Posts Tagged ‘handmade’

Eighth Day Books & Mugs…

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

In September of last year I received a catalog request from Warren Farha, the owner of Eighth Day Books, of Wichita, KS. As I was filling out the envelope I searched google and came across their webpage and I saw this quote, “that which is true, is ours”. Little did I know that we would make an order of handmade mugs for Warren, and that that order would have a ‘true’ story of it’s own.

Original line drawing of the store and our emblem design

And that true story is told by Joshua and it goes like this:

“Just as we were unpacking your delicious shipment at the front counter (we call it the ‘front counter’ but it’s by the back door), our friend Philip (long-time customer) came in to buy Christmas gifts for his (prodigous) family.  He was immediately entranced by the mugs, and selected 8 as stocking-stuffers.”

So the very first day that EIGHTH day books had their mugs, they sold EIGHT… How Cool! (more…)

Hell’s Backbone and Deneen Pottery Mugs

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

hellsname

Hell’s Backbone Grill is located in Boulder, Utah, population 180 – one of the most remote towns in the United States! The chef-owners, Jen Castle and Blake Spalding operate their restaurant following Buddhist principles, with a commitment to sustainability, environmental ethics, and social and community responsibility. They serve organic, locally produced, regionally and seasonally appropriate cusine and grow many of their own vegetables organically in the restaurants two gardens and on their six-acre farm! They feature dishes made with fruit from Boulder’s heirloom orchards and rely largely on local ranchers for the natural meats. Every cup of coffee is served in a handmade mug, by (you guessed it) Deneen Pottery!

Now in their 9th season, their mission and passion has not gone unrecognized.

hellssmTankard Mug (12.oz.) Albany Glaze

Hell’s Backbone Grill enjoys one of the highest Zagat ratings in Utah and was selected as a Fodor’s Choice 2006 recipient. The restaurant was also named Salt Lake Magazine’s “Best Restaurant in Southern Utah” for 2007 and was awarded the prestigious Utah Governor’s Mansion Award for Culinary Artistry in 2006, presented by Governor Jon Huntsman. In 2005, Blake and Jen received an award from the Museum of Northern Arizona and the Center for Sustainable Environments for being “Culture Bearers of Sustainability in the Four Corners Region.” Additionally, Hell’s Backbone Grill was chosen as one of four restaurants representing Utah’s Slow Food movement in an exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. The restaurant has been featured in O, the Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, Sunset Magazine, Bon Appetit, Organic Gardening, Outside Traveler, Travel and Leisure, Washington Post, Men’s Journal, and National Geographic Traveler. (more…)

Peter Deneen at the Illinois Conference

Friday, March 27th, 2009

No early retirement for Peter Deneen.

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.

Peter Deneen at the Illinois ConferencePeter Deneen at the Illinois Conference

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Custom Handmade Stoneware Mugs & More – Kiln Report

Monday, February 16th, 2009

It was a cool and sunny weekend here in Minnesota and we had a firing that took place. Today I photographed a few pictures of some of the handmade stoneware custom mugs that are just about to be shipped.

img_07702Custom Handmade Round Belly Mug

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First blog about our Hand Made Stoneware Mugs

Friday, February 13th, 2009

My family has been working on integrating technology into the centuries old craft of wheel throwing since 1972. Today is the first day that we are falling into the 21st century by beginning a blog!

We plan on announcing and reporting on our upcoming conferences, making note of the new customers that we meet and what colors and style mugs that are chosen. We will have a weekly or month kiln report which will show the different hand made stoneware items that are coming through production.

• Accent Item: Key fobs, bud and mini bud vases, magnets, ornaments, coasters and do-not-disturb signs.

• Tableware: Soup mugs and soup crocks, wine and champange coolers, small and medium crocks, latté mugs, and eco-friendly reusable menu boards.

• Tavernware: Tankards ranging in size from 16-20 ounces, hand thrown travel mugs, no smoking signs and hand made custom vases 6″-10″ tall.

• Pitchers: Ranging from the 2 ounce mini creamer, to a 2 quart water pitcher.

We have an almost inexhaustible range of glaze colors and finishes. A virtual rainbow of options that allow you to ‘feel like a kid in a candy store’ as you narrow your selection for each order. Many returning customers bring in a new color with each order to inspire their guests or customers to begin collecting our hand made stoneware. In fact in a recent conversation with an innkeeping customer, Lyn Guidry the of Maison D’ Memoire in Rayne, LA  said, “[Niles] suggested that I try two colors on my last order, and what a good idea that was! Now instead of just buying one [handmade stoneware] mug SO many of my guests buy 2, one of each color! What an excellent idea!”

Here is an example of one of our Customized Hand Made Mugs:

The Round Belly Mug - Photo by Paul Reiling

Lastly this blog will begin to build a collection of stories and testimonials about our mugs from our customers… Be they Innkeepers, College Bookstore managers, Dude Ranchers, Doctors, Dentists, Chiropractors, Contractors, Business Owners, Office Managers, Restauranteurs, Hedge Fund Managers, Auto Dealerships, or just friends of our family business. When we stop and think about all the people and places that we have made custom mugs for over the last 30+ years it’s no surprise that you can even find Hand Made pieces by Deneen Pottery on Ebay!

Thank you for reading our blog, we look forward to sharing more about our family business as time permits!