Balboa Island is home to a decades-old cottage industry

Along with shops and restaurants, Balboa Island has been home to a cottage industry that it so happens has been making cottage plates for more than 40 years.

The popular ceramic plates — bearing a symbol along with an address or a family name — adorn houses worldwide. They are produced in a 1920s-era cottage on Agate Avenue, just across the alley from the Balboa Island ferry.

The idea came to Balboa Island resident and entrepreneur Kay Cooper upon returning from a trip to Rye, England, where she had seen similar plaques on houses. She started manufacturing and selling her own versions in 1975 out of her antique store, Agate 108.

In 1996, Cooper sold the building to island residents Cindy and Bob Kupper, and the cottage plate business became a partnership between Cindy Kupper and island resident and real estate broker Mary Hardesty.

“I bought plates for all of my clients, and one day Kay announced that she was ready to sell her business and asked me to find a buyer,” Hardesty said. “I got everyone I knew who I thought might be interested. Some had even done plate piecework for Kay. And although many expressed enthusiasm about the idea, only two of us stayed at the table — Cindy and I.”

Kupper, who had worked as a volunteer for The Wellness Community, a cancer support and education organization, thought it sounded like fun.

“Kay trained me and we had a ball,” Kupper said.

“Cindy was a natural,” Hardesty said. “She’s the production side of the operation — takes orders, personalization, refiring the molds, shipping and managing the retail and wholesale end.”

Hardesty, who had worked at the former Rumbold Realty on Marine Avenue, decided to move her real estate business to the Agate 108 location in 1997.

“While Cindy is the production person, I handle the business part, like publicity, graphics, new patterns and spot checking the product prior to firing, “ Hardesty said.

“We call her ‘eagle eye’ because she catches all the mistakes,” Kupper said with a laugh.

Hardesty said Kupper has “maintained the quality of the plates. People are happy with her service, and she’s good about follow-up.”

Mary Hardesty Realty occupies about half the first floor of the converted cottage. She and her stepdaughter, broker associate Erika Primeau, conduct real estate transactions there while the plate production takes place upstairs.

“We have so much fun here; it’s not like being at work,” Kupper said. “My office is upstairs, where I have a view of the bay, the ferry line and all that’s going on on the street — my own little world up there.”

The plate production has become a year-round business, shipping personalized orders all over the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. Customers also can buy generic plates off the shelf — for example, those that read “Welcome friends,” “Welcome to our home” or “Please remove shoes.”

Each plate costs $60 and takes seven to 10 days to ship.

The business has retail store hours on Wednesdays only, since most orders are submitted online. It also gives Kupper more time to work on production.

For more information, call (949) 675-0330 or visit cottageplates.com.