Mug Revolution's blog

What Does "Microwave Safe" mean, exactly?

2011-10-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

In the twenty years that I've been making pottery, the three questions that I am most commonly asked. "Are your glazes lead free?" "Are your mugs microwave safe?" and "Can I wash the mugs in the dishwasher?" To these questions I answer "Yes, absolutely."

I don't use lead in my glazes, and I've taken the extra step to have my mugs certified lead-free by the Brandywine Laboratory in Pennsylvania (here's the link to the report). I figure it's nice to say the glazes are lead-free, but it's critical to have evidence in the form of a lab test to back up the statement. (The report is easily accessible on the home page of Mug Revolution's website.)

I ran across an interesting article this morning while reading the Clay Art digest. The folks over at Good Housekeeping ran some lab tests on commercially produced mugs to see if in fact the mugs were leaching heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and others. They also ran tests to determine if the mugs were microwave safe. (Here's a link to the article.) They took the tests one step further, and ran them on mugs that were "aged" for one month of average use to see if there was a difference in the heavy metals leaching out of the glazes after regular usage. And, in one case, they found that a new mug was safe, but after being "aged" for one month and re-tested, it did in fact leach lead. They then ask "What does Microwave Safe" mean?

This is how I define "Microwave Safe": One, a mug from Mug Revolution is Microwave Safe if it can withstand repeated heatings in a microwave oven with no damage to the mug over long periods of time. Two, the mug handle does not get excessively warm and burn the user after putting the mug into a microwave for the minimum amount of time required to heat liquid contained in the mug.

In both cases, Mug Revolution mugs pass these tests with ease. I've been reheating coffee and tea in my Mug Revolution mug daily for over five years with no adverse effects. And many people have told me over the years how glad they are that they can take one of my mugs out of the microwave without burning their hand on an overly hot handle.

While there are no actual standards that provide a clear definition of what "Microwave Safe" means, Good Housekeeping calls for refining the meaning of ATSM Standard C1607 to include mugs that have been tested after they have been used for a period of time to ensure that consumers have reliable data reflecting actual day to day use of a mug. They encourage a standard definition of "Microwave Safe" and subsequent requirement of manufacturers to meet the standard on both new and "aged" mugs, and that the product be labeled "Microwave Safe - meets ATSM Standard C1607."

I'm all for this standard. The culture of "buyer beware" that is so prevalent in society today should not extend into having to worry about the mug you are drinking your coffee or tea from causing potential health issues.

I see my coffee has gone cold while I've been writing. I think it's time to publish this blog entry and reheat my coffee in the microwave!

Three new mugs added to the Mug Store!

2011-09-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

In 2005, Mug Revolution went into business with just one mug - the 16 oz. Classic Mug, and available in one color: Green-Blue. Shortly thereafter, my wife convinced me to add a blue glaze to the color choices. And not long after that, my mother-in-law asked me to make some 12 oz. mugs, and this size was soon added to the Mug Store.

Of course since the first days of Mug Revolution a lot has changed. There are now six color choices and 25 different mugs to choose from. I find this to be amazing!

And now I'm very pleased and excited to announce the addition of three new mug products to the Mug Store.

First of all, when I add a new logo mug to the line-up, it is not usually an instant thing. There are months and months of work with graphic designers, variations are made with different effects in the stamps, sample mugs are made and shown to people for feedback, adjustments are made, and if all goes well, a new mug emerges and is added to the Mug Store at Mug Revolution.

The first new mug to introduce, was designed by Bend, Oregon artist Robert Killen. This one is a lovely Celtic Hummingbird Mug design and is available with the design only as well as with personalization.

The Celtic Hummingbird Mug as seen in Galway, Ireland! (click to enlarge)

The second new mug was designed by Bend, Oregon artists Paul Jones and Mark Blackwell. The Mountain Biker's Mug is available as a logo-only mug or with personalization.

The Mountain Biker's Mug (click to enlarge)
And finally I'd like to introduce the Personalized Thumb Rest Mug. Folks who want a personalized mug with a bit more pizazz can get the initial of the name on the mug put on the thumb rest. It's also possible to put up to two numerals on the thumb rest - this would be a perfect gift for a birthday present.

The Personalized Thumb Rest Mug (click to enlarge)
I hope you enjoy the new mugs! As always I wish to extend my gratitude to you for supporting handmade coffee mugs made in the studio pottery tradition - without you, there would be no mug store, and I would not be doing what I absolutely love to do for a living!

Summer and Mugs!

2011-07-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Summer has arrived on the west coast. Susan and I (along with Kelty) just got back from a lovely week of camping in southeastern British Columbia. The weather was fantastic for the most part, and we were treated to lovely scenery in every direction.

On the way north, we saw a coffee shack and had to take a mug shot.

Every morning at the lake, we would make a cup of coffee and head down to look at the water and mountains. It soothes the soul to look at nature, doesn't it? Much better than starting the day with the stress of the current news and negativity the machine of media perpetuates.

While in Nelson, I had to get Susan to take a photo of me on Silica Street. I really should set up my studio on Silica Street in Nelson. Such a street name for a potter! (For those of you who don't know, silica is one of the main ingredients in clay and glazes, hence my adoration of this lovely town's street.)

A month before our camping trip we drove down to the Bay Area to see U2 in concert. I hadn't seen the band live before and I was absolutely blown away by the show.

The band that opened the show, Moonalice, had previously given one of my mugs to Bono.

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Steven Hill Pottery Workshop

2011-02-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

Steven Hill throwing one of his signature pitchers on the wheel. (Click any of the photos to enlarge)

I tend to stumble across wonderful things quite by accident. In late January I e-mailed my friend Phil Fishwick in Southern Oregon with a glaze question, and in his reply he mentioned that Clayfolk would be bringing Steven Hill to Ashland for a workshop in February. Having seen Steven's work in many prestigious clay magazine articles over the years, I jumped at the chance to go and I am quietly thrilled at how deeply satisfying an experience it was.

Perhaps in every way, Steven Hill's pottery and clay working technique is as opposite as it could be from my own. Yet, there are striking similarities in our respective philosophy and personal relationship to clay that resonated both with me and with many of the students in the workshop.

Mugs by Steven Hill.

