsmouth, Virginia · Est. 2020 · Founded by Sherród Faulks
Sherród Faulks spent years in the tech industry before a beginner's pottery class changed the trajectory of everything. He left corporate America, brought over two decades of accumulated aesthetic sensibility to clay and glaze, and founded DEEP BLACK in Portsmouth, Virginia in 2020. The brand is, in his words, a color, a mood, a movement, and a community -- striking modern ceramics made with meticulous attention to design, in limited seasonal drops, by one person with very clear convictions about what a beautiful object should be.
Sherród Faulks didn't find ceramics early. He found it after years in the tech industry, when a series of life changes led him through the door of a beginner's pottery class. The class changed everything. He left corporate America and gave the rest of his working life to clay -- bringing over twenty years of accumulated skill, taste, and vision to a studio practice in Portsmouth, Virginia, where every piece is made by his hands.
DEEP BLACK launched in 2020 as the physical embodiment of Sherród's aesthetic and beliefs. The name is intentional -- a color, a mood, a movement, a community, and a declaration. The ceramics are modern and striking: cappuccino cups, pasta bowls, serving dishes, vases, and planters in glazes that are bold, luminous, and completely his own. Work drops seasonally in limited quantities, announced to a tight-knit community of followers who sign up specifically to be notified. Pieces sell out. House Beautiful named DEEP BLACK one of the 25 Best Home Stores in America. The work has been featured across major publications celebrating the new generation of American ceramicists.
On a registry, a piece from DEEP BLACK is the rare find -- the object someone opens, sets on the counter, and immediately starts thinking about what to add next.
