Ceramic Artist Gabrielle Jolie Makes a Splash in Kennebunk, Maine

Jolie refers to the 400-square-foot shop as her “seaside fishing shack.”

Jolie infuses her work with humor; witness her lobster butter dish, which features a lobster under the lid.

Gabrielle Jolie opened Fish Haus in Kennebunk, Maine, in May. She summered in Maine as a child and moved to Portland four years ago to be part of the art community.

Jolie refers to the 400-square-foot shop as her “seaside fishing shack.” Tinned fish is a recurring theme in her ceramics: her current favorite is Fishwife’s smoked salmon with chili crisp.

The shop carries coastal-themed goods from Maine makers and artists.

Fish dishes are displayed on faux ice, much to the delight of shoppers.

“My ceramics are whimsical and accessible,” says Jolie, who originally sold her work at art markets before going viral last summer.

Gabrielle Jolie Finds Success with Handmade Ceramics

Gabrielle Jolie’s tale, up until this point anyway (she’s only twenty-six), reads like a quintessential success story in the day and age of social media. After several years of selling whimsical bug-themed prints and embroidery kits at various art markets, the Maryland native decided to try her hand at ceramics. More specifically, fish dishes. She posted her creations—tinned-fish trinket trays, octopus mugs, lobster-trap butter dishes—on Instagram, and one of her reels went viral last summer, racking up four million views.

From a shed in her backyard in Maine, her home for the past four years, she and a part-time potter began working at a furious pace to keep up with demand. Jolie introduced online “first-catch” drops last fall, with pieces selling out in minutes (as this writer can attest). By January, she’d moved into a 1,600-square-foot studio in Portland, and in May, she opened Fish Haus in Kennebunk. “I’m the kind of person who says ‘yes,’ and then figures out how to make it work,” she says. “I just jump in headfirst.”

But this isn’t even Jolie’s first career. When she was a toddler, she announced she wanted to “be a Riverdancer.” She began taking Irish step dancing lessons when she was six and competed for fourteen years, placing fourth in the world championships and first in nationals. She was touring professionally in Australia when Covid hit, so she pivoted to art.

Fish Haus Brings Gabrielle Jolie’s Ceramics to Kennebunk

Today, Jolie and her team of seven still have trouble keeping up with demand, partly because Jolie paints each piece herself. A single plate, for instance, can take anywhere from two to six weeks to complete. She believes the handmade nature of the ceramics are what draws people—from all over the world—to Fish Haus.

“There’s a wonkiness to each piece that I just love,” she says, laughing. “And I think all of the fish that I paint look a little worried….”

Aside from her own work, Fish Haus sells Maine makers of soap, jewelry, and candles. You’ll also find silk scarves, hair accessories, fish cookbooks, and a section of recommended beach reads. Fish Haus, Kennebunk, Maine, fishhaus.shop(opens in new tab)