Steven began working with clay 41 years ago. For years he has been known as one of very few potters around who single fires - that is, he completes making a piece, dries it bone dry, glazes (by spraying) and then fires it. Most potters, including me, fire the pot twice: Once when the piece is made (a low temperature bisque firing) and then a second time after the piece is glazed. I never really understood how a piece could be single fired without exploding in the kiln before the workshop, but with Steven showing us how to do it, it seemed simple. Which, of course, is usually the case when I see a master potter at work!
In 2008, Steven switched from firing his work in high fire gas kilns in a reduction atmosphere to a lower temperature using electric kilns, firing in oxidation. What is amazing about this is that you cannot tell the difference between the glaze effects on his new works compared with his old works. This is a huge myth buster, and because of this, Steven is in demand as a workshop teacher around North America.
Our workshop started off with Steven talking about his early influence from American ceramic pioneer Don Reitz and the type of glaze effects Don acheived, which he desired for his own pottery. Because of difficulties with zoning laws and permits, he was not able to build a soda kiln when he started out in his first studio, which lead him on a quest to find a way to replicate the effects of atmospheric kilns (such as a salt or wood fired kiln) in a gas kiln. Sounds simple, but believe me, this was a monumental task that evolved over many years.

(l-r) The same mellon pitcher, final drying, glazed, and after the firing.

Steven makes wonderful forms. He calls his signature pitchers "Mellon Pitchers", and explained that his lovely bowls were inspired by a story someone told him about swimming with stingrays in the Carribean. Without ever having seen one, he came up with a lovely bowl that does, in fact, give a sense of graceful motion.

The bowl shape inspired by stingrays.

And motion is what he wants to achieve with his pots. His cylindrical forms suggest elevation from several spirals incorporated in them, from a subtle touch at the base and rim, to overt, where the walls are given bold spirals at the end of the throwing stage on the pottery wheel. To add a last touch of texture that enhances the movement of the piece, he slathers great gobs of slip onto the pot and moves the surface of the slip into harmony with the shape of the form. He said it again and again during the workshop, the form of the pot is as critical as the glaze that goes on it. Without a pleasing form, no amount of glaze technique can make the pot any better.

Steven applying glaze to a pitcher.

Steven sprays his glazes, which allows him to apply many layers of glaze on top of each other. The final result of his glazing technique is a very deep, rich, satisfying finish. He explained that what we were seeing on his finished pots were separate layers of glass melt, one on top of the other, the result of which could not be duplicated by any other glazing technique. You don't need to know any of this, however, when you hold one of his pots in your hands. Educated about the technique or not, you can't help but drool over his unique work.
In response to the all-to-common issue of beginning and intermediate potters trying to replicate a master potter's work, Steven had this to say: "You have to find your own voice, your own unique expression in clay. We all get inspiration from other pots and potters. The thing is to find your own interpretation of these influences and make them yours." He also went on to say that one of the best sources of inspiration for pottery is from historical pottery. "For one thing, it's been proven to work as a form or a body of work if it has been around and admired for hundreds or thousands of years. For another, if you get inspired by it, you're not going to be seen as copying a contemporary ceramic artist's style, while you are exploring and incorporating this influence into your own expression in clay."
During the workshop we all had a chance to glaze some of our own pots using spray techniques Steven taught, and then our pieces were fired. On the final day of the workshop we unloaded our pots, still super hot, from the kiln, and had a lovely wood-fired pizza fest and critiqued our work. (The clay studio at Southern Oregon University has a wood burning pizza oven in the kiln yard - a brilliant idea!)
I left this workshop with a renewed spirit and gratitude towards the forces in my life that have led me to working full time with clay. Spending time with a master potter as generous and talented as Steven Hill will do that to you! When you watch the video, you'll also hear Steven's musical talents - he's a great guitarist!

Love, hockey, and mugs - a love story

2011-01-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

Susan and I first met in a bar.

It was spring 1993. My beleaguered and beloved Toronto Maple Leafs had somehow caught on fire, made the NHL playoffs, and knocked off two top teams and improbably had made it to the third round. Since I did not have cable, I realized that I was going to have to find a sports bar to watch what could have been history in the making, and so I found myself at the Irish Pub in Ashland, Oregon in the midst of a huge crowd of rabid basketball fans.

The Portland Trailblazers were doing extremely well that spring, and much to my chagrin, the three television sets in the bar were all showing the Blazers game. As I sipped my beer, I noticed that nobody was watching the tv in the middle of the bar. Everyone was watching the game on the sets at either end of the bar.

Summoning up my courage, I asked the bartender to switch the middle tv set to the hockey game. She was incredulous. "I'll get killed if I turn the Blazer game off!" she said. "Look around," I said. "Nobody is watching that tv behind you!" She looked at the crowd, leaned towards me and said "OK. I'll put it on hockey, with no sound. If I get one complaint it goes back to the Blazers game. Got it?"

Fortunately not a soul there noticed the game had been switched. By the end of the evening I had made several new friends who had also come in to see hockey. We started meeting at the bar to watch subsequent games, and one night a lovely gal came along with them. We have pretty much been together every day since we met all those years ago. Alas, the Leafs did not get the Cup that year, and it turns out that they have never come closer to winning it since then.

One Christmas Susan gave me a Leafs mug. Perhaps one of these springs I will fill it with champagne and raise a toast to a Leaf's Stanley Cup victory, though it's now looking more and more likely that my days will be over long before the Leafs win the Cup again. Clearly, though, I owe the Leafs my loyalty for life - I never would have met the love of my life without their surprising performance in the spring of '93.

A year ago, I made Susan this personalized love mug and it's become one of her favorites. Last night, we watched a hockey game, and just before we went to bed Susan told me that she had been looking at my blog and thought that I should do a post on her love mug. So here it is Suz, a lovely mug for a lovely, lovely soul.

A Potter's List

2010-11-24T18:52:00.000-08:00

I took some time this morning to come up with a list of all the steps I take to make a mug, plus a few other extra things I have to do more or less on a daily basis in running Mug Revolution.

The next list I make is going to be my Christmas list!

But I think I'll rest up before doing that, for some reason I feel somewhat tired after reading through the list...

Cycling Stories

2010-10-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

It was my great pleasure recently to add a new mug to the "Mainstay Mugs" section at mugrevolution.com - The Cycling Mug. This was a particularly rewarding project to take on, as cycling has been and continues to be a very important and enjoyable part of my life.

In the early 90's, I was going through a pretty tough divorce. My kids were very young and I had long periods of time without seeing them, even though my ex and I lived in the same town. The whole concept of visitation rights, lawyers, and the court system were pretty overwhelming and I found myself being pretty bummed out.

