With wandering animals, unique items, Pottery Ranch more than just pots

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

MARBLE FALLS — Sometimes, who you sit by while watching your daughter play basketball goes a lot further than the concession stand. Scott Kilpatrick, the owner of the Pottery Ranch, knows that first hand.

“I have this,” he said, looking around his 20,000-plus-square-foot retail center, “thanks to my daughter being the same age as Eddie Shell’s daughter and playing basketball together.”

Kilpatrick laughed as he told the story of how he struck up a friendship with Shell, a local attorney, while sitting in the stands at games. At the time, Shell and his wife, Dale Cochran-Shell, ran a Western wear business at the 6000 U.S. 281 location. But as Dale was looking for a way to get out of the business and concentrate more on her legal practice, it left the Shells wondering what to do with the retail center.

“It kind of just went from there,” Kilpatrick said. “I really just started with a few things on the lot right next to here, but now, well, now it’s this.”

“This” is one of the most unique stops along U.S. 281. Pottery Ranch carries an eclectic selection of items, including one-of-a-kind products. By the name alone, a passer-by might think it’s all about pottery, but that would be a mistake.

“Oh, yeah, we’re much more than pottery,” Kilpatrick said.

While he’s sometimes amazed at the growth and success of the Pottery Ranch, it just might be something in his blood. Kilpatrick’s father, Bill Kilpatrick, is the owner of Choo Choo Patio Shoppe in Fredericksburg. The elder Kilpatrick started a tourism business called Choo Choo Trolley in Jefferson City but eventually moved to Fredericksburg. He kept running the tourism business but soon discovered a demand in the Hill Country for unique merchandise after the sale of a chimenea.

“All he did was sell a few things from the lot he was on,” Scott Kilpatrick said.

Kilpatrick’s own foray into the world of retail followed a similar course.

Now, along with pottery, customers and visitors can find a plethora of merchandise, including teakwood furniture and some very “unique” earrings crafted from a part of the anatomy of male raccoons and minks. In between, people can browse willow furniture handmade by a guy named Elmo, who lives just outside of San Antonio, benches fabricated from old pick-up truck tailgates by a fellow from Marble Falls, metal artwork and just about anything else Kilpatrick “discovers” during his travels or trips to other markets.

One of the things Kilpatrick works on is creating an atmosphere that’s open and welcoming. While he and his staff love making the sale, they also believe the Pottery Ranch is a great place for people traveling U.S. 281 to get out and stretch their legs.

Families with children don’t have to worry if the kids are welcomed among all the pottery and other items. Kilpatrick encourages them to visit. If they don’t want to look around the store, they can venture out back, where the Pottery Barn’s makeshift petting zoo awaits.

“I’ll even give the kids free food to feed my horse, Monet, and my two donkeys, Pancho and Lefty,” he said.

And even dogs (well-behaved ones) are welcome. Customers might even recognize the two regular canines at the Pottery Ranch. There’s Rufus, the 12-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever, who also stars on the store’s billboard advertisement.

Then, there’s Dudley, a chocolate Lab that actually belongs to Kilpatrick’s daughter, Charlie. Dudley landed more than 2 million views on YouTube as part of a video she made called “Ruff Dog Day.”

“In the summer, we may have a dozen dogs wandering around the store,” Kilpatrick added.

And if a customer comes across a real rooster among the aisles, it’s OK, he’s just making his way through to the chicken coop by the petting zoo.

“I just wanted a place that’s, you know, fun to come to,” Kilpatrick said.

Still, he admitted he sometimes is amazed at the size and scope of the business (it delivers all over Texas and even beyond.) But when you have 20,000 square feet or more available, you can’t leave any spot empty.

Which brings up a piece of advice his father offered him.

“My dad always told me you can’t sell from an empty cart,” Kilpatrick said with a laugh. “So whatever space I’ve got, I’m going to fill it with something.”

And to see what he filled it with, stop by the store, which is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. every day (with the exception of Christmas).

Go to www.potteryranch281.com for more information.

daniel@thepicayune.com