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

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

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

“Walked into a lovely little cafe,sat down and exclaimed to my husband. ‘Hey this mug is was made by the Deneens.’ Sure nuf… met Trasi and she had talked to you even previouly in the week,” wrote Anna. Trasi, who is the owner of the Over Easy Cafe in Sanibel, FL has been using our custom handmade mugs to serve coffee and tea to her guests since 2007, and before that we made mugs for Amy Horton the previous owner.

Here is a picture that Anna’s husband snapped of Anna and Trasi in front of the cafe… In the busy months there can be a line of people waiting to have a delicious breakfast or lunch. It is always fun to talk to Trasi because she love trying out new colors for the handmade mugs that we make for her – We have 169 different glazes to choose from!?! Here is a picture of her mug display – How many different colors do you count?

Making restaurant proof mugs is great – Our mugs are so durable they can handle the abuse of busing, and the commercial dishwasher… “I swear by your mugs, I sell a ton of them – They are durable, we are tough on them and serve over 600 people per day,” Trasi once told me. Being able to feed 600 people in a single day it’s no wonder I get emails like this. “It’s been kinda crazy here I’ve lost track. I’m about out of mugs – So I need to put in another order in.” That is never a problem since our dedicated staff of 24 loves making custom stoneware mugs, especially for our friend Trasi!

If you own a restaurant, or have a favorite restaurant, that would love our mugs let us know!

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

Like most businesses and cycles there are good times and, well, some not-so-good times. Over the last 18 years that we have been vendor members of Paii, we have seen some high highs and some lows… Ever since Jay Karen became president, things have slowly but steadily started to change. Change takes time, but in just a few short years with Jay focusing on the innkeeping industry and as president of Paii, amazing things have started happening, and the Charleston Innkeepers Conference is proof.

We met more new customers, and wrote more orders for existing customers that we have in at least 6 years. “This is the best conference in a long time”, Peter Deneen mentioned after the closing. Peter also said that “more innkeepers increased their orders for our handmade stoneware mugs, and that shows that Jay is doing a great job.” We heard that the attendance was up by 20% over last year! Also the overall mood of all that we talked to was of positivity, filled with renewed hope, excitement for Paii, and the innkeeping industry as a whole.

Since we have many orders for our custom handmade stoneware mugs to enter, approvals to send off and new customers to set up and request artwork from, I am keeping this entry short. Here is one picture from our booth from left to right: Matthew Carroll (Inn at Irish Hollow), Texas Teena, Niles Deneen, Martha Winter, and Mary Deneen.

If any innkeepers have more picture from the conference please email them to me… I forgot my camera and failed to take our my iPhone to capture the day.

Back to work for the family that loves making mugs -Thanks for reading our blog!

Sincerly,
Niles Deneen – VP, Marketing

P.S. Jay is not alone in his efforts and we have to thank all the members of the Paii staff and the board – THANK YOU!!!

Over the holiday season Rabbit Hill, upon urging from Heath Croft, posted a picture of their Jr. Executive mug in Navy w/White on their facebook page.

The artwork is fantastic, and you’ll see the back fill area of the sky in their design really makes the clouds pop… The other amazing thing about this picture is the number of comments that it received! From posting a single picture of their mug, Rabbit Hill Inn now has their guests talking.

If you have mugs in your inn, and a facebook page then please do us, and yourself, a favor and post a picture of your mug!!! Getting a conversation going about your property and your mugs is a great way to utilize facebook and your blog. Keep it short and real and have fun!!!

Wishing you all a prosperous 2011!

Thank you for reading our blog~
Niles Deneen, VP, Marketing

The next thing that we Minnesotans cope well with, besides snow, is COLD temperatures… And it is now SUPER COLD with wind chills at -35ºF! There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! But once you come in from the cold and take off all the layers it’s nice to grab a hot handmade mug of coffee or hot chocolate. I prefer coffee, and the best thing that I’ve found to keep that coffee hot is to warm up my mug.

In an article that ran in Innkeeping Quarterly, the PAII journal for innkeepers, summer edition written by Heath Croft, there was mention of a warming tray. Julie Rolsen, of the Garth Mansion, has been using one of these for years to keep her mugs warm for guests first cup of coffee. I searched high and low and found the Waring Pro WT90B, available on Amazon for just $59.99 (free shipping), and I have it plugged in here at Deneen Pottery. After taking the picture on the mountain of snow I came and grabbed a hot mug from the tray and am now sipping my hot coffee.

The Garth Mansion sells about 800 mugs a year, every year, and keeping them warm is just one of the ideas… The other idea is to offer MANY different colors. Over the 10 years that we’ve been making custom handmade mugs for Julie, she has ordered just about every color that we make. When returning guests see a color that they haven’t seen before they are compelled to grow their mug collections. We couldn’t be happier about these idea, or working with Julie.

To read the full article you can download it from our Order Form Download page on our site (here).

Hope you all are staying warm, and remembering to enjoy your coffee in a Deneen Pottery mug!

Thanks for reading our blog.

Niles Deneen, VP Marketing

]]> http://www.deneenpottery.com/blog/2010/12/warming-hearts-big-snow/feed/ 1 http://www.deneenpottery.com/blog/2010/10/logod-mugs-by-deneen-pottery/ http://www.deneenpottery.com/blog/2010/10/logod-mugs-by-deneen-pottery/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 11:51:04 +0000 Niles Deneen http://www.deneenpottery.com/blog/?p=816 Waking up in the morning, fresh cup of hot coffee in hand, and an idea for a blog bouncing around my head.

This idea begins with a friend named Mary White, who we’ve known for more than 10 years. Mary is the president of the online bnbfinder.com,which helps drive traffic to listed B&Bs members, she is very well regarded in the industry and has been attending many of the same conferences as we have. At a recent show Mary showed me a book that she had written called Running a Bed & Breakfast for Dummies.

Talk about knowledge and information – This book of Mary’s is an incredible resource for anyone that is thinking about becoming an innkeepers, and even has tips for active innkeepers that are open to improving their properties. From finding a suitable property, making a business plan, renovation to decoration, and the day to day operations, Mary covers it all!

Although I have not yet read the whole book, yet, there is one particular section that caught my eye that actually mentions my family’s pottery company.

Since we’ve been working with innkeepers and making handmade custom mugs for about 38 years now, it is definitely nice to be validated, and included in such a resource!

Everything in the above paragraph is true, and about 90% of our innnkeeping customers do have success serving and selling our custom handmade mugs. We craft each one with care and use a custom clay body that was specifically developed for our company. Each one of our 151 lead and cadmium free glazes were formulated inhouse, and every mug is high fired to 2250ºF making our stoneware mugs SUPER durable! We produce functional works of art that are collected and used throughout the country each and everyday! “Each mug taken home brings with it an advertisment for the inn at which it was purchased” is a nice side benefit that all of our innkeeping customs enjoy, and we are proud to create!

Thank you Mary for including us in your book, and thank all of you for reading our blog! For information on our custom handmade stoneware mugs, use the menu bar to the left to request a catalog, or just pick up the phone and give us a call 888-646-0238. We’re here everyday and we’d be happy to answer any questions you might have!

Niles Deneen – VP, Marketing