The biggest part of the problem for me was that I had moved to Oregon from Toronto, and virtually all of my friends in Oregon had been friends with my wife first...loyalties entered in to the picture, and you can guess the rest. Needless to say, I was suddenly very alone.

As time went by, I started thinking about bicycle racing, but dismissed the notion as I thought I was too old to start racing. (ahh, what I would give now to be back in my early thirties again!) However, the thought persisted, and in time I decided to join a racing club in Southern Oregon.

At first I was terrible, but I found that I had found a fantastic group of new friends, a lot of whom I am still very close with. With the support and encouragement of the cycling community in the Siskiyou Wheelmen, I had a two wonderful years of road racing in the lower categories. My goal was to upgrade to a higher category, which I did after winning the silver medal for the State of Oregon road race in 1994. (Trust me, it sounds a lot more prestigious than it really was.) From that point on, racing was sheer agony for me as I could never make the adjustments and new demands that higher competition demanded. A painful non-cycling related injury cut my second season short, and not long after I moved to Bend, Oregon, and never raced competitively again.

I still love cycling, and often ride my bike around town while doing errands. I even take mug orders to the post office via the bike whenever I can. I've done several week long cycle tours over the years which can only be described as amazing. And I love how much I can eat without penalty when I'm putting in the miles!

Now that you know some of my cycling background, you may be able to understand my excitement with The Cycling Mug. It's pretty cool that I had help from a graphic designer friend on the design, and she just rode her bike across the U.S. this past summer! Check her blog out!

I should market the mug with this tag line: "This mug is designed and made by cyclists, for cyclists!"

Now all I need to do is come up with a logo mug for potters. "Made by a potter, for potters." Or would it be better to come up with a "Passion Mug"? "Made by a passionate craftsman for passionate people!" Hey, not a bad idea...

If you're a passionate cyclist or want to get a mug for someone who is, you can take a look at the product page over at the website. Check over on the Facebook Fan Page for a discount coupon code, available until Oct. 31st, 2010.

"T-shirts are out - mugs are in!"

2010-10-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

It's the time of year when I get a lot of requests for custom logo mugs. From comments passed on to me, companies that give key clients and employees logo mugs have been very pleased with the responses. I thought I'd post a few photos of logo mugs that have been done in the studio this year. (Click on the photos to see larger image size.) As my buddy Russ has been known to say, "t-shirts are out, mugs are in!" I think he's got a point!

When the long days in the studio were over during summer and it was time to relax a bit, you could often find me on the deck, gratefully spending some time with a good book, glass of wine, and Kelty!

Keep On Rocking!

2010-07-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the oddest things capture my imagination, and my brain goes into some kind of alternate creative reality. I stumbled upon an article recently that was titled "The Worst Named Rock Band In New York City" which for some unknown reason inspired me to come up with pottery related names for a rock band.

So far I've come up with the following:

Brent and The Kickwheels
Bad Firing featuring Uneven Heat
Slipcast
Porcelain Heartbreak
Clay and the Grogtones
Thrown in Haste
Cone Ten and the Reduction
Off Center
Muddy Fingers
Big Slab and the Coilpots
The Slabrollers

If you have any that you'd like to add to the list I'd love to hear from you!

Dennis Meiners Workshop

2010-06-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

Crashing Horse Teapot by Dennis Meiners,

2007 best in show winner at the Portland, Oregon Ceramic Showcase.

I spent a week with Dennis Meiners and his wife Leslie Lee in the summer of 2008, at a glaze intensive workshop they hosted at Hummingbird Studios in the Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon. Earlier this month, Dennis came here to Bend, Oregon for a one day workshop at Central Oregon Community College. I love going to clay workshops as I get inspired by seeing how others work with clay. While my style of pottery couldn't be further from Dennis' style, I learned a lot and have some great new ideas of things I can do with my work. Most of all I came away really rejuvenated and inspired, which is what all good workshops do to the participants.

Dennis does 99% of his work with slabs. Amazingly, he does not use a slab roller. While at the glaze workshop in 2008 I discovered by accident that saying "slab roller" within earshot of Dennis was not a good thing to say. Ever. At first I thought it was funny, but soon realized that I'd better cut out saying "slab roller" around him for the sake of my own long term health. However, I was curious to know how he could get along without a (shhh, just in case he's listening...) slab roller, since most of his work starts off as a slab.

What he does to make slabs is to wedge clay and then systematically and with great control throws the clay onto a canvas surface which stretches out the clay. From time to time he uses a large diameter dowel to roll out the clay, then continues to throw the slab down to thin it out more. It's really amazing to watch the slab grow in size, and you start to think that it looks a heck of a lot easier to make a slab this way compared to using a slab roller.

When he has the slab a little thicker than he wants in the final slab, Dennis applies surface decoration to the slab to give it texture, and then he continues to make the slab thinner by the throwing technique outlined above. In this way he is able to have control over how he wants the surface of the slab to look. He can have a completely smooth slab of clay, or a slab that looks amazingly like bark on a tree. One cool thing about Dennis is that he lets the clay lead the way and will explore new directions when they present themselves to him. He says "I have found that the objects that result from the act of making are secondary to being in the process of bringing those objects into existence...I have compared this experience to riding a horse at night. The objective is to trust the horse, not fall off, and be awake to see where I have arrived when the light returns."

Once he has a slab he is satisfied with, he uses it to make many different things. He makes fantastic mugs, teapots, and platters (as well as other beautiful objects). He's a very accomplished brush artist and is a master of glazing, and has a wicked sense of humor. (My kind of guy for sure!)

Adding a handle to a slab mug

Adding a spout to a teapot

Assembling a texturized slab into a box.

Thanks Dennis, for the great workshop and the inspiration! You can check out Dennis' beautiful work at his website, and if you know anyone who is looking for a fantastic property with an amazing art studio, let them know that Hummingbird Studios is looking for a new owner!

Finished slab built mugs - fantastic!

The Coolest Mom Ever!

2010-05-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

I've written a bit about my memories of my mom's pottery previously in the blog. As today is Mother's Day, I wanted to share a bit more about my mom's life with clay.

I asked my mom how she got interested in pottery, and she said "I went to an art sale with a friend just before Christmas in the mid 1960's. We walked around, and for some reason, I picked up almost every piece of pottery and hugged them to me, asking my friend if she didn't just love it like I did. Before the evening ended, she gave me a rather strange look and said "why don't you take up pottery?" I'd never thought of it as an option before then, but it was a great idea, given my sudden love affair with things ceramic, and I immediately signed up for classes. My interest in working in clay soon transformed from a love affair to an obsession."

