I just love when my friends & customers share their pottery being used at home. Seeing how my pottery is becoming part of their everyday rituals excites me.

“Enjoying my first cup of coffee in my newest mug from Fire When Ready Pottery” – Kristen

For the final class of my Intermediate Wheelthrowing class, we decided to up-the-game by going with THREE “matching” mugs. We started with all of the mugs in brown lunch bags. Then we drew numbers to randomize the choosing of mugs… followed by some fun trading, stealing & switching games! No mug was “safe” until the mug trading hijinks were over!

As the bags were opened, we all got to see each other’s creations… along with a little discussion of technique & glazes… combined with a little bit of critique & the appropriate amount of gushing!

Somewhere along the way, someone picked the brown bag that had Christine’s first mug for the game. Tina opened it up… and the game went crazy! Suddenly the game took a turn… as it suddenly became all about ME… and one of my favorite mottos!!!

Gotta love it!!!
So excited that my pottery mantra has been forever memorialized in clay!!! The fact that “my mug” graces the other side of Christine’s mug is just crazy!!!

We each ended up with a nice trio of mugs! Such a fun way to share & trade… and start-off everyone’s Mug Collection!

In preparation for the final Intermediate Wheelthrowing class last session, I made three “matching” mugs our final trading-stealing-exchanging game! Sure, they may not be TWINS… but they are at least very close cousins! My trio would make a nice set… similar size, similar stamps & similar glazes fired in my last soda kiln. So fun to see them go off to someone’s new Mug Collection!

At the end of the Fall session of my Beginning/Advanced Beginning Wheel class, we did a fun trading-stealing-exchanging game with mugs! We each put in one handmade mug… and came away with someone else’s mug! I got this beautiful porcelain cup with subtle details… and a bright red bottom from Catherine!

All clean and ready to go for Day Two of my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW. The apple cider is already in the crockpot… aroma wafting through my condo! Getting ready to kick-off Day Two in about an hour or so!

Funny story… I went through years of Holiday Home Shows while serving warm apple cider in styrofoam cups. Suddenly, a few years back, the light bulb went off and I “realized” that I should make mugs for the apple cider. Save the planet & promote my product. I’m kind of embarrassed that it took me so long to figure that out. Sometimes it’s hard to see the obvious!

After a long day of holiday sales & a LOT of warm apple cider served at the `… my cider mugs are in the dishwasher for the night. Getting ready for more warm apple cider for the customers stopping by tomorrow!

My HOLIDAY HOME SHOW kicks-off tomorrow!

And I’m unpacking, pricing & stocking the shelves… already with OVER A HUNDRED MUGS on the shelves. With a lot more pottery still to put out. It’s my biggest show with the most inventory of the year! Pottery in every room of my condo… and the “Tired Of Shlepping Sale” on the back porch!

The perfect time to start your holiday gift shopping!

Uh oh… another one bites the dust… and another one’s gone, and another one’s gone… another one bites the dust! Good thing I’m having my Holiday Home Show this weekend so Beckie can find the perfect replacement for her now “handle-less” mug!

We recently got some “real red” slip at Lillstreet. Some of the kids used it during Summer Camp, but we haven’t seen it being used much on “actual” pots! So I’m pretty intrigued & excited about how the red slip reacted in my soda kiln! I’m loving that the color stayed vibrant & red… but also has some cool flashing effects where it changed around the mug where the flames & soda hit the slip. This was just my first red slip mug… I’m sure there will be more!

Celebrating another MUGSHOT MONDAY with a bunch of mugs that came out of my latest soda kiln. These mugs will be ready & waiting on the shelves for my HOLIDAY HOME SHOW next weekend. Mark your calendars to kick-off your holiday shopping… Saturday 11/20 & Sunday 11/21 from 10:00am-6:00pm.