Yellow is more than a color, it’s a state of mind—and it’s also the inspiration for Butter, the newest color introduction from the Frances Palmer Pearl Collection™, the Weston, Connecticut–based potter’s popular line of premier-quality vitreous china, which offers timeless designs perfect for casual entertaining.

“People want to feel good right now,” says Palmer. “They don't want drab, they want happy, and Butter is the sunniest color.” Butter joins the color ways White, Toast, Gloss Black, Robin’s Egg Blue and Honeydew as offerings in the Pearl Collection™, a line cast from Palmer’s handmade molds by Niagara Ceramics, a century-old manufacturer in Buffalo, New York.

Each piece in the Pearl Collection is ovenproof to 475 degrees; freezer, dishwasher and microwave-safe, and still retains the look and feel of hand-thrown pottery. Dishes can go beautifully straight from oven to table.

Each Pearl Collection design begins its life in Palmer’s studio. The factory then creates molds from the original hand-thrown pieces, which are hand-pressed or hand-cast and then hand-glazed. The artisan work and oven firing leaves much of the vessel’s outcome to fate, which is why no two Pearl Collection pieces are completely alike.

Along with Butter, the Frances Palmer Pearl Collection™ welcomes another addition, a newly designed scalloped cake plate. This is in addition to the Fluted cake plate, which had the distinction of being featured in a full-page editorial in the final issue of Gourmet.

Footed cake plates and platters are some of Palmer’s most popular designs. They are workhorses in the kitchen for baking and serving and are timelessly elegant as decorative objects to complement a dresser or table. Palmer designs every piece with this in mind. “I use a small creamer as a vase to hold wooden spoons,” says the artist. “I want everything to work as hard as it can.”

Suggested retail prices for the Frances Palmer Pearl Collection range from $20–$175.

The Frances Palmer Pearl Collection is sold in fine stores across the country, such as Michael C. Fina in New York, Terbovich in Kansas City and Gump’s in San Francisco. The artist’s work has been featured in dozens of magazines including Martha Stewart Living, Vogue, Elle Decor and Lucky. For more information on Frances Palmer Pottery and the Frances Palmer Pearl Collection, visit francespalmerpottery.com or call 203-227-7204.