Mom spent eighteen years making pottery, first as a part time hobby, and later on, full time. I recall many street fairs, open houses, and gallery shows where she sold her work.

Mom did all her throwing on a kick wheel, and not only made a full line of functional pottery but also made pinch pots and did some very cool slab pieces. In a lot of ways, her artistry was ahead of her time. Her favorite functional pieces to make were teapots and bowls.

Of her non-functional work, she says "After I spent a summer at the Banff School of Fine Arts, I developed a love for throwing slabs of clay across a table to thin them and at the same develop a rough texture created by the act of throwing the clay across the table. The texture was very similar to tree bark, and I fired the pieces without glazing them, only using an iron wash to stain them. I then created wall hangings using these pieces interwoven by jute macrame (that I also executed). Unfortunately, I was a little ahead of my time–most people didn't understand the beauty I was creating, and a common question about many of my free-form pieces was 'What is this for?' Today I don't believe this chasm would exist."

I asked her if she had any noteworthy things that she recalled, and she said "I once built a clay chair which I thought was pretty spectacular. It was burnished and coated in a black slip. Unfortunately, it fell apart the day we tried to place it in the kiln. It was going to have some cords strung back and forth, upon which to place a cushion made from some handwoven fabric. I was very sad that day, after spending a great deal of time constructing and burnishing it."

When we lived in Windsor, Ontario, her studio was in our basement. In 1972 we moved to Sebringville, Ontario (near Stratford), where her studio was in a converted chicken shed, under had a huge black walnut tree, and there was a showroom in our house in what had once been the summer kitchen. We lived in a fantastic house that was built in 1834, and our three acre property had a beautiful creek running through it.

We met all kinds of interesting people over the years due to mom's involvement with clay. I recall a couple from France who were hitch-hiking through Canada. They saw the pottery sign in our front yard, came in to see the showroom, and ultimately became good friends. We also got to know a wonderful couple from Austin, Texas, who helped fire Mom's wood kiln on one or two occasions. As a kid growing up in rural Canada, meeting people from Texas was off-the-charts exotic and hugely entertaining, with comments like "Y'all ain't lived yet if you ain't eaten jalapeno peppers" being particularly fascinating. There was a full blown music centered hippie-commune known as The Perth County Conspiracy nearby and we got to know many of the colorful characters who lived there.

Over the years mom went to many workshops with well known potters such as Robin Hopper (with whom she also apprenticed briefly), John Glick, Finn Lynngaard (from Denmark), Michael Cardew, Roman Bartkiw, and an unforgettable week with Tatsuzo Shimaoka, a living national treasure from Japan. She also attended the Banff School of Fine Arts for six weeks in the summer of 1970 and won a tuition scholarship there to return the following year.

Though mom is now retired and doesn't work with clay any longer, I do get her into my studio when she visits, and it's always a thrill for me. She knows a lot about glaze formulation, and one of my prized possessions is a box filled with her glaze tests and recipes. In fact, one of the glazes I use on the mugs is from one of her recipes. She's an excellent photographer and we love to go out and shoot together. She's probably noticed that I wait to see what she's shooting out of the corner of my eye, and then I take the same shot a few minutes later when she's not looking. Her shots always come out better of course!

I've been really fortunate to be able to make a living as a potter, and I know my mom is both thrilled, proud and happy for me. I know that I would never have been able to do it had she not shown me how important it is to follow one's passion, work hard, and do good work. I'll never forget her telling me not to be afraid to make my pots really well, and to price them accordingly, because there are people who value really well made pots.

Thanks mom, I love you! Happy Mother's Day!

All the photos are scans from a 1970's local newspaper interview, published in Stratford, Ontario.

Win a Mug Revolution T-Shirt!

2010-05-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

I had some t-shirts made for Mug Revolution a while back. I planned to offer them for sale on the website. I haven't gotten around to doing that just yet– I always seem to be busy doing something else, it seems! I've given a lot of them to family and friends, and I give one away from time to time when I get really big orders. Everyone loves them.

The other day in the studio, the thought occured to me, why not give away some t-shirts in a contest? So, dear reader, I am offering you the chance to win one of these very cool tees.

How do you win a t-shirt?

It's simple. Just reply in the comments to this blog post and state why you deserve to win one. Nothing simpler!

I'll keep the contest open until Thursday, May 27th and pick winners on Friday May 28th barring some unforseen incident. If I'm really impressed by your argument in favor of winning a t-shirt, I may be pursuaded to add a mug to the t-shirt. So impress me!

There may be more than one t-shirt awarded. There may be many. At the moment I will be the sole judge, though I may call in one or more additional judges, especially if they provide the beer coffee while we choose. ;~)

Let the writing begin!! Good luck!

Oh! If you'd like to post your entry on Mug Revolution's Facebook fan page (where you can add photos and videos if you want) here's the link!

[UPDATE 5/29/10]: Winners announced!

Just Mugs and Just a Barber? Not!

2010-04-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

This is my barber, Bill Carpenter, here in Bend, Oregon. His shop is called "Just a Barber". It's just a little misleading, the name of his barber shop. He's a lot more than just a barber, though he doesn't want you to think that–he's pretty modest. You see, not only is Bill the kind of barber who knows everyone and can talk about almost any topic with some authority, but he and I have a little secret that I'm about to share with you.

He gets mugs from me.

And every 6 weeks or so when I go in, both for a good conversation and a trim, I see these mugs and I think about how dang cool that is.

We typically have far ranging discussions as he is doing his work to make me look less shaggy. For instance, today we talked about the following things over 25 minutes: bicycle racing, baseball, local fall elections, Christianity, Buddhism, the dynamics of person-to-person versus group-to-group relations, psilocybin, Hawaii, oversized hail, riding bikes on the old McKenzie Highway, swimming versus walking the butte, personal responsibility, and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember. During that time he had two phone calls and one walk-in for appointments. All the while he's working on the old mop-top.

Each fall he usually asks me to make him some personalized logo mugs to give to his clients at Christmas. Last year he wanted shave mugs made. They were a big hit, he tells me.

Can't put it into words, how great Bill is, really. You know, your hair grows, you need it cut, that's universal. I think Bill's artistry is the fact that even though our town is big, it feels like a small town when you enter his shop, and it feels like a small town long after you've left it.

