Freeman-McFarlin Pottery

Freeman-McFarlin Pottery began in the mid-1940s as a partnership between Gerald

McFarlin and Maynard Anthony Freeman. McFarlin was the businessman of the pair and an
established Southern California potter, having operated McFarlin Potteries in El Monte since
1927. Freeman was fresh out of the service and ready to try his hand at pottery design.
Most popular items from Freeman-McFarlin were the slip-cast earthenware sculptures of
various animals; horses, dogs, cats, mice, coyotes, giraffes, owls, ducks and more. Through
the years Freeman-McFarlin figurines were produced in a wide variety of colored glazes, so it
is a fertile field for collectors. The company also employed free-lance designers, including Kay
Finch who produced new designs for the company from the mid-1960s to the late seventies.
Early production took place at the El Monte factory, and in 1968 a second plant was added in
San Marcos. In the late sixties Gerald McFarlin sold his interest in the company. Freeman sold
the remainder of the company to International Multifoods in 1972. In 1975 the El Monte
factory closed and operations were consolidated at the San Marcos plant. Hagen-Renaker
acquired all Freeman-McFarlin Pottery operations in 1980.

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