The tradition of potter's trade is dated back to the prehistoric era. A variety of jars, pots, bowls and other utensils was delivered by numerous potteries. The beginning of the XX-th century, as well as the industrial development heavily influenced craftsmen' lives, leading to recession and making many a potter face bankruptcy. Only two of them have, against all the odds, overcome the countless difficulties. The present day there are two centres still manufacturing in accordance with the old, traditional designs

The oldest centre of pottery in the Kaszuby region is Kościerzyna where, in 1861, there were as many as eighteen potters. Only home-used, household utensils were produced in plentiful workshops.

In Kościerzyna had once Michał Necel (1831-1895) a pottery, of whom a son, Franciszek (1869-1935), around the year 1897 moved to Chmielno and established a new workshop. Under the influence of the Gulgowscy he began to make Kashubian decorative ceramics using technology invented and developed by himself. Various vessels he shaped, from the void-of-marl clay with an admixture of sand, then rolled them on the feet-rotated potter's wheel and, eventually, after drying them and coating with colourless varnish, baked them in a stove. Afterwards the earthenware was decorated and baked again. At that time Franciszek alone was using two-pass baking. The son of him, Leon (1905-1968), proved to be the follower of father's work, but he no longer used colourless varnish; instead he applied a cream, brown and blue one. The same patterns were used: tulip, lilac, lily, starfish, fish scales as well as the Kashubian garland, and in fifties temporarily also the cresset of education as a symbol of socialistic times. Richard (1940-1996), the son of Leon, was the last, childless potter of the kin of Necels, who faithfully continued the family's tradition concerning shapes, colours and ceramics patterns. The present day the pottery is being made by Richard's nephew, Karol Elas Necel. In 1993 the Museum of the Necels' Ceramics was created in the old pottery workshop of the kin.

In Chmielno were with the Necels the Adamczyks competing, who did not decorate their ceramics with Kashubian traditional motifs, yet the moulds, especially these of various-sized pitchers, were considered similar. The pottery workshop was established by Józef Adamczyk (1848-1908), who worked with the son of him, Antoni (1870-1908), and subsequently it was managed by the brother of Antoni, Jan (died in 1911).

In Kartuzy the ceramics of the Kaźmierczaks was highly esteemed and renowned for the uncommon metallic black varnish; matt and gloss. Józef Kaźmierczak (born in 1914) was the apprentice of Necel and produced earthenware until 1991.

Potteries were located in other parts of Kaszuby as well, e.g. in Puck and Wejherowo, but we know little about them.

The Kashubian ceramics was useful and decorative, principally ornamented with motifs used by the Necels, of whom adopted them other potters, such as the Meissners. It is him who created tiles modelled on fireplaces of Gdańsk, decorated with motifs from Kashubian embroidery of Wdzydze. Fireplaces with tiles of Meissner are found in the Ethnographical Park of Wdzydze. It was common to make vases adorned with lilac, lily, tulip, and fish scales (Necel), plates, various-sized bowls, pots destined for mortar or (in some regions) for pickling, flowerpots for snuff grating, pitchers and other utensils; in fact, it is difficult to imagine any Kashubian household without a single piece of traditional Kashubian pottery. The Necels and Kaźmierczak made also tea and coffee sets - cups and saucers, dessert plates, coffee pots, milk jugs, sugar bowls and vodka glasses. Tea sets could rarely be found on the market, yet it was possible to order them in plentiful pottery workshops.