Spring Update

2010-04-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

We've made it to April. In Central Oregon this means that the most unpredictable weather month of the year has arrived. You never know what it is going to be doing outside, and after six months of winter you can't help but feel that you are owed some nice weather. You get a really nice day or two, which gets your hopes up. Bad mental error, that. Because normally you can't count on good weather until June.

Meanwhile, things are chugging along in the studio. I had a late rush order that came in last Friday, the last possible day for orders to be added to this batch of mugs. These mugs are for a running race in Olympia, Washington. A very cool logo, I must say.

The Captiol Peak mug, greenware.

I should finish up the last of the logos and handles today, and will start glazing tomorrow. Actually I will start the first of two days of applying wax and wax resist to the mugs tomorrow, then I will start glazing. Hoping to get the kiln up and running late in the day on Friday.

Of course, since we are in April, I couldn't resist (no pun intended) a little April Fool's Twitter fun. Read from the bottom up to get the chronology correct.

That's all for now–wishing you all the best until next post!

4-14-2010 update: I thought I'd post a photo of the finished Capitol Peak mug, seen below.

Throwing mugs globally - to Ireland!

2010-03-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about being a web based business is the fact that I get orders not only from all over the United States and Canada, but from around the world. It's pretty cool to get an order for mugs from Goose Creek, South Carolina. And it's really cool to get an order from a company in Carlow, Ireland. One such order came through the studio last summer, and a subsequent repeat order in early 2010 gave me an idea to find out more about this customer. I had a great experience working with CEO Michele Neylon of Blacknight Solutions, which is an ICANN accredited registrar and web hosting company in Ireland. Michele is a super nice guy, and is always ending his e-mails with such gems as "PS, on the video side of things, blip.tv is a good option, it lets you post to itunes as well." How cool is that? I really can't thank him enough for all the help he has given me in getting more adept with web issues and social media over the past 8 months or so with his little gems of knowledge.

I emailed Michele -- the correct pronunciation is mēke'lā (if you can read phonetics - if not, let me just say it is not at all like it is spelled) a few questions to find out more about his decision to place orders for the mugs that I very happily made. Without further ado, here they are:

Mug Revolution: How did you find out about Mug Revolution's custom logo mugs?
Michele: I was looking for custom mugs and found your site on google.
MugRev: What was your purpose in placing an order for the mugs? (ie, a gift to employees, gift for clients, re-sale in your retail area/store etc.)
M: Exploring marketing ideas. I bought the first batch for staff and others were bought for key clients and contacts.
MugRev: Describe your experience working with Mug Revolution in working out the details of your order.
M: Excellent - Other things that impressed me when dealing with you was the speedy and accurate / helpful replies to my initial queries.
MugRev: How would you describe your custom logo mug? Did the logo come out as well as you expected?
M: We are delighted!

MugRev: You added personalization to the logo mugs. Do you think that that made a bigger impact on the recipient's response to the mug?
M: Personalisation had a very positive impact on recipients. They love them!
MugRev: What kind of response did you get from the recipients of the mugs? Any particular comments that stand out?
M: Everyone loves them - one guy emailed me to say that he planned on using it for watching football :)
MugRev: Based on gifts your company may have given in the past, how do you think the mugs compared?
M: They're unique. Most of the corporate gifts are mass produced. Getting personalised gifts of high quality made a big difference to the recipients.
MugRev: Did the cost of the mugs plus shipping fit into your budget easily?
M: Shipping overseas was expensive, but I think the feedback we've got has been worth it. Bear in mind that a full page print ad can cost thousands of euros, while giving a unique gift to a client or key contact can pay off much more over time.
MugRev: How do you think the mugs impacted your business? Any cool stories to share?
The mugs have helped add to the buzz around the company, which is excellent. I've a few people who have told some nice stories about their mugs. At least one member of our staff dropped his and put it back together with glue and still uses it!
MugRev: Any other thoughts you'd like to share?
M: We love the mugs and plan to get more of them in the future. By the way, we've done a full blog post on them, as well as posting photos to Twitter and facebook. And, I've just added another blog post!

Many thanks to Michele Neylon of Blacknight Solutions. You can stay in touch with him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter again! I loved making his company's mugs and always love hearing how they worked out for the folks that get the mugs. Should anyone reading this want to order their own Blacknight Mug, here's the link! And Michele, I think that I will make arrangements to personally deliver your next order - I can't wait to visit Ireland!

2010-01-29T10:42:00.001-08:00

I just turned off the glaze kiln after a 16-1/2 hour firing. I thought you would like to see a quick video!

A Happy New Year!

2010-01-11T19:32:00.000-08:00

It definitely took some time to get back into the swing of things after the holidays.

It was fantastic to take a couple of weeks off to unwind and enjoy friends and family.

But man, was it tough getting back into the studio at first! Due to some issues beyond my control, I had no choice but to launch my new and wonderful website in October, the start of one of the busiest times of the year for me. (The other busy time is June and July with a lot of special event mugs.) So between order volume increasing and spending a lot of time with the web developer and photographer, days off were non-existent for a long stretch. Hence, when all the orders were done in December, I took a well deserved and very lazy break!

Thought you'd like to see the newest mug in the store - and a new color! For a long time I've wanted to add a red glaze (as have many of my customers over the years) and I am really pleased with the results. If you love copper reds, I'm sure you will be pleased too. Here's a photo to show you what I mean:

I've had lots of great feedback on the red which is very rewarding-a lot of time was spent in testing and experimenting with glazes and firing techniques to get the red looking like this.

As you no doubt noticed in the photo, there is a new Love Mug, just in time for Valentine's Day! It's called the personalized Love Mug, and can be ordered for Valentine's Day or any time really-love is much too big a force in our lives to only be recognized one day a year. More info.

As always, I love hearing from you, whether it is through Mug Revolution's Twitter page, our Facebook Fan Page, or in the comments. Wishing you all a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year!

And thanks everyone for making 2009 the best year in Mug Revolution's history. It would not have been possible without you!

Mugwonderful Christmas Gift Ideas!

2009-12-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

It's getting close! With under three weeks left until Christmas, there's still time to give some fabulous mugs from Mug Revolution! I thought I'd show you some of the mugs that are still in stock and ship out right away.

First up is the soup mug. These mugs are versatile and can be used for lattes, soup, and just a general purpose bowl. I like them because I often heat up food in the microwave, and the handle does not get hot, making it easy to pull out. Soup Mug ordering info!

For your friends or relatives who love dogs, check out the Dog Lover's Mug! These puppies are quite popular. (I hear you groan, bad pun, but I simply couldn't resist!) Dog Lover's Mug ordering info!

