De and Derek Johnson work together in their garage/studio creating very different styles of pottery – De works with the wheel and Derek with slab architecture.

Born in 1960 in Pensacola, Florida into a military family, Deirdre “DeDe” O’Toole was the second child of four. She learned great appreciation for the arts through her mother and while traveling with her parents as they moved to different ports. In 1979, having returned to Pensacola, De began college in pursuit of a science/pre-med career. It was at that time that De took a pottery class in order to bring her GPA up, but soon realized that pottery was harder than it looked. But in the process of that realization, De’s instructors instilled in her a love and interest in pottery that has lasted to the present.

Derek, born and raised in upstate New York, graduated from Penn State in 1977, and two years later joined the Navy to begin a career as a Naval Aviator. In 1980, during flight training in Pensacola, Derek met De shortly after she had begun taking her first pottery classes. Derek immediately became De’s cheering section and an interested observer as she began the often painful process of becoming an expert in her field.

In 1982, Derek and De got married – and so began De’s traveling pottery roadshow as the two of them would pack up the wheels and kiln and travel to wherever the Navy sent Derek. During the next several years, De continued to refine her pottery skills and expand her pottery business while stationed in Virginia Beach, Pensacola, and Yokosuka, Japan. At each location, she would set up her wheels and kiln, produce pottery products, and sell her wares at local craft shows, galleries, and to friends. She also passed on her skills and love of the craft to others through private lessons and volunteer classes to schools and the Scouts.

In 1991, Derek was retired from the Navy with a disability (ruptured achilles tendon) and, after a two-year break for additional education (M.S.) in Springfield, Missouri, and a two-year internship in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Derek and De put down semi-permanent roots in Spotsylvania, Virginia. It should not be a surprise that De did not let Derek’s transition to the “real” working world interrupt her endeavors to expand her expertise in pottery. Wherever they were located, De set up her wheel and kiln in whatever nooks and crannies were available, and proceeded to produce and sell her wares, and teach her skills.

Planning to stay in Spotsylvania for longer than the maximum 2-3 years that were spent at previous locations, De and Derek began the process of setting up shop and expanding the pottery business. Although Derek could not provide De with a dedicated studio, he was smart enough not to complain when De’s equipment and working areas expanded out into the oversized 2-car garage. Between the 3 electric kilns, slab roller, pugmill, shelves, work tables, and various other essential equipment, it is rare that there was room in the garage for a single car, much less two of them.

While in Spotsylvania from 1995-2005, De’s pottery business and skills expanded significantly. Not only did she participate in a greater number of craft shows than in previous years, she also expanded her inventory to include items that are not often/ever produced by other potters. Although she continued to produce the production pieces that had always been her “bread-and-butter”, De began to make greater use some of the artistic skills that her mother and teachers had previously taught her.

It is important to note that Derek began his transition from active supporter and cheering section to a more active participant at this time. Although Derek had tried his hand at wheel throwing a few times, had become fairly proficient at mixing glazes and firing the kilns, and thoroughly enjoyed helping De at the craft shows, it was not until Spotsylvania that he tried his hand at slab building. Beginning with small, lidded boxes, Derek quickly expanded his expertise to the production of larger objects. It was while producing outdoor/garden candle and planter boxes that Derek learned the “do's-and-don’ts” associated with successfully getting large clay objects through the kilning process. Once he mastered these necessary skills, he began designing and producing various shapes and sizes of water fountains, which have become increasingly intricate and popular as time goes on.

In 2005, Derek was offered a job supporting US Strategic Command in Omaha, NE. Having lived in Virginia for much longer than expected, De and Derek decided that this opportunity for a new adventure was too good to pass up. Derek moved out in June -- and De followed in August. While waiting for their house to become available (current owners are building a new house), their pottery equipment is in storage until they move from the apartment to the house. In the meantime, De is renting studio space at Omaha Clayworks.

Although D2 Pottery is currently a part-time business, both De and Derek plan to turn it into a retirement business once the kids are out of the house and on their own.