Speaking of celebrations, last month I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd anniversary celebration for one of our clients – Grassroots Coffee in Thomasville, GA. It’s a small, charming town with a rich history, and this independent coffee shop is now a part of the town’s most vital shopping district.

It’s only a half-hour drive from my hometown, and I wanted to be there to represent the company. I had stopped in when they first opened and noticed that they had mugs with their logo on them, but they didn’t have hand-thrown stoneware mugs from Deneen Pottery. I had Niles send them a few samples, and it was done! They came on board immediately, and I’m happy to say that our handmade mugs have done well for them. They’ve done so well that Grassroots is now on their third order of custom stoneware mugs.

Grassroots’ story began in the summer of 2009. Spencer and Megan Young along with their friend Ed Millere had the idea that they could bring a coffee shop to Thomasville’s thriving, historic downtown. Architects, contractors, plumbers and electricians ensued. On November 6th, they opened their doors believing all the while that they had something special to offer. So far, it seems they were spot on. In fact, the historic downtown of Thomasville has thrived so much during the recession that they were the subject of a story on NBC Nightly News in February. Even Spencer can be seen in the video!

It was great to see such a show of support for a locally-owned coffee shop. Grassroots even roasts its own coffee in-house. They’ve done so well in the past two years that their coffee is now on the shelves of select local grocery stores. And it’s available online as well for those of you (like Niles) who want a taste of southern-roasted coffee. They have even expanded to serving a limited selection of lunch sandwiches as well. All things seem to be looking up for these nice folks down in Georgia!

And what would our blog be without showing you their fabulous handmade mugs? They first ordered the Camper mug and the Abby mug, and those seem to be their mainstays.

And they’ve moved on to selling the Footed mugs as well. Just this year, they asked us to redesign their emblem to accommodate a one-shot espresso cup. Now they have two different versions of their logo available for purchase.

And talk about southern hospitality. These guys are even nice enough to include a card with your purchase explaining how to make the perfect cup of coffee. I have to say that, while I do love coffee, I am not a connoisseur. But this is some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. My personal favorite is the Grassroots Blend. Just last week, I had my folks pick up another pound for me along with the limited-edition Christmas Blend. It’s an amazing coffee all its own. So, while I might be stocked up on coffee for awhile, it’s great to know that I can always order it online.

While I was there, I did make one suggestion to Spencer. It’s the same suggestion we make to all our customers. Even if your mugs are selling well enough, they will always sell more quickly if you use them. Most of our bed & breakfasts customers serve morning coffee to their guests in their Deneen Pottery mugs, but coffee shops could do the same thing for those customers who prefer to have their coffee inside. Just set aside a small number of mugs for customers to use, and once they get their hands around our hand-thrown coffee mugs, they’re almost certain to purchase one. And just think of the money you’d be saving in paper cups!

And while we’re on the subjects of stocking up and saving money, it’s the perfect time to remind you about our Pack & Hold option that you should have received information about in our final newsletter of the year that was emailed on Tuesday. It’s the perfect option for those of you who want to order a large amount of mugs, but only want a few shipped at a time. It certainly does cut down on the wait time for reorders. You can order as few as 48 mugs or as many as 192 mugs and schedule your own delivery dates throughout the year or just call us when you run low. It’s that easy, and you only pay for what we ship at one time! And for all reorders in 2012, we’ll thrown in one of our new 40th Anniversary logo mugs for free as our way of saying thank you for being such a loyal customer.

Price guarantees are good through January 31, 2012 so that even gives you a chance to wait and see what’s new at the conference. But if you’d like to avoid the post-conference order rush, feel free to email me at heath@deneenpottery.com and I’ll be more than happy to send you a few photos of what we’re debuting in Little Rock. We can always get your order started right away!

Be sure to check out Grassroots Coffee online, and give their coffee a try. Remember to buy local when you can. As always, thanks for reading our blog. And be sure to check us out on Facebook for the latest information on new products. We enjoy communicating with all of you, and we appreciate your comments in return. Every single comment gets read, we promise.

Heath Croft, Director of Communications

“We wanted a well-made, handcrafted mug to honor the 10th anniversary of our fundraising bike ride,” says Ayleen Crotty.  “I spent two full days researching mug options before I settled on Deneen Pottery.” And we’re certainly glad she chose us. We are now a second-generation family business with 40 years of experience, and we love working with groups like this!  Ayleen tells us that she couldn’t be happier with her choice, and she’s just placed an even larger order for next February’s race.