While it's too late to order a Paw Print Mug as a gift, the Paw Print Kit makes a great gift! You can add a gift certificate to your gift to cover the cost of the mug-perfect! Paw Print Mugs ordering info!

The Classic Mug is our most popular mug. Supplies are getting low, but there are plenty of the 8 oz. mug in stock. This little mug is perfect for children or for people who like espresso or any beverage in small quantities. Classic Mugs ordering info!

And finally, if you want to give the gift of mugs but simply don't know what exactly to give, here's a solution: Gift Certificates!

Hopefully you are now armed with a time saving, gift giving set of ideas! Have a wonderful day!

Feature Mug: The Bend, Oregon Mug

2009-11-29T06:52:00.000-08:00

For those of us lucky enough to live in Bend, it's sometimes easy to lose sight of the natural beauty that surrounds us. All that's needed, in the midst of a busy day, is to take a momentary break and just look at the breathtaking views we have here. The gorgeous Bend, Oregon Mug logo captures one such Central Oregon landscape. The logo depicts juniper trees, sagebrush, the Cascade mountains and Canada geese.

I get so busy in my day to day life that I forget how lucky I am to live here. But, every day, whether I want to or not, Kelty, our Border Collie, lets me know she needs her walk, and on our walks I am reminded just how wonderful it is to live in such a gorgeous place.

If you're interested, here's more info on the Bend Oregon Mug!

That's all for now–busy days indeed in the studio. I shipped out a couple of hundred mugs last Monday and am working on the last batch of 250 mugs to be shipped on December 14th.

Busy Days!

2009-11-21T08:21:00.000-08:00

Here it is, just over a month before Christmas. This has been one fast year, I'll tell you! The big news is Mug Revolution's new website which is getting rave reviews. The site was developed by Island Pinnick, a Bend, Oregon web developer. The photography was done by Joseph Eastburn, also from Bend. Amazingly talented folks, and I was fortunate to have them collaborate to make the site so beautiful, and so functional. Thanks again Island and Joseph, you guys truly rock!

The site launched on October 2. Since that time I've been super busy with orders. Sales have gone up overall this year, which is amazing considering the economy. Fortunately, my mugs are a) really nice and b) affordable, and they do make nice gifts. I could say that I was smart to focus on making mugs, but really, I've always loved making mugs and if anything I am very fortunate.

I'll keep this short for now- even though I just fired the glaze kiln yesterday, I've got to get the next batch started so I can ship them in time for Christmas.

If you've read this far, I've got a little treat for you. If you would like to order a personalized mug for Christmas, and you would like a stylish thumb rest with the first initial of the name on it, as pictured at the top of this post, I will do the thumb rest for free. All you have to do when ordering is indicate in the comments section in the shopping cart that you saw this offer on Mug Revolution's blog, and that you would like the thumb rest.

I have not had a chance to add this product to the website, and likely won't until after the holidays.

Take care of yourself as we go through what is both a wonderful and at the same time stressful time of year.

All the best to you!

On being frugal

2009-08-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

My house is a short distance from a public school where I like to take my dog Kelty for walks as there are some wonderful trails on the butte just behind the school. I've stopped going there this summer, since the school district is doing a huge, multi-million dollar renovation. I went over today to check it out, as it's Saturday and the crew is off for the weekend. Looking around, I got the sense that they had too much money and had to spend it all at once.

I spent many years in public education before leaving several years ago to start up and eventually work full time at Mug Revolution. Seeing all the school projects under construction (some desperately needed, like the new building for the alternative education students, some questionable, like a state of the art baseball field, seemingly built to host the little league world series, complete with heated sidewalks) made me think about the way I've changed my attitudes and practices of spending money from the time I was a public school employee, to now, when I am self employed.

Fixing the kiln
I've noticed over the past six months or so that my gas kiln had a few bricks that needed replacing. My first thought (which is what I would have done if I had taxpayer money at my disposal) was to buy all new bricks and re-build significant areas of the kiln. I was prepared to drive to Portland, spend $500 on bricks, and take a few days out of my schedule (read: my summer vacation) to do the repairs. I pondered this for a few days. I looked at the kiln. I read my kiln building books and stewed on it. One morning, I woke up and thought, "Wait a second. Why don't I try to replace and repair just the dozen or so bricks? I've got replacements here, leftover from building the kiln 10 years ago. If it doesn't work, what's the harm? If it does, I'll save driving over 300 miles, $500, and two-three days that would come out of my vacation." I followed that course of action, finished up all the repairs yesterday and fired the empty kiln to red hot to set up the mortar. I opened the kiln this morning and am thrilled to say that it looks good as new.

Fortunately, I was able to do the repair inexpensively. As a small business owner, I had to. You have to work as frugally as possible to make a living from pottery.

And you know what? I'd much rather be in a situation where I use my creativity to solve problems. Not having the luxury of a big budget helps you to think in new, innovative ways. In some cases, like my kiln-repair situation, not having a big budget helped me to see the most obvious solution was also the cheapest solution. Problem solved. Now, back to the mugs!

How I became a full time potter

2009-05-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Early Years

At some point in the 1960's, when I was a kid, my mother took some pottery classes and she was quite taken with it. Eventually she had a studio in the basement with a kick wheel and a small electric kiln. While she always encouraged me to explore with clay, my main interest as ten year old was playing with the kick wheel and a complete fascination with the kiln. One day Mom wanted to show me how dangerous the kiln was. She opened one of the peep holes and put in a small piece of newspaper, which immediately caught on fire. "See how dangerous this is, Owen?" she said. I'm pretty sure I said yes, but thereafter whenever she fired the kiln I would get out small pieces of newspaper, take out one of the peep holes, and catch them on fire when she was not around. Of course it never occurred to me to thoroughly clean all the bits of burnt newspaper from the floor, and I had to resort to mumbling "I don't know" when Mom would confront me with the evidence and ask if I had done this. The concept that the house might burn down as a result of this, of course, never entered my mind.

In time my mother was able to quit her job as a legal secretary and work with clay full time, at one point building a good sized wood firing kiln which she filled with wonderful pottery made in her studio, which was at one point in time a chicken coop! I recall making and selling a checker set for three dollars when I was 9 or 10 years old. It seemed entirely too much effort and work at the time compared to the money I made. Looking back now, I suspect that at that early age my initiation into the financial rewards of pottery had just taken place!

