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

I am really excited to hear how these new introductions go, but with the shipping time to Oregon we are going to have to wait until after this weekend. Chuck, Debbie and I were all hoping that this order of round belly mugs would arrive earlier…

Thanks for reading our blog!

Niles Deneen

Dear Niles:
Approximately 12 years ago, my wife and I were in Ithaca, NY and had the pleasure of spending a night at the Rose Inn.  In a matter of days, the two mugs we purchased became my favorite [handmade coffee mugs] of all time.  Unfortunately, one of them was broken beyond recognition.  I know that’s hard to believe since they are so sturdy.  Later, the handle was broken on the other one.  When I tried to contact the Rose Inn for replacements, I learned that a terrible fire had virtually destroyed that historic inn.  A couple of years later, we found out that the inn had been rebuilt and reopened by new owners.  I contacted them, but to my disappointment they did not preserve the “mug tradition.”  A couple of weeks ago, I was with a friend who was sipping coffee from a [handmade mug] with the identical shape but a different color.  She gave me the contact information for the Taylor House Inn in Valle Crucis, NC.  Their website included an on-line catalog where I saw the same shaped mug in red.  I was ecstatic and immediately placed an order for two of them.  To my chagrin, they sent me an e-mail stating that their stock was depleted, and that they did not know when to expect more.  The innkeepers (Tessa and Bernard Russo) were very kind to provide contact information for your company.

After navigating your website, I now realize that my favorite mugs from the Rose Inn were made by [Deneen Pottery] and were of the “round belly” style.  In fact, when I clicked on “glaze and colors,” and then clicked on “greens,” I see the forest green round belly mug WITH THE ROSE INN ART.

I know you are a distributor and don’t normally assist with small quantities.  But, I thought I would inquire anyway.  Do you know how I might obtain a small quantity ( from 2 to 8 ) round belly mugs?  Are you aware of an inn that has a well stocked gift shop?  Is there anyway I can order a small number directly from Deneen?

You don’t know how hard I have been trying to replace the broken mugs.  Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Vince Smith

Dear Vince,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us. I remembering hearing about that fire at the Rose Inn years ago, what a terrible loss that was.
Your tenacity at hunting down the round belly mug is commendable!

I think you like reading this… We do sell mugs directly to customers – and we can make them for you without medallions! The retail cost is $15.00 per mug plus ($10 for shipping up to 4 mugs) or ($15 when shipping 8 mugs). For 4 mugs you can have one color choice, but for 8 you can have two (4 per color choice).

Just let me know the total number and color and we’ll get your favorite HANDmade mugs back into your HANDS ASAP!
Niles Deneen – VP, Marketing

Deneen Pottery – 2325 Endicott Street – St. Paul, Minnesota – 55114
Toll Free: 888-646-0238 – Fax: 651-646-8605 – Local: 651-646-0238
www.deneenpottery.com

Dear Niles:
This is great news.  I’m sure we will be ordering some mugs, but I need to get my wife’s input before selecting the color.  Feel free to use my story on your blog.  Maybe it will help someone else who’s had a similar mug misfortune.

There is one part of my mug replacement saga that I left out in an effort to make a long story just a bit shorter.  In 2007 we were with friends in Scotland.  We ran across a potter who had mugs that reminded me of the round belly’s shape.  (See attached mug shot.)  I bought two of them even though they were overpriced.  Back in the States, we realized that both of them leaked to the point of being unusable.  In hind site, the fact that they leaked is probably a good thing.  Otherwise, I might have abandoned my search for the “real thing.”

You will be hearing from me soon about the quantity and color.
Vince Smith

Similar Styles... But not the same!