Last year was the first year that they created a mug, she says, for the simple reason that they wanted to offer something that people could cozy up with to enjoy a nice warm cup of coffee or hot cocoa and enjoy great memories of the ride all year long.

When Niles began helping her decide on glazes, Ayleen was hesitant at first about one of his ideas.

“Niles was extremely helpful in color choices,” she says.  “He suggested we try a color we would have never picked on our own, and it was the first to sell out.” That color was wisteria w/plum white top, which is quickly becoming a favorite among our customers.

The Worst Day of the Year Ride is a paradox in itself.  Ayleen says that in the past 10 years, the weather has never really been that bad.  February in Portland should be cold and wet, she says.  But riders have never awakened to significant rain, and she says the temperature is usually pretty nice. That’s a huge contrast to the frosty, snow-covered, and frigid land of 10,000 lakes we call home.

The Worst Day of the Year Ride raises funds for the Community Cycling Center whose slogan – Every child deserves a bike! – pretty much sums it up. Some 4,000 riders participate in the annual 18-mile trek through downtown Portland, and there’s even a huge costume contest.  Not only do the participants dress themselves in whimsical outfits, but they decorate their bikes as well. You can see from the photos that everyone has lots of fun. Isn’t it awesome when people can help others, especially kids, and have a great time doing it? We’re excited that our custom handmade mugs will again have a part in such an important event.

And Ayleen had such high praise for us that we thought we’d include it here as well. “The company is excellent to work with, completely organized, very knowledgeable, and of course, the mugs are of amazingly gorgeous quality,” she says. To receive such praise from promoters of an event like this means the world to us. Thanks so much Ayleen!

We hope the 2012 Worst Day of the Year Ride will again be the perfect day to buy a custom handmade stoneware mug from Deneen Pottery.

Thanks so much for reading our blog. We welcome your comments, and don’t forget to check us out on Facebook!

Heath Croft

Director of Communications

We have been making handmade stoneware mugs for Rebecca Gallagher since 2009, but The Historic Smithton Inn has been a customer since 1996. Rebecca has a background in marketing, and is as sharp as the come, always full of ideas, and whenever I see her I always grab my idea’s notebook!!!

“I just learned the secret to increasing sales of your Deneen coffee mugs… buy the BOXES!!!!!”

“It may seem like a little thing, but I’m telling you, it’s MAGIC.  Here’s how it’s worked for us:

I’ve gotten in the habit of having Deneen produce coffee mugs for us in batches of 100 that they put into storage [Pack & Hold] for us.  Any time I start running low, I have them ship me 50 [handmade mugs] out of inventory, and when inventory runs low I have them make up another batch.  On June 10th, Deneen shipped me 50 mugs… that order lasted until October 3rd when they shipped me another 50.  I made a  change with my October order though, I also purchased 50 boxes to go with the mugs.  And Voila, Magic!  TODAY, a mere 24 DAYS since my last order, I called Deneen to have them send me another 50 [handmade mugs]!!!  I’d expected to see a small increase in sales, but this went far beyond what I anticipated.  Luckily I already have another 100 mugs in production because at this rate I’m going to need them quick!”

“I’m not sure why, but [the single gift box] really seems to make a difference for guests… maybe it’s that little-bit more obvious that the mugs are for sale, and it’s clear that they’re not taking a mug that’s been used by someone else during breakfast…that it’s new and ready for them to take home safely or give as a gift?  Whatever the reason, I’m a believer! Give it a try… the boxes are reasonably priced and the results speak for themselves!!!”

Thanks Rebecca!!!

The gift boxes are 75¢ each, they ship flat are easily assembled and you can order as few as 5. We can ship them out with your order and from now until X-mas if you mention reading this blog we will give you 5 for free, just to test out! That about sums it up, if you want to sell more mugs, then dressing them up in our single mug gift boxes this holiday season is an easy idea to try. Attempting to slow Eloise down will not be nearly as easy!