It seems that clay runs in the family. My great-grandfather was a potter in or near Vertelka in western Ukraine in the mid to late 1800's.

I Get Into Clay

In 1987 I moved from Toronto to Southern Oregon. A couple of years later I took a community education pottery class at what was then named Southern Oregon State College (SOSC). The teacher was Jim Romberg, who is well known as a fine raku artist. He was a wonderful facilitator, and allowed his students to have access to the pottery studio any time of the day or night, so long as we did not interfere when he had a credit class in session.

While going through a painful divorce, I devoted my time outside of work to bicycle racing and pottery. (While I no longer race bikes, cycling remains one of my passions, along with photography.) As my skills with clay grew, what were first gifts for friends and family became sales. Encouraged by the sales, I started doing street fairs, and had some success with them. At that time, I learned how to make as many different functional pottery items as I could, from mugs (of course!) to teapots to dinner sets and more.

I moved to Bend, Oregon in 1994, taking a job with the local school district in the printing department. Naively thinking that every college that had a clay studio would be as open as the studio at SOSC in Ashland, I was very disappointed to learn that the hours of studio access at the local community college were very limited. I asked around and was able to rent studio space at the Blue Spruce Gallery, which was an outstanding pottery gallery and sadly no longer exists. But at the time it was wonderful, and I sold some of my pieces in the gallery which was encouraging. One day the former owner of the gallery, Mike Gwinup, was in the studio. I had been thinking about buying a small used gas firing kiln for $800 I asked Mike if he thought that was a good price. "For $800 you can build a real kiln", he said. When I pressed him further on the concept, since I knew absolutely nothing about kiln building, he agreed to help me with the project. At the time, I had one of the best landlords a potter could ever have - a landlord who thought it would be cool if I built a propane firing kiln on the concrete slab that once was a garage, near the alley at the bottom of the yard. So, Mike would give me a list of things to do, I would do them, he would come over and inspect what I had done, and if it was done properly he would give me another list of things to do and we would repeat the cycle. In a month or so, I had a gas firing kiln!

In time, my wife and I moved to a larger house and I was able to set up the studio that I currently work out of in the garage. "Why put a car in a garage when you can put a pottery studio in it?" I've always said that!

The Mugs Take On A Life Of Their Own

Sometime in the year 2000, I came home from work and had a message on the machine from some company called Oxygen. They had found my website, owendearingpottery.com, which was a site I did to sell my whole line of functional work. They wanted to know if I could make them some mugs for an upcoming conference that Time-Warner was putting on. I did a bit of research, and discovered that Oxygen was a new cable network that Oprah had recently started. They needed 200 mugs in less that two weeks. I did not have any mugs in stock - in those days almost anything anyone ordered from my site was a custom order - so I did not get the order. But a seed had been planted, and I thought that some day I would like to create a web business that only sold mugs.

In 2006, my wife went back to school to get her RN degree. The two year course was incredibly demanding of her time and energy. One day it dawned on me: I should do that mug business now! Susan will never accuse me of spending too much time in the studio - she barely has time to say good morning to me before she has to rush off to class! And so, I started putting together the first version of mugrevolution.com. Initially, Mug Revolution made one size mug (now known as the large, 16 oz. mug) and it was only available in one color: Green/Blue.

I fortuitously took a class at Central Oregon Community College with a Search Engine Strategies expert by the name of Andre Jensen. After following his advice, mugrevolution.com started to get a lot of on-line sales, and as time went by I started to see that my dream of becoming a full time studio potter was looking more and more possible! In September 2008, I was able to hang up my printer's apron after 30 years of a very wide ranging and fulfilling career, and have been working with clay full time ever since.

The Future of Mug Revolution

When people hear the story of how my small company has grown and prospered, I often hear them say "Soon you'll have to hire employees!" It is interesting to think about that, and while the day may come that Mug Revolution does indeed expand and have employees, it will happen in its own time. I don't equate success with the size of the company. Success to me is having a customer tell me that they are using the mug that they bought from me and it has been their favorite mug since the day they got it. The fact that I can find customers through the internet who understand that a high quality handmade mug is well worth the cost, and the fact that I can support myself and take the time to make each mug without rushing through it to get it done is satisfaction in itself. Well, enough said! I see by the clock it's time for a coffee. Excuse me now while I wander off to the studio to try to find where I put my mug. It's there somewhere, I put it down and it disappeared...

Lots of new stuff!

2009-03-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I've posted here. Thankfully only two or three people (and my dog Kelty, who I read the posts to before publishing them) have noticed that, and you guys have been kind enough in allowing me time to get my thoughts together. Ok. None of that is true. Truth is, the dog only pays attention to me if there is some possibility of getting food. And there is nobody who has said "Geez, Owen, when will you be updating your blog?"

I had great intentions of getting the blog in order. I was going to write serious, scholarly articles and contribute my tiny bit of knowledge to the universal database of pottery techniques. Then, the Christmas holidays ended, and I had orders to fill, and had to get back into the studio.

In February I started a blog post on mug handles and how I've arrived at a handle that I really like, and that people like, and how it took me years to figure out what kind of handle really works on a mug, and I never finished the post. I happen to own two mugs made by a very well known potter who has written a well known book on functional pottery, and I took pictures of his mugs to show that his handles are really, um, disfunctional, in my humble opinion. I was going to take him on! But I didn't finish the post. I've just realized that the reason I did not finish the post is that I have started too many things. And I'm in the middle of too many things, and I'm finding that I just want to get these projects, as I like to call them, turned into reality, and then do more new stuff. (I will finish and publish the post on handles one of these days, I promise.)

Just after New Year's, I signed up for a Pilates class. It's twice a week, at noon, and each class is an hour long. It has been tough for me, and way out of my comfort zone, and because of that I've stuck with it. (Best time I've ever had in my life was in my early twenties, traveling alone in Mexico, completely and totally out of my element yet somehow that forced me to be open to everything I was seeing and experiencing. The closest experience I've had to this recently was watching the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" in the theater.) And in the 3 months since I started Pilates, I've realized that this is the best thing I've done for myself and my body in a very long time. So until the nice weather really arrives here, (which can be in July, seriously) I'll be doing Pilates, then switch to get as many bike rides in as possible before cold weather arrives next fall, damn her.

My 19 year old son and I have signed up for a bike tour at the end of June. It'll be super, I've gone on two tours before with this company, which is run by two very good friends, and a lot of the people who I have met on those tours go every year. It's like a family reunion, except that you genuinely like everyone there. Anyhow, twice a week my son and I meet at lunch at the gym and do a spinning class. We'll switch to real riding every chance we get to get on the roads.

