Frankoma Pottery is making a physical return to Oklahoma—but not to Sapulpa—instead, the new owner is reportedly opening the new location in Glenpool, according to the company’s Facebook Page.
Frankoma Pottery had been a Sapulpa landmark since 1938 when owner John Frank moved the company from where it had been in Norman since 1933. The pottery, including everything from dinnerware to figurines, used locally sourced light-clay before switching to the classic red clay locally sourced right in Sapulpa since the early 1950s. Frankoma remained in Sapulpa for several decades despite rocky setbacks like fire and bankruptcy until 2010 when the company eventually closed down. The factory itself was then sold in 2012, but production of Frankoma art pieces has quietly continued on a low scale primarily online since April of 2020.
Now, Frankoma Pottery has returned – but not to its original long-term hometown of Sapulpa. The new store and manufacturing facility will live at the intersection of 171st St and HWY 75 in Glenpool, Oklahoma. The building is currently under construction but is expected to be completed by Valentine’s Day, with just a few weeks of preparation after that for shoppers before the store officially opens for business.
During its prime, Frankoma Pottery had received multiple awards, including “Nation’s Outstanding Business Man” from President Nixon in 1971. Frank was also credited with creating the “once-fired” process in pottery making, and he was behind the creation of the first ceramics department at Norman’s University of Oklahoma. In 1965, a medallion Frank had designed for the first Republican Governor of Oklahoma was on display at the World Fair. Several collections from Frankoma Pottery were internationally known and hailed for their colorful glazes, practicality, and design.
