Mug Shots
These colorful mugs (along with many other pieces) were delivered to a brand new shop opening soon in South Milwaukee, WI – Serendipitous Designs. It’s a cute little space in the mini-mall at 916 Milwaukee Ave. The shop will be selling all locally produced arts, crafts and gift items. I really like the shape and feel of these round mugs (they’re bigger than they look) and may have to make a few for us to keep…
Fairy Garden House – Tea-for-One Set
Another tea-for-one set, this one based on a little fairy garden house I made over the summer. This was a special request Christmas gift. The teapot is functional, but will likely be added to a decorative collection.
The teapot has an added ring on the bottom to keep it from sliding off the cup, and also to give it a little lift off a tabletop.
The cup was a lot of fun with its wood grain and fairy house adornments.
The glazes are Cuerda Seca by Laguna Clay. I really like the color variation and satiny finish.
A few new pieces…
One of many favorite glaze
combinations for Celtic pottery.
The jug is a shape I haven’t thrown
in a while, and I really like the
way it came out.
The glaze is Mayco Elements
Sea Green, which fires to a lovely
soft green with brown streaks.
The decorations are hand painted
with black “ink” before the glaze firing.
All of the pieces are functional,
food safe and lead free.
Yarn Bowls
So it turns out people really like yarn bowls. Sure, they’re useful – they keep the ball or cake of yarn from bouncing all over the floor and being attacked by the cat while you knit or crochet. And they’re decorative too.
We started making them early in 2014 (thanks, Katie) and have had a great response both at Irish Fest and on Etsy. (Most of ours have an extra feature of a convenient scissors holder.) And now they’re available locally in the Milwaukee area at The Wool & Cotton Co., a warm and colorful shop in downtown Greendale, Wisconsin (thanks again, Katie). This photo represents our initial inventory at the shop. Custom colors and sizes are available on request. (Note: The smaller bowls are multitaskers – when you’re not in the middle of a project they make make a nice big cappuccino cup or soup bowl.)
Happy knitting!!
Victorian Steampunk
This functional set was made as a housewarming gift – garlic jar, utensil crock and sponge holder. The pieces are wheel thrown with Laguna white clay and glazed with a combination of Mayco glazes, using a black “ink” for the fine detail. The gear imprints are made with our handmade clay stamps. I envision making similar pieces in a variety of colors including midnight blue, violet and caramel.
Irish Fest 2014
Last day of the Fest today. We are so grateful for all the compliments and purchases! A lot of hard work and a lot of fun getting here…
Clay Soaps by Hills of Clay
After much experimenting and testing on our friends and family, we have a companion product to our pottery: Clay soaps. We’re really happy with the results and they have been well received.
We’ll be starting a second Etsy store soon featuring soap and soap dishes, and they will also be available in a soon-to-be-open shop in Waukesha, and at Milwaukee Irish Fest. Here’s the scoop…
Clay Soaps
Handcrafted by Hills of Clay
Why clay soap?
Squeaky clean feeling
Mild and non-drying
Great for all skin types
We are potters, and work with our hands
in clay every day. Lots of hand washing and
exposure to pottery clay led to very dry skin,
which everyday hand soap did not help.
We decided to start making our own
high-quality soap, and started researching
ingredients.
Unlike pottery clay, Kaolin is a fine, white
clay that has been used in skin care and
cosmetic products since ancient times,
and is widely recognized as beneficial to
both dry and oily skin types – with properties
that soothe, detoxify and nourish the skin.
As potters, it was an obvious choice for us
to add clay to our soaps, so we tried it.
We loved the results, and hope you do too!
Our soap base is either clear glycerin or
white goat milk glycerin, made with only
high quality natural ingredients. The glycerin
base makes for a long-lasting bar of soap
that doesn’t melt away after just a few uses. The soaps make great lather for a squeaky
clean feeling, and also help to soften and protect the skin. We offer our soaps in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors and fragrances.
Special Request Tea Set
This set was a special request for a teapot, teacups with matching plates, sugar & creamer set in black with white swirls and an occasional rose. Pretty happy with the outcome.
Unlike a lot of what we do, this was done with a full cover of black, with the white and red added over the top (all Mayco colors). The clay is Laguna B-Mix Cone 5.
Thanks, Q, for the photos!