He found American Mug last fall after having heard an interview with Mr. Schultz, in which the Starbucks chief, disgusted with the political standoff in Washington over raising the debt ceiling, called on business leaders to stop making donations to politicians and start doing something themselves to address the country’s woes.

“It was a good kick in the pants for me,” Mr. Honighausen said. “I thought, ‘Let’s just do it.’ ”

He first considered building a factory in Northern California, close to his base of operations, but a business contact who makes decals used to apply decoration to pottery suggested that he instead take a look at what might be available in East Liverpool.

Now, not only is American Mug on its second order for Starbucks, but Mr. McClellan has gone into business with Mr. Honighausen and one of his longtime associates, Kazuharu Kato, who manufactures pottery in Japan and China. They bought a pottery factory and have plans to hire 10 to 15 people once they get it up and running sometime later this year. Called the Red Barn, it will use state-of-the-art machinery like that used in Mr. Kato’s factories in Japan and China, enabling it to turn out mugs and eventually other products by the thousands each day.

Christina Bishop is one of the new employees hired by American Mug. Ms. Bishop said the local economy was “tough” and added, “There really aren’t any jobs available here that pay enough for you to afford to have a family.” Her husband, Eric, was out of work for six months before also landing a job at American Mug.

Many of East Liverpool’s 11,000 residents work at the casinos across the Ohio River in West Virginia or at the Pittsburgh airport, about a 40-minute drive away. The East Liverpool school district is the town’s largest employer. The Homer Laughlin China Company, the other pottery still operating there, employs 200 to 300 workers.

“Even seeing a few jobs created is very exciting,” said Ryan Estell, the city manager of East Liverpool. “That someone noticed there is something more here than just machines, that there are also skills and know-how here, is important for us.”