In Australia, the name Robert Gordon is synonymous with pottery. 

Its ceramic plates and mugs grace the tables of countless cafes and restaurants across the country, including the popular Lune Croissanterie, while its homewares are stocked in thousands of retailers. 

Its factory in Pakenham, a suburb of Melbourne, produces between 200,000 and 300,000 stoneware items a year, making it the largest production pottery in Australia.

That’s an impressive feat for a family business started in a shed nearly 50 years ago. 

The brand was named after its founder, Robert ‘Andy’ Gordon, who launched the brand with his wife, Barbara, in 1978. He learned the craft from his parents, Colin Gordon and June Dyson, who started their pottery, Dyson Studios, in 1945. 

“I think Dad really wanted to do something different, so they went off and started their own business in Gembrook, where we grew up as a family,” Hannah Gordon, the brand’s general manager and one of its directors, alongside her siblings Bobby and Kate, told Inside Retail. 

“They started selling pottery at the market in St Kilda. Every Sunday morning the whole family would go, he would pack up the car, all the goods were wrapped in newspaper, and it just grew from there.”  

From shed to showrooms

The business was driven by the general popularity of pottery in Australia at the time, but Hannah credits her parents, especially her mother, with understanding the need to constantly offer something new.

“One thing Mum and Dad recognised early on is that it’s a fashion industry. You have to change, you have to move forward, so they were constantly working on new development. They never continued with one range for too long,” she said.

“I think my mum had a really big influence on that because she loved fashion. She always made our clothes, she even made our school uniforms, so she was really invested in fashion and I think that is one of the key things that really drove their business.”

Another major turning point came when the brand shifted from selling products at markets to exhibiting at trade fairs, increasing its reach through retail partners across the country. 

In 1987, Robert Gordon opened the purpose-built factory in Pakenham, where it is still based today, and in the late 1990s, Hannah and her sister Kate joined the business, followed by their brother Bobby 10 years later. 

Around this time, the brand also started manufacturing some products overseas to keep up with demand. Today, about 30 per cent of products are made on-site in Pakenham, while the rest are manufactured at a few factories in China, where the brand has a quality control presence on the ground. 

The siblings officially took over the business from their parents about five years ago. While they are all directors, Hannah focuses on logistics and the China business, Bobby manages the factory floor and Kate is more involved with product design. 

Bobby, whose background is in architecture, also oversees Robert Gordon’s relatively new interior offering, which includes ceramic basins and lighting fixtures.  

“We introduced that before Covid, so it was a bit of a slow burn, but it’s really finding its feet now. It is the fastest-growing category in our business,” Hannah said. 

Country Road collab

In September, Robert Gordon unveiled an exclusive collaboration with Australian fashion and homewares retailer Country Road. 

The six-piece collection, designed in anticipation of the southern hemisphere’s summer hosting season, was handmade at the brand’s Pakenham factory and used reclaimed glaze that would otherwise have been thrown away.

Hannah described the partnership as an “amazing opportunity” to work with a “like-minded” design team. As part of the launch, Country Road produced a video, highlighting Robert Gordon’s commitment to craftsmanship and Australian manufacturing. 

“We’re very focused on what we’re doing, and manufacturing is really hard, and there are so many fires to put out every day,” Hannah said, acknowledging that she doesn’t always realise the brand’s impact in the Australian retail market. 

“The mindset isn’t about all those successes. It’s just about coming together and working together and enjoying it.”

Ensuring the business can continue employing the 50 or so people who work at the factory in Pakenham is top of mind for Hannah and her siblings. 

While the cost of manufacturing in Australia is a challenge – particularly given the factory’s ageing machinery – the popularity of the brand’s interior range and “paint your own” pottery offering could help sustain it in the future. 

“I think that’s the way our business is heading,” she said. “We’ve got people down there that have been with us for so long and it’s so important to us to keep that going.”

Next year, the brand hopes to open its first-ever retail store in Melbourne where it can showcase its Australian-made dinnerwear and interior products closer to customers. 

“I think we’d like to see it happen by the end of next year,” Hannah said. “We haven’t found anywhere and we really like the Collingwood area, but it’s just a matter of finding the right spot and making sure it works.”

This article is part of Inside Retail’s #IRWD365 campaign, in partnership with Airwallex, to shine a spotlight on inspiring women in Australia’s retail industry and drive tangible change towards gender equality.