Posts Tagged ‘Handmade Mug’

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Mug selling magic from Ephrata, PA

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Listening, watching, or just paying attention are things that I’m doing much more of these days… Now with my baby daughter really pulling herself up, and itching to walk, I seem to always be paying attention to her. I also pay close attention to my emails, especially when the first line from a Rebecca Gallagher, the innkeeper and owner of the Historic Smith Inn, reads, “I just sent this email out to the members of Authentic Bed and Breakfasts of Lancaster County (40 B&Bs)… feel free to share with other prospective clients…” How could I not pay very close attention?

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

 

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Testimonials and Mug Art

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

12/30/10 The final testimonial of 2010!

Absolutely you may post my comments.

I feel it is so important for each of us to do our part in supporting locally owned and operated companies for our survival as a country.

My husband and I learned about your company upon visiting T’s Restaurant in Cranston RI for breakfast.  After drinking my cup of tea I flipped the mug over to see where the mug was made and was VERY HAPPY to see that they are made in the USA and not in some foreign country.

I purchased a set T’s mugs for my brother for Christmas since he was the one who invited us out to T’s Restaurant that day.

Upon reviewing your website I realize that you cater to businesses for their local advertising.  I hope one day you will carry a full line of products for in home use for customers like myself who believe and “Trust” in items made in the USA.  There are may of us out here that would prefer to get back to locally made products!

Keep up the good work and best wishes to you and your family and company in 2011 as well!

Yours truly,
Martha Brown

12/28/10 Could this be the last testimonial for 2010?

“I just wanted to drop you a quick thank you for our mug order. We were very happy with the quality of the [handmade] mugs and the delivery before the holidays. I have received many favorable comments relative the the quality of the mugs from our clients. I would like to thank Teena especially for a great job on the design of the emblem! John Gormley PMP • Warwick Neck Associates – Warneck, RI

When you want a beautiful handmade mug, unparalleled customer service, and YOUR customers to comment on the quality of the finished piece then give us a call 888-646-0238. We are a family owned and operated pottery company that LOVES making beautiful handthrown mugs!

Thanks again John for allowing us to post your email on our blog!

Niles Deneen VP, Marketing
Deneen Pottery

/12/21/10 It happened again…

“I have not received my mugs yet, but if they are half as good as Deneen Pottery’s customer service I will be beyond satisfied. The staff at Deneen Pottery is friendly, knowledgeable, and shockingly accessible. I am going to find a reason to use Deneen Pottery again.” S. Beaux Jones • LSU Law J.D./D.C.L Candidate 2011 –Baton Rouge, LA

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Although we do have a full running list of testimonials on our website I thought that it would be nice to have mug designs accompany the glowing words from our happy customers. I am not sure if I will do new blogs for each new testimonial yet but I have found the first one for this effort – Kaleidoscope Yoga:

Dear Peter,

& Niles, Julie, Teena & the those of you that I don’t know the names for who have brought joy & light to my life through your creative gifts & talents emerging from Deneen Pottery…Thanks for the awesome craftsmanship, quality, & beautiful translation of my logo & the organically wonderful feel & look of “my” mugs.

Kaleidoscope Yoga is slated to open mid-January & I look forward to having the mugs available for “sampling” with my students/clients’ drink selections after classes/sessions.  I stayed at a B&B in Asheville a little over a year ago & was introduced to your product with my morning coffee & purchased a couple mugs & thought “one day” in my own studio I would want to offer these.  And, here “we” are.

May the holidays bring peace & contentment & health to your hearts which continues throughout 2011 & beyond.

Gratefully,
Roberta Johnson
Kaleidoscope Yoga

Thank you for reading our blog

Niles Deneen – VP, Marketing

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Bostrom’s B&B Mug Story

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

When I first started emailing Judy, owner of Bostrom’s B&B on Little Bay Beach, she had a couple of concerns… Seeing as Judy’s B&B is in Canada there would be an extra charge, on top of shipping, to get an order to her. This is called duty, and it is collected at the boarder and is a percentage of the overall cost of goods that are shipped. The second thing that comes to mind, was how we would be able to come up with a design that would capture her, little piece of heaven, on Little Bay Beach in Ucluelet.

I’m happy to report that the duty isn’t significant, and the design that we were able to create fits her property amazingly well. The first order was shipped in December of last year and by September Judy placed a re-order. As the season was beginning to wind down we didn’t think that the mugs would be needed until spring.