Thank you for reading our blog!
Niles Deneen VP, Marketing
Deneen Pottery

It’s not very often that we get orders from our friends in the north.  We generally ship using UPS, and due to the customs brokerage fees that apply when shipping to Canada, many prospective customers find it too expensive to order.  Even ordering the minimum number of mugs can result in a fee upwards of fifty Canadian dollars in addition to the normal shipping rates.  However, one customer recently found a way to avoid the costs, and we wanted to share that story with you just in case you’re reading this in Canada and have always wanted to offer your very own handmade stoneware mugs at your bed & breakfast, inn or restaurant.

Lynn Ferguson and Michael McClacherty, owners of the Bee & Thistle Guest House in Vancouver, used a shipping address in Washington.  Well, we were curious so that we thought we’d ask them how they did that exactly. It turns out that it’s very easy to do, and it can save customers lots of money.

“We were amazed how easy it is to have a U.S. address,” Lynn says.  “There are several mailbox places in Blaine, for example, that are right across the border from us.”  Lynn told us that the service she uses only charges them $10 annually to receive their parcels along with a minimal fee if they receive a large package.

“When they receive something for us, they immediately email us, and they are quite willing to hold it until we can get down there to pick it up,” she says.  Both Lynn & Michael first heard about us and met us earlier this year at an industry conference in Portland, Oregon.  Lynn says that she met several other bed & breakfast owners who were already loyal customers.

“One woman mentioned that she has numerous guests who collect them in different colors each year they visit,” she says.  

When we first began designing the medallion for Bee & Thistle Guest House, Lynn provided us with the graphic below, and we worked directly from that.

Teena, our art director, was able to duplicate it exactly as you can see on the first proof that we sent Lynn and Michael to approve.  However, Lynn had something different in mind and gave Teena the creative license to depart from her usual logo and design something fresh and exciting for the mugs.

“We love what she did with her revision of the logo,” Lynn says.  “She was very responsive to our feedback, and we so much appreciated that she really heard our concerns, and the adjustments she made were perfect.”  Here at Deneen Pottery, we take great pride in our custom handmade stoneware mugs, and we want your artwork to reflect the image you want to convey to your customers.  With that in mind, we’re not ready to put the medallions on the mugs until you say the artwork is approved.  We can generally duplicate your logo or a photo of your property, but we’re happy to make changes to that as well in order to make you, the customer, happy.

Within a matter of weeks after receiving their first shipment, Lynn emailed me to order 50 more mugs!  She says that they had sold quite a few and were almost out of the light teal with cinnamon white mugs.  Lynn also mentioned that she had given several mugs away to repeat guests and to a former guest who referred friends to Bee & Thistle Guest House.  She says that she gave one to each of her employees as well.

“We gave one to each of our staff because we want them to feel a part of our guest house,” she says. While we understand that some of our customers are hesitant to give the mugs away, there are occasions when it’s nice and maybe even wise to do so.  Oftentimes, the return on your investment goes much further than you know.

And, as for the shipping rates to Canada, we are always looking for new ways to provide our products to more people.  We have recently learned that shipping the mugs using the U.S. Postal Service provides more affordable rates to Canada than by using UPS.  So, even if you don’t have access to a mailbox in the states, you still have the option to offer beautiful handmade stoneware mugs from Deneen Pottery at your property. It’s such great news that Niles has been singing O Canada for a week straight! Now, if only we could get him to stop.

Thanks for reading our blog!
Heath Croft
Director of Communications

Teena says that she considers herself one step above a tourist because of all the research she has done on sea turtles, but even she was not allowed to touch them. The hatchlings have bacteria on their bodies that are good for them but harmful to humans. Once a nest has hatched, excavators wait three days to allow the able-bodied turtles enough time to make their journey into the ocean.  After three days, they go and rescue the “runts” from the nest and assist them in getting into the water.  Without the dutiful volunteers, these smallest of sea turtles would likely perish in the nest.

For 28 years, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch has been educating the public on the importance of conserving the sea turtle’s habitat. With more than 80 volunteers, 100 percent of the shoreline is monitored at dawn each day from May through October. Since its beginning, the Turtle Watch has protected more than 3000 nests and has seen over 215,000 hatchlings make their way into the water.

