Vegetabowls® began 12 years ago in Lexington, Massachusetts while Melanie was teaching a ceramics class. She asked her students to each bring in a fruit or vegetable for a lesson on slip-casting and plaster mold-making. She used a cantaloupe for her demonstration and it turned out so great they ended up casting a cabbage and pineapple. When Melanie brought it home to her husband he was amazed. He said, "we have to make all kinds of fruit and vegetable bowls.... vegetabowls!" Grocery shopping has not been the same since!

Our line is constantly evolving and expanding with each trip to the farmer’s market and each passing season. Vegetabowls® aims to promote local farming, healthy eating, and an appreciation for handmade functional house wares.

V​egetabowls® is a small ceramics company ​in Sarasota, FL. Each item is handmade by Melanie and Justin Mckenney. The two attended Alfred University where they both received Bachelors of Fine Arts degrees. After graduating Melanie and Justin moved to Boston, MA. Melanie taught ceramics at a non-profit art center, and Justin was an instructor at a public access glassblowing studio. In 2010 they got married and launched Vegetabowls®. They just re-located from Grand Island, NY to Sarasota, FL with their children, Lyla and Reed, and 3 rescue dogs, Sadie, River, and Charlie.

We are Handmade in America: Our dream for Vegetabowls® is to grow our business while sticking to what we believe in. We are committed to and proud to be Handmade in America! We will never outsource our production overseas! We are makers, we love what we do, and we want to keep doing it. As we grow, we will hire more local people to grow with us, and provide jobs where it is really needed: at home.

We support local: We buy from our neighbors whenever we can. We shop the farmer’s market for produce and inspiration, we buy our clay and glazes down the street, and even our packing materials are sourced locally.