From an email Judy wrote on October 18th, “I’m so glad you called and are sending the mugs early.  As I told you on the phone, my guests are buying the mugs off the table, washing them and putting them in their suitcase ever since I ran out of mugs to sell.” This is the perfect result when you collaborate and come up with a handmade mug and custom design that truly ‘fit’!

“I absolutely cannot believe that everybody doesn’t stock these in their B&B. I never expected to make money from them.  I just wanted to have beautiful mugs on my table and to be able to gift some of my special guests.  I was able to do that without cost and made a profit as well. We are sold out!  I can’t believe it!”

Making hand-thrown mugs for lovely innkeepers, and working within an industry where customer service sets you apart, can bring the best rewards!!! Those rewards, and the reaching impact that we can have on our customers and guests becomes clear when you receive “…a lovely note from one of my guests telling me that every time she has coffee in the mug she thinks of all the past guests that have had happy breakfast conversations over it.”

When our handmade stoneware mugs can have that kind of impact, not only on our wonderful innkeeping customers, on the guests of innkeepers, it really shows that we are doing a good, heck, even a great job! We have a very talented staff of craftspeople, a family that believes in making handmade pottery, and wonderful customers to work with.

If you would like more information on our handmade mugs for your B&B just give us a call or request a catalog from the menu bar on the left.

Thank you for reading our blog!

Niles Deneen – VP, Marketing

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Finding a Handmade Deneen Mug

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Occasionally we hear from people that are just looking to buy a singe mug or two… They might have come across our stoneware mugs at a coffee shop, or a B&B, or a gift shop and they didn’t see the color they liked, maybe, but they did jot down our name or our website. Then later on when they are really missing the feel of that mug, and they’ve come home from vacation and only have our contact info they’ll call us.

Well, this happened last Friday as a couple was at the Split Rock Lighthouse and they didn’t see exactly what they wanted on the shelf. It should be noted that Split Rock is celebrating it’s 100th Anniversary this year, so with the increase in interest they’ve sold out of some pieces. So the couple called us to find out where they could find another mug. Julie, our amazingly talented GM, referred them to the B&B that she recently stayed at, the Firelight Inn, located in Duluth, MN – the innkeepers Jim and Joy Fisher are the best!!!

Like most calls that we get about finding a mug we never hear anything and just hope that our assistance was appreciated… This time, we did hear and it was posted on the facebook page of the Firelight Inn!!!

So the phone rings this afternoon and a couple tells us they saw some stoneware at Split Rock Lighthouse but its not quite what they want. They see its made by Deneen Pottery and they give them a call and, off course, Deneen Pottery sends them to The Firelight Inn. They just left with two Firelight mugs which they considered “perfect”! Sweetness!

Once  you have an appreciation for handmade mugs by Deneen Pottery, nothing else will do! Even thought the couple didn’t stay with Jim and Joy Fisher, they loved their mugs enough to buy a pair. That certainly is much better than getting a parking ticket!!!

For more information on how you can place your first order, or find your next mug, just give us a call 888-646-0238!

Thanks for reading our blog.

Niles Deneen

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Buckhorn Inn – Quick Interview

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

In March we, here at Deneen Pottery, decided to do an ad campaign offering a free handmade coffee mug to those that mentioned the add when requesting a catalog on our website… I use the word ‘campaign’ loosely because it was just a single ad, but in a industry leading publication IQ or Innkeeping Quarterly. As PAII is the leading organization in this industry it only makes sense to test the waters with this type of an offer with them. We’ve always found success when working with PAII, and will continue to do so indefinitely! On a side note the president of PAII, Jay Karen, was recently here for a ‘hands on’ tour by our president, and my dad, Peter Deneen. To read up on that tour click here. Thanks for coming Jay, I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Well, the response to that ad? It was good. And last week I began to do follow up calls to those that we sent mugs to. In the course of my calls I came across a property called Harpole’s Heartland Lodge, an Illinois hunting lodge / bed and breakfast located in serene Pike County.

I am a very visual person and one that likes to find connections… This connection hit me when looking at Harpole’s Heartland Lodge was one of a big buck. As I’ve been adopted by my in-laws into the traditions of white tail hunting in northern Minnesota, anytime I see a buck my thoughts turn to the season in which we wear blaze orange and sit quietly in the woods. (more…)

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