TUCSON, ARIZONA – Potter USA purchased the industrial buildings at 1959 & 1969 E 19th Street in Tucson for $635,000 ($75 PSF) for the 8,432 square feet of improvements built in 1961 on 3/4 of an acre.
The company purchased it for expansion of its unique business, a manufacturer of artistic metalworking tools - hydraulic presses, metalsmithing and jewelry stakes.
Founder, Kevin Potter began as fine jeweler in Tucson. He specialized in carving custom waxes and casting but also drew the designs and set stones, essentially designing pieces from start to finish. He eventually worked into having his own line of jewelry that was sold in stores throughout the US. Kevin gained experience using machine tools while attending The University of Arizona, where he received a BFA in drawing/painting.
He worked in the machine shop on campus and eventually started his own machine shop where he used his tools for the production of stainless steel jewelry. He quickly decided to make silversmithing stakes. He always enjoyed using them in college but could never afford to purchase them. After he made his first few sets, he advertised them on Craig's list in several cities known as artist communities: Seattle, San Francisco, Austin, etc.
Kevin always liked Otto Frei jewelry supply and contacted them about his stakes. They liked them and decided to carry his line of stakes, used in conjunction with hammers to form metal into various shapes. Gradually he began to make other tools and started the Potter USA website with the help of a friend who was a retired computer programmer.
In 2018, Kevin and Vincent Potter travelled to Providence, RI in search of antique jewelry dies, and found the Cranston Fancy Wire Company. The company was with its second owner, who had to close the business. The Potters arrived at the perfect time to purchase the company. It had been running patterned wire and sheet in gold, silver and other base metals since 1867.
To keep the antique patterns in circulation, Potter USA bought the company and the Cranston Fancy Wire Co. is now ongoing. The company offers patterned wire and metal sheets in copper, brass and silver, run through the original 1800s rolling mill that came with the company. The company is managed, and the patterns are milled and tended to by Vincent Potter, the son and Danielle Crounse wife to of Potter USA founder Kevin Potter.
Mark Hays with Tierra Antigua of Tucson represented the seller, Desert Dwellers (Mark Bovell) that occupied the property prior dba Bovell Builders.
For more information, Hays should be contacted at 520-444-5401.
To learn more, see RED Comp #9871.