Sturdy dinnerware doesn’t have to be ugly.

Pottery Avenue in Bremerton sells a wide variety of Polish pottery that Twila Abrams, president and director of wholesale development, calls “functioning artwork.”

“It’s a viable product. It doesn’t chip, it doesn’t crack, it doesn’t break,” she said.

Abrams opened Pottery Avenue in Bremerton in 2007. She had a Polish pottery business in Mukilteo, but her family lived in Kitsap County, so she headed across Puget Sound.

“It grew so fast and so big that I needed some good partners and they happened to be over here,” Abrams said.

Abrams, her brother Kevin and sister-in-law Heidi run both the retail and wholesale sides of Pottery Avenue.

“We’ve got a good team of people running it,” Abrams said. “There’s no interoffice politics.”

Abrams said Pottery Avenue started as a wholesale business. Costco in Silverdale and Central Market in Poulsbo carry the Polish pottery. The Pottery Avenue team recently created a showroom for retail sales at its East Bremerton location. The Pottery Avenue showroom is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“We actually have multifaceted veins of distribution,” Abrams said. “We have a great distribution center. We just need to funnel more products.”

Abrams first became interested in Polish pottery when she visited Europe. She saw Polish pottery at a roadside shop and quickly fell in love with the handcrafted stoneware.

“It’s just magical,” she said. “It’s all handmade. They really put their hearts and souls into it.”

Now, all of Abrams’ dinnerware and most of her cookware is Polish pottery.

“That’s all I have. I’ve gotten rid of everything else,” she said. “I even take home all the chipped and broken ones because I can’t stand to see them go to waste.”

Abrams said Polish pottery pieces cost anywhere from $9 to $400. She said Polish pottery is in the middle of the pottery price range because it’s a little pricier than some other styles, but cheaper than others.

Abrams said Pottery Avenue carries thousands of different patterns and Polish pottery collections. She said they’ve even had some pieces specifically made for the Bremerton business.

“It’s very eclectic,” she said. “You just never get tired of anything.”

Abrams said new patterns and collections are created on a regular basis.

“I love them all. They each have their own personalities. They’re all so different,” she said. “They’re always bringing out new patterns and new shapes to keep up with the times.”