Tom 
is originally from Madison, Wisconsin. He began making pottery in 1969 while a student at Saint Louis University from which he graduated in 1971 with a B.A. in Fine Arts. After a year and a half teaching pottery on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and a summer of making pottery in Mexico City, Tom began a three year apprenticeship with potter Abe Cohn in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In 1975, Tom moved to Reeds Spring, Missouri and for three years worked together with Mark Oehler at Omega Pottery Shop before establishing Hess Pottery in 1979.
Through the past 31 years, Tom has strived for high quality and functionality in his pieces. He has experimented with a variety of clays, choosing the present red clay from America to produce his environmentally safe pottery. Tom has refined his techniques to create extremely smooth-to-the-touch red clay pottery without the dangers of unknown glazes.