And, now back to the matter of handmade stoneware mugs. As it turns out, the Island Turtle Watch had a few items with its logo on them, but there were no handmade stoneware mugs from Deneen Pottery.  Prior to Teena’s departure to Florida, we sent Suzi a couple of sample mugs to look at, and Teena even took more with her on the trip.

It turns out that Teena returned to St. Paul with more than just fond memories and an even greater love for sea turtles.  She came back with an order for 50 mugs!  Using an original design that was made specifically for the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, Teena was able to create artwork for the special mugs which included the website address. It’s another one of the ways that our mugs make powerful marketing tools.

For the first order, Suzi decided on the Round Belly, our most popular signature style mug.  The color she chose was wisteria with plum white, a perfect choice for the serenity of the island.  Before the mugs were even shipped, Teena snapped a photo of them and sent it off to Suzi who then posted it on the Turtle Watch’s Facebook page.  Education Director Glenn Wiseman said, “Those mugs are way cooler than I ever imagined. I may buy the first 50 myself!!”  Well, you can guess what happened next – there was such a positive reception to our mugs that Suzi decided to place a second order immediately!

The second order is already in production. She’s getting 100 mugs this time just to be on the safe side. And, she’s added a second color this time around – sage with burgundy white.  We always think it’s important to try a new color on a reorder even when it’s placed before the first order arrives! So, in the end, Teena got to see the turtles. We got a new customer. And, the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch gets a beautiful mug that will serve them well in raising awareness for the sea turtles. We call that a WIN-WIN-WIN situation!

For more on the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, please visit www.islandturtlewatch.com

Thank you for reading our blog!
Heath Croft
Deneen Pottery

Every once in awhile, we get the opportunity to do something a little out of the ordinary. Although we take pride in every order we produce, there are instances when the human connection is definitely stronger. Here’s an example: This spring, Pete Salpietra called us because his grandmother was soon to be celebrating her 100^th birthday. He wanted something to commemorate the occasion that each attendee could take with them and keep forever.

Surely, you can see where this is going. He chose our mugs. We got Teena, our art director, on the job almost immediately. She designed artwork wishing Pete’s “Nona-Nona” a happy birthday complete with a birthday cake and candles that almost mirror the ones she actually had, as you’ll see in the picture below.

The family gathered at Antone’s Banquet Centre in Boardman, Ohio this past weekend and celebrated the 100^th birthday of Mary Jane Nagle – beloved to them as Nona-Nona. We think handmade mugs looked fabulous as part of the table setting, and we’ve already heard on our Facebook wall that people loved them.

While we regularly make mugs for inns and bed & breakfasts all over the country, having the chance to do an order like this is something extraordinary. For generations to come, people will be able to use our mugs and remember this wonderful occasion. How grateful we are to be a small part of celebrating this woman’s amazing life.

We’re a family business. Many of our customers operate family businesses as well. This was yet another example of what family means to us. In a time when many connections are futile and sometimes lost very quickly, we value the connections we’ve made over the years, and we look forward to the many more to come.

As stated on the invitation to her birthday celebration: We do not remember days. We remember moments.

This is one moment we’re not likely to forget.

Thanks for reading our blog!
Niles Deneen & Heath Croft

The style of the mug that we are focused on today is our latest and greatest called the patriot. This 12 oz. mug was designed by our potter Wade, who has been throwing pots here for coming up on 15 years. He is also fast becoming our glaze chemist, and we will have some new matte finishes very soon thanks to him. Anyway, back to the story, the Patriot mug! This mug was named on in honor of Independence Day with help from a close knit group of our fans on Facebook.

Pictured in our Navy w/Sand marble glaze and our fieldstone matte – These mugs are on now on their way out to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania’s
first state park, which was established in 1893. “In 1976, the bicentennial year of the Declaration of Independence, the park was transferred to the National Park System as Valley Forge National Historic Park.” The image that was chosen for the mug is George Washington’s head quarters and the intricacy of the each stone of the building is visible in the design.

Seeing this important building on our Patriot mug reinforces what it is that we are doing – Creating timeless permanent pieces of our nations history, one handmade mug at a time.

Look for more mugs at National Parks this season and you can always use our map www.deneenmugcollector.com to find your next original piece of Deneen Pottery – Handmade in the USA since 1972.

