On Saturday, Victoria and I hit up the annual Open Studio event at Heath Ceramics in Sausalito. I've long admired the craftsmanship and handiwork that goes into the studio's servingware, tiles, and vases, so I was thrilled when we had a chance to sign up for a tour.

I've visited the Heath outpost at the Ferry Building many times, but discovered that it pales in comparison to the Sausalito store, which offers rows of tiles, glassware, clocks, knives, and artisan pantry items that there isn't room to offer in the Ferry Building space. (Heath was also offering tours that weekend in its Mission-based San Francisco factory, which produces all of the tiles.)

All of Heath's gorgeous tiles are made at its San Francisco factory

The store also had a well-curated selection of artisan handmade goods as well as print items. I could've planted myself there for hours reading indie magazines like Anthology, Monocle, and Kinfolk.

Just some of the many bud vases and bowls I wanted but didn't buy.

There were tons of second quality and showroom samples marked down, plus the entire store was 15 percent off — just one of two events a year where Heath discounts any of its products. Even though I'm trying really hard not to buy new things without getting rid of old ones, I still walked away with a few bud vases and a stack of magazines.

But anyway, onto the tour...

Click through the slideshow for a virtual tour by way of my camera.

The Sausalito factory has been around since 1958 — something that's hard to believe considering how modern the factory appears. Here, stacks of clay are being aged as it makes it more plastic (read: stronger) in consistency.

All of the clay trimmings are recycled.

Heath starts by making a sculpted design out of a rubber compound. Then it uses the negative surrounding space to create a plaster mold that can be used to create castings. The factory makes about 50 new plaster molds per week, as molds wear out and have to be discarded after around 200 uses.

Slip casting is used to create pieces like mugs, tea pots, and the bud vase shown here, as they can't be formed through a plate roller. To ensure the pieces are well-coated yet still hollow, factory employees flip the liquid out of the mold after about 25 minutes.

Since slipcasting creates a seam on the object, all the slipcast items must then be trimmed. The factory only has one custom trimmer, who has trimmed items by hand for over eight years.

Mugs and mug handles are slipcast separately.

While the handle is still soft and malleable, it's scored onto the mug base.

After each mug gets its handle, the craftsman who scored it signs off on the bottom of the mug with initials.

The mugs shrink significantly in size after a firing in the kiln.

The finished product.

Here, a craftsman hand-jiggers the lid of a clay pot. As most of the work here is done by machine, this is the closest thing the factory does to ceramic "throwing." Casserole lids like the one being made here do require throwing skills, because the knobs on the lids are actually made by hand.

That's one mighty fine lid.

Glazes for days

Glazing a plate to a lovely shade of redwood. Raw glaze has a lighter appearance; after it's been fired, the finished product will be appear much darker.