What a fun treat to have find that Deneen Pottery made the front page of the local news for the Billings Gazette! It’s all about the timing and I was luck enough to get in just as the staff photographer was grabbing shots of the set up at the Plaza. I believe there was more of a story with some of the other vendors, but I guess when you have handmade mugs that looks this good, who needs a story? Just Kidding.

In all honesty this was a successful show and we met up with some new ranches that were excited about finding mugs that are handmade in the USA. One friend rancher actually said to me, “I really like you mugs, they are so much nicer than most of the crap that have, and our guests do buy them.” When I jotted that note down the rancher, who will remain nameless, said it would be ok if I used his words – Thanks Barry.

Looking forward to getting all the artwork and orders finalized over the next week!

A big thank you to the DRA for hosting another fantastic show!

Thanks for reading our blog ~ Niles Deneen

My family (mom, dad, aunt and wifey) spent 4 days in Atlanta talking about our custom handmade stoneware mugs with some of the best innkeeping professionals in the country. We’ve been working with the Professional Association of Innkeepers International (paii), the sponsors of the conference, for over 26 years! There is a very interesting story here that is on it’s way…

For Deneen Pottery the event is a sort of family reunion with established and new customers that all find (or will find) success serving and selling the handmade custom mugs that we make. Below Julie Rolsen from the Garth Woodside Mansion, a dancing diva and highest seller of our Deneen Pottery Mugs!

Julie Rolsen with Annie and Mary Deneen

About the conference… The event allows the attendees to share time with the other professionals in the Innkeeping Industry – This is one that every innkeeper should attend. While it takes some figuring to calculate your exact ROI (return on investment) for the ideas that you learn the camaraderie and conversations that happen between the educational sessions are INVALUABLE… The surge of energy and creation of ‘flow’ that happens when you spend time with others that are doing what you do creates an environment of positivity that recharges your soul.

While you can accomplish many tasks in your day at home, spending a few hours on the Trade Show Floor listening, looking, touching and comparing the services and products is such a time saving experience… Especially when you are in our booth! Holding the different Styles of Signature Mugs and choosing the best Glaze Colors can only be done with REAL handmade mugs in your hand. Pictured below are Ray and Kristie Rosset from Lookout Point Lakeside Inn with my dad, Peter Deneen, selecting their new colors for their mug order.

The President of Paii – Jay Karen has taken the reins of the organization and is moving towardTo amuse ourselves and to keep traffic moving through the isles, tables of sweets are provided… With some special help by Lewis Sternthal, from InnStyle, a sponsored table was placed in our row on the final day of the show. When picking the right handmade mug, of the right thread count and quality of linen snacks make it easier!

Next years show is going to be held in Austin, Texas… Hope to see YOU there!

At the start of this year with all of the economic uncertainty we decided to head out to more bed and breakfast conferences in the hopes of attracting new customers. A few weeks back my dad attended the Illinois Innkeepers conference where he met many lovely people that had not heard of Deneen Pottery, and were unfamiliar with our hand made mugs.

Our booth usually takes the longest to set up and tear down as we have so many different styles and colors of handmade mugs that need to be displayed. This is where my dad feels the most confident, order pad in hand, discussing the benefits of using our handmade mugs to serve coffee to guests.

The 10-15 minutes that is used to tell stories about successful inns, can mark the beginning of a relationship that we hope to enter with a new customer…

Then the fun begins with choosing the right style of custom mug, the custom design that will be placed on the stoneware, and then the appropriate custom glaze color. We have 11 styles of custom mugs and 31 solid glazes and over 64 different marble glaze variations. This means for an order size of 100 mugs, where 2 styles can be selected with 4 different glaze options, the order can have 6270 different possibilities! While overwhelming in it’s size that is why my dad, Julie Longtin (our GM) or myself – Niles Deneen can help by giving suggestions that keep things simple.

Nothing makes any of us here at Deneen Pottery more pleased than going over the popular custom glaze colors, or stoneware mug styles that we customize for each order.

We’ve got another big show coming up next week – The Innkeepers Conference and Trade Show sponsored by PAII… The Professional Association of Innkeepers International. Hope to see you there!