Thanks for reading our blog,
Niles Deneen VP, Marketing
Deneen Pottery

Since we are one of the few manufacturers still producing 100% American Made Mugs we stand behind this and also pledge to vote with our wallets. Through innovation, pride, and passion we strive to produce the best stoneware mugs that we can everyday! Here is our latest and greatest new mug style called the Patriot – Aptly named for the approaching celebration of Independence Day.

We are a family business that has been hand making stoneware pieces since 1972. Since the beginning our goal has remained simple, provide the best stoneware to our clients. Every piece that we produce is made at our factory in St. Paul, MN and all of our mugs are 100% American Made!

Thanks for taking time to read this small blog, and we hope that you will vote with your wallets this summer especially when it come time to purchase your next mug. Always look on the bottom – Our name is stamped along with the year that the piece was created.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
Niles Deneen
VP, Marketing
Deneen Pottery

Did you say all 50 states?!?
“Yes – A round belly mug from each of the 50 states.”

Last month I wrote about about a couple that stayed at the Green Lake Guest House specifically because they had Deneen Pottery Mugs. The very next day I received an email from a self professed mug collector named Vince Smith (yes, his last name is really Smith) who let me in on his mug collecting goal. “Several months ago I decided to start a collection of round bellies WITH logos with the ambitious goal of acquiring one Round Belly from each of the 50 states.  I’ve been using Ebay for [some of] these purchases and now have 14 mugs from 12 states – pretty good progress for just a few months.”

“The collection now has 13 states or 26% of the way.”

Vince first contacted us back in April of 2009 when he was looking to replace a round belly mug that he purchased years ago from the Rose Hill Inn (read that story here). Because the Inn was destroyed in a horrible fire, and it has not yet reopened, replacing that mug seemed impossible. “Unfortunately, the mug was broken beyond recognition,  I know that’s hard to believe since they are so sturdy.” Here is a picture of that broken Rose Hill Inn mug, along with a distant ‘cousin’ mug from Scotland that Vince picked up on a vacation years before he knew anything about Deneen Pottery.

As fortune would have it, while sorting out samples for the Paii Conference at the start of they year I found a random box of samples… And inside of that box was… Yep, you guessed it, a lone Rose Hill Inn mug!?! Upon the suggestion of our newest employee, Heath Croft [Director of Social Media, Sales], we packed up that mug and quietly sent it to Vince, this was his reply.

“I really was surprised to see that you sent a Rose Inn mug exactly like the ones that I had before.  Thanks so much.  It is extra special with the matching cover.  My wife is a big tea drinker, so she will probably want to steep her tea in the Rose Inn mug. Plus that adds a state that I did not have, due to the unfortunate demise of the two originals from the Rose Inn.  With New York, the collection now has 13 states or 26% of the way.”

It’s been a pleasure working with you, Vince! We look forward to hearing back about your collection as it grows!!!

Thank you for reading our blog!
Niles Deneen, CEO
Deneen Pottery

#1 Use Them!

It has been said that if you want to know how good a mug is, YOU HAVE TO DRINK FROM IT!  People fall in love with our mugs when they use them, and once they are in love, they’ll want to take them home!

#2 Knowledge is power. So, talk about the mugs!

Here are 4 easy points:
1). The mugs are made by Deneen Pottery, a family business since 1972.
2.) Each mug is individually hand-thrown on a potter’s wheel.
3.) All materials are lead and cadmium free.
4.) The mugs are microwave, dishwasher, oven and freezer safe.

#3 Display Them!

You don’t need a gift shop to do this.  A simple pyramid or a couple mugs with the stand-up card that we provide in your shipment will do.  By allocating a space for the mugs to be seen, people will then know that they are for sale.

#4 Put them in your guest rooms!

Worried that they’ll grow legs?  Not if you put a well-worded sign like this one with them.  Feel free to use it as it is or change up the text to make it your own.

#5 Give a Little to Get a lot!

Don’t be afraid to give away a mug or two. Of course we know you paid for them, but just think of the return you could receive when someone asks where the mug came from… We hear stories all the time about travelers who plan their trips according to which Bed & Breakfasts carry our mugs. Consider it the most affordable form of advertising that you can buy. You’ll never know whose hands the mugs will end up in, it could be your next loyal guest!

Thank you for reading our blog!
Niles Deneen – CEO
Deneen Pottery