So, I'm doing okay in the physical fitness department.

I hired a web design programmer at the very end of 2008 to update Mug Revolution's website. This has taken a lot of time, and quite frankly has been somewhat frustrating in that it is taking forever to get done, and I'm used to being able to do all the updates by myself. However, the site is now relaunched, looks really good, and the list of things to fix keeps getting smaller, so that's a good thing. [edit, 12/09-I had to fire this guy in June! No, I did not fire him in my kiln, though truth be told there were times I would have liked to, sad to say. Bad, bad experience. But I am super thrilled with the new site my new developer created. It is getting high praise indeed!]

So, that's 3 new things. What else?

I've got several mug related things that get on the list:

a new glaze color (earthtones), soon to be announce on the site
a new "Bend, Oregon" mug
a new "Love mug"
a new, small, 8 oz. mug
a new product line, soup mugs
a new "Mother's Day" mug
and, potentially, beer steins. Sample steins look awesome and I may add them to the product list on the website.

And today, I had a new, wider door installed in the studio. This is the door from the studio to the kiln area, and for years I've had to do acrobatics to carry boards filled with mugs through the narrow door, and back through the door when the firing is done, always worrying that I'll bump the board and drop it. It's never happened, but I've always had that worry. So, I hired a contractor and today was the day. So glad it's done, and looks good!

Sheesh! That's a lot of new stuff. I didn't mention that I've joined a business group and also have been taking a class at our community college for small businesses. (Wait...I just did mention that. I should have started that sentence with "I should mention...". Had I done so, I would have not had to clarify the use of the word "mention," and potentially piss off the two people who might chance upon this blog and read it. It is a dangerous business, this blogging. Live and learn, eh? It'll never happen again.)

'Nuff said for now. I'll be back soon. I'll be super pleased to hear your comments on the new, improved, and shinier website, how your life is going, and your observations on the current state of mug technology.

All the best! Owen

I thought it would be slow after Christmas

2009-01-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

I really did. Last year I was pretty busy in January, but I had a thought in the back of my mind that maybe this year would start off slow because of the bad news we keep hearing about the economy. However, two of my regular customers placed nice sized orders, two new customers placed a nice sized orders, I have orders that were placed on the website since Christmas, and all of a sudden I'm swamped.

A lot of good stuff is going on, too. KPOV, Bend's community radio station, placed an order for logo mugs, and I will be getting some local underwriting spots broadcast a couple of times a week. I'm interested to see if I get any business as a result of this.

At any rate, a short post this time--but better to post good news than no news at all, right?

OK, everyone, all the best until next time.

Owen

A Revolutionary Year For Mug Revolution

2008-12-31T09:48:00.000-08:00

It is the last day of 2008, and as I look back on it, a very successful year for Mug Revolution.

Paw Print Mugs and Baby Handprint Mugs

At the end of 2007, I had had a frantic but rewarding ten weeks leading up to Christmas. The local paper had published a story about my business which made my phone ring off the hook, and brought me a lot of local orders, especially for the Paw Print mugs. Because of the interest in the Paw Print mugs, I was inspired to create a kit that allowed Mug Revolution to sell the Paw Print mugs online starting earlier this year. A few folks inquired about the possibility of using the Paw Print kit to make baby hand or footprint mugs...aha!-how interesting!...and soon we will be adding a new product to our line up of mugs.

Finally, I Can Relax!

I had truly thought that once holiday orders were filled in December 2007 that my business would slow down, and I was looking forward to a break. At the time I was working full time in a printing company, and the thought of having early mornings, evenings, and weekends free was wonderful--but it turns out it was just a thought.

A few orders had come in after Mug Revolution had either sold out or the cutoff date for the order to be filled in time for Christmas had passed. So, after a nice break to celebrate and relax with family and friends, I got back into the studio to finish the orders and get my inventory of stock mugs back up, thinking that I'd be able to take a break for a couple of months after the firing was done. Once I started making mugs, more orders came in--some of my local customers needed more mugs, more online orders came in, and pretty soon all of the kiln space for mugs was filled up, and I could only fit in a few stock mugs. This pattern repeated itself all year long, much to my surprise. I never did make as many mugs for stock as I wanted to, and in fact sold out of them in early December.

The Power of the Web

In June an online order came in for a couple of Paw Print kits and mugs. Noticing that the customer lived locally, I phoned to say that if she could come to pick up the kits and the mugs I would not charge her shipping and handling fees. She told me that she hadn't realized that we lived in the same town, and that she had been looking at mugs for her company's Christmas gifts later in the year, but saw the Paw Print mugs and got sidetracked. A month or so later, when she came to pick up her order, she said that she would be in touch soon to get a quote for her company's mugs. Well, I got the job, and made them over 250 custom mugs. They were very pleased and mentioned more than once that this was the best gift they had ever given...the folks who got them were really happy to have such a nice mug.

It occurred to me, all of a sudden, sometime during the time I was working on this order, that I never would have had a chance to know about the order unless I had a website. Even though Mug Revolution is in the same town as this company, the first thing they did to find handmade coffee mugs was to Google it. So, folks, if you don't have a website, get one. Best money you'll ever spend for your business.

Finally, I'm A Full Time Potter!

On October 1st of this year, I was thrilled to be able to start a new phase in my professional life-that of a full time potter. Since getting into clay and quickly getting hooked in 1988, I've always dreamed of doing this. Now that it is a reality, I feel like the luckiest guy on the block.

A few months ago I had a few improvements made on my studio and hired Tim, a contractor we've worked with a few times over the years as we've done bigger projects on the house. I told him that I didn't know exactly when it would happen, but I was within a year or less of being a full time potter. Tim looked at me and said "A lot of people will be telling you how lucky you are to be a full time potter." I said something to the effect that I would be feeling lucky if, in fact, my dream did come true. Tim said, "They probably won't have any idea how hard you have worked over the years to make this happen. In my view there's not much luck involved. You worked for it, and you deserve the chance to be able to do it!"

I've thought about this from time to time, and you know, he's right. It's a lot of work. Those of you who have started a business know exactly what is involved. But it's more than that, and it doesn't always feel like work. It's being able to do what you are passionate about, to pour all of your energy into something that you believe in.

It sure makes Monday mornings a lot easier! Happy New Year, everyone. I wish you all the very best for 2009.