"I believe that good design is “tributary” in both senses of the word: it pays tribute to, reveres, that which inspires us, drawing upon the essence of a body of work or a style without simply imitating; and in designing something new, one makes a statement, a small “tributary” stream that feeds, along with other statements, other ”streams” of thought, into a larger flow of ideas that may, ultimately, define a new style, a new movement."

Bret Bortner is pleased to announce the publication of FORM: Essence and Simplicity in Product Design the catalog he wrote and published to accompany the “Thirty Year Retrospective of Bret Bortner Design, Ltd.” hosted by the Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, Michigan.

The opening reception for the retrospective will be Friday, March 2nd from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, 707 Lake Blvd., in St. Joseph. The exhibit will run through April 29th, 2012.

The retrospective will follow the evolution of Bret Bortner’s production pottery from its inception in a garage in Dundee, Illinois, in 1982, through its peak years employing twenty four people and shipping a million dollars a year to retail stores around the country, including its biggest buyer, Crate & Barrel.
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