Ceramic Lane is a small and little-known residential Lane in North Fallbrook. The street got its name from a family-owned factory that was here in the 1950s. Robyn’s Ceramics was once the 2nd biggest employer in Fallbrook after the citrus packing house.
The story began in October 1943 when Violet “Robyn” with her husband Bruce Sikking came to Fallbrook from San Gabriel. They purchased a home on a 20-acre parcel of lemons and avocados on the north side of West Dougherty St. (1 The Sikkings put their three daughters, Robyn (age 13), Lauri (9) and Laynie (7) into Fallbrook schools and the family soon became well-known members of the community.
In March 1945, Robyn and her mother, Violet Johnson opened a small gift shop in a portion of the vacant Dodge automobile showroom, next to Roy’s Garage on N. Main Ave. The showroom was empty of new automobiles, because during WWII the Dodge factories were busy producing military trucks and other war equipment.
Robyn’s Shop, as it was called, stocked pottery gifts and other art objects. Robyn and her mother watched the shop. Robyn’s 3 daughters were often there when school was out. In small-town Fallbrook, hours might pass without any customers.
Robyn was an artist. She looked critically at the slow-selling figurine decorations and thought that she could design something better. Soon Robyn was molding clay into designs of angel figurines, but she had to take her creations out of town to get them fired in a kiln. However, Robyn was frustrated that the resulting molds did not turn out as she envisioned. Her husband Bruce decided that he could learn how to use a kiln to make the molds exactly as Robyn wanted. Bruce became an expert with the chemistry. (2
Working together in a corner of the barn behind their home, Robyn and Bruce learned to make attractive ceramic figurines, vases and bookends that became popular decorations. All of the pieces were hand painted. Genuine Robyn ceramic figurines can be identified by Robyn’s hand painted signature at the bottom of each piece. (3 Some of Robyn’s original ceramics are on display at the Fallbrook Historical Society Museum.
Needing more shelf space, the Sikkings bought Woodbury’s old newsstand and moved Robyn’s Shop to Main Ave, just south of Hawthorne Street, in November 1945. (4 The Sikkings redecorated the old Woodbury post office. Today this landmark building can still be identified by the Dutch Door that Bruce Sikking built. The top half of the door could be kept open in warm weather.
In addition to increased sales in the shop, the Sikkings had larger companies buying Robyn’s ceramic pieces in bulk for mail-order catalogs. With an agent to represent them, Robyn’s Ceramics were being displayed at trade shows, resulting in more orders. The Sikkings needed to hire people to meet this demand. They needed more space to produce and stock a good supply of hand painted ceramic angels and Santas that were in high demand nationwide for the holidays. A corner of the barn was not enough space.
The Sikkings purchased a war surplus Quonset hut they placed on the property behind their home. Robyn tastefully decorated the plain exterior of the Quonset hut. They installed interior shelves and work benches. In August 1947, the manufacturing business officially became Robyn’s Ceramics. (5 Up to 30 or more people were employed, depending on the season. The peak season for their ceramics was Christmas, but it took weeks of work to produce a sufficient supply of ceramic hand painted figurines for both the mail order business and the shop on Main Ave. Employees at the factory used a dirt driveway off West Dougherty that led to the factory. That dirt driveway is today’s Ceramic Lane.
In the mid 1950s, Japanese companies were copying Robyn’s famous designs and selling them for less. The Sikkings refused to lower the quality of their product to compete. Finally, with their 3 daughters grown and married, Bruce and Robyn closed the business and sold their property. Robyn and Bruce made their summer cottage in Idlewild their new permanent home. (6
Tom Frew
FHS Historian
Footnotes:
(1 Fallbrook Enterprise June 26, 1943.
(2 Robyn’s Ceramics by Robyn Sikking Stuart, a memoir at Fallbrook Historical Museum
(3 Many original Robyn figurines are on display at the Fallbrook Historical Museum.
(4 Fallbrook Enterprise November 2, 1945
(5 Fallbrook Enterprise August 8, 1947.
(6 Fallbrook Enterprise January 13, 1956.