We're not entirely sure when James Zilian first came into our world — whether it was at Farmhouse Pottery's first trade show in New York City, or whether his beautiful mugs and crock pots were already quietly living on the shelves of Save Haven, our short-lived but beloved foray into SKU lifestyle and home. Either way, it felt inevitable. Farmhouse Pottery and SKU were always going to find each other.
Save Haven didn't last forever. A space dedicated only to home goods felt incomplete — because the SKU way of living doesn't separate the objects on your shelf from the shirt on your back. Natural fibers, comfort-led design, and a deep respect for locally made craft were always part of the same conversation. All of it belonged under one roof. An intimate expression of how we want to move through everyday life: surrounded by locally made things, by objects that carry someone's hands and intentions in them. Farmhouse Pottery fits that vision perfectly.
More than ten years ago, we drove up to Woodstock, Vermont for the first time. The little white farmhouse has a way of welcoming you before you even walk through the door — a small chicken coop out front, a modest shop inside, and a pottery studio filled with the particular calm of a place where real work happens. Sunlight through the windows, pottery wheels, a drying room, a kiln, shelves of works-in-progress. The building had been a bible binding factory in a former life, and James and his team had transformed it into something that felt like the truest expression of American craft — purposeful, beautiful, completely unpretentious.
When we visited again this spring, we were genuinely moved by what fifteen years of quiet, committed brand building looks like. Shifts of artisans moving through the studio. A brand new kiln had just been installed. A whole new warehouse down the road. Growth that was earned, not rushed — and it shows in the farmhouse team and its products.
James and David had one of those friendships that formed in the honest space between two people who had both chosen the harder path — building something of their own, by hand, from the ground up. They talked about life, family, the strange and specific rewards and burdens of running a small business at the intersection of design, craft, and manufacturing. In a world that so often centers the businessman, these two connected over a love of making things and the shared, humbling experience of building a small team you can truly trust.
On this last visit, we found ourselves going deeper than usual — talking about loss, about the ongoing balancing act between family and work, about parenthood, about how you sustain something built on craft over the long haul. About how you keep making things that people will genuinely love and hold onto.
James is a true artisan — poetic, warm, and genuinely one of our favorite people. These days, he splits his time between Vermont and the Rhode Island coast, and that life by the water suits him perfectly. Over the years, he has come back to our triple gauze again and again, drawn to its particular softness and easy drape. So when we launched the new short-sleeve triple gauze shirt and triple gauze shorts, he was the first person we thought of. We sent him a set in blues, naturally.
And it is that same eye for beauty that he shares with his partner Kayley McCabe — a photographer with one of the most beautiful food Instagram accounts we've admired from afar, @thekitchenmccabe. Together, they lent us their world — both wearing SKU and Boyville, showing us how the clothes blend into their lives by the beach. Thank you for opening your door to us, for sharing your story, and for being part of ours.
The Farmhouse Pottery x SKU Coffee Trio drops June 10th, 2026.
When we proposed the visit and the collaboration, James showed up with a bag of his SKU favorites — pieces he had been living in for years. Many of them have been out of stock for a long time, but the spirit of each can still be found in current for upcoming collections.
James is a surfer. And so much of what SKU makes — softly constructed, easy, broken in — fits naturally into that rhythm of life. The time in the house before the surf. The slow unwind after. Here are the five pieces James brought along, each one worn and loved into something personal.
1. The Homework Blanket Shirt — James wears this overshirt in all seasons. In fact, he showed up to shoot in this shirt layered under our quilted shirt jacket. The piece he reaches for without thinking. So worn in it has become part of him — durable and soft and completely his own.
2. The Corduroy Shirt Jacket - James wears it as an over-layer, not quite a coat, not quite a shirt. Casual enough for wherever the day goes, but with just enough to it that it pulls things together when he's heading out.
3. The Cozy Pant - Not officially joggers — at least not in James' rule book. But perfect for everything else. The beach run. The errand. The afternoon that asks nothing of you.
4. Sweat Shorts — Supima Fleece and Organic Heather Fleece - James recommends these as "The post-surf short". The one he slides on the moment he's back inside. Soft, cut just right, and worn the way only a favorite can be.
5. The Long Sleeve Supima Henley- Our first Supima quality in a 40s single — lightweight and incredibly fine. James has washed and worn his too many times it has gone almost translucent. Which is, honestly, the highest compliment a garment can receive.
Still Images and styling | Kayley McCabe @kayleymccabe.com
Special Thanks to James and Kayley.
