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 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

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

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

I am not alone in this activity, as it turns out there are other Mug Collectors that seek out Deneen Pottery mugs. We started realizing this back in the early 80s when my dad would get calls inquiring about Inns that have our mugs. As technology continued to improve, and our ability to create a database and website, we started a map so that Collectors would easily be able to find mugs. Today that map looks like this:

“We had some guests stay with us for 2 nights last weekend to celebrate their anniversary.  Come to find out that the reason they chose us was because we sold Deneen Pottery mugs!  They found us on your “Collect them all” page of your website.  Apparently they bought mugs a few years back at an inn on the east coast, and loved them so much they wanted to buy more!” Julie McAferty who owns the Greenlake Guesthouse in Seattle, WA wrote this to me just yesterday.

Julie also went on to share that her guests, “purchased 2 of our mugs (and a bouquet of flowers) to have waiting in the room at check in.” While all B&B’s are different and unique there are some things that are synonymous – Excellent linens, privacy, warmth, delicious breakfasts, and maybe Deneen Pottery Mugs. Here is a picture of the dining room’s central table at Greenlake Guesthouse, you can see the Flare Mugs in our hunter green glaze, at each of the 4 places.

Making the best handmade mugs is what we love to do, and when we hear about guests that collect them, it just makes us feel so proud of our work… This is also something that our Innkeepers enjoy as well, and as Julie put it.

“Gotta love it!”

If you want to find out more about our company, or have questions about finding or ordering mugs, just give us a call 888-646-0238.

Thanks for reading our blog!
Niles Deneen, CEO
Deneen Pottery

“My guests and staff just love our mugs, they are so wonderful and durable! In the 3 years that we’ve been serving in them we’ve only broken 1. They sell so well, and now with only 3 mugs in stock, I need to get another order! I remember one of our staff saying she was afraid of chipping our mugs, but we are still waiting for that to happen – They are just so durable!”

That is just such a nice thing to hear on a Monday morning… And knowing that the mugs that we make can handle abuse without chipping or breaking means that we’re doing a good job.

This is just a short blog – Once Annie and Eloise get back I’ll add the ‘Sweet’ part again.

Thanks for reading our blog!
Niles Deneen – CEO
Deneen Pottery

The ‘Short’ part is about the Birkie – Annie and I participated in this Cross Country Ski event in 2009 and 2010 but with the birth of Eloise, Annie was sidelined this this year.

An exciting thing about the Birkie is that I contacted them in the summer and we were able to work with their staff in creating custom mugs  for their Trail Run event in the Fall, trophies for the age class categories for all the ski races, and a line of handmade mugs for retail! Here are just a couple of images of the mugs that we made. The artwork shows the 2 Norwegian warriors rescuing the infant Prince Haakon Haakonsson in 1205 – For more on the legend click here.

Although my time wasn’t as good as last year, I enjoyed myself… The air temps was about -3ºF at the start and maybe about 4ºF when I finished… Luckily after the race was over I got to drive back to MN and see my beautiful baby girl and amazing wife…

Now we enter the ‘sweet’ part of the blog, more pictures of Eloise!

A good friend and photographer, Becca Sabot, came over to our house 2 weeks ago and shot some amazing images of our baby girl. We talked about a few ideas and then began moving furniture and staging things – Eloise was great but didn’t exactly go along with our ‘plans’… She must be taking after dad. For the shots that we wanted to do with her asleep she would wake up, and then when we tried to go along with her being awake, she would… Yep you guessed it, she fell asleep. At any rate here are some of the favorites!

So there  you have it… A quick blog that is both ‘Short’ and ‘Sweet’.

Thanks for reading!
Niles Deneen, VP, Marketing
Deneen Pottery

Olive ‘the shop dog’ is doing a great job of being an older sister and we are all just staying warm these cold winter days. The only thing that we are missing is the bread that Annie used to bring home from Rustica, where she was a pastry chef. Now we have a loaf of wheat bread from the grocery store… And it just doesn’t touch the quality that we are used to!

And just today we are getting a new order of mugs in for another outstanding bakery that also makes everything from scratch – Earthly Kneads, located in Muskegon, MI. I’ve been working with Gail and today marks the official start of production. I’ve got to try their bread sometime, but for now I’m heading home to see my baby!

Here is the artwork that is going on the mugs and pitchers that we are making for Gail:

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