The Buddy Rhodes Story

The History of Buddy's Mix

As a young man, Buddy Rhodes was consumed by clay. It was all he could think about, night and day. More important than the material itself, Buddy was compelled by the creative process. Eventually that creative process pushed his desire beyond the capacity of the material he was creating with. His ideas were too big for a kiln.

Rather than let this limit his ability to create, Buddy struck out to find something different to quench his desire as a maker. Buddy was after a material that would behave like clay, but that could develop strength and durability without the need of a kiln. Buddy was after a self-hardening clay.

Buddy found his solution in concrete, but not concrete in the way the world had come to know, as a workhorse in the development of modern civilization— cold and utilitarian. Buddy was investigating the material through his own lens, as a moldable and infinite material, and from that process, a whole new material came to life. Buddy created a material that behaved like both clay and concrete, and from that moment an evolution began.

Buddy sought to create and to share with other makers who wished to do the same. Over the decades of this collaboration, a whole new language has been born. A language in the tradition of the craftsman movement, and a set of materials that would allow the maker community to create their vision.