Faith Lo
Father’s Day isn’t just a day on the calendar for us at Deneen Pottery. It’s a time to reflect on the roots of our family business, to celebrate the fathers who shape us, guide us, and encourage us to keep going!
Peter Deneen: The Original Founding Father
At the heart of our story is a founding father in every sense of the word: Peter Deneen. When Peter first rolled up his sleeves and started his ceramics journey, he wasn’t just building a business, he was building a legacy.
Peter began his pottery journey in college, first at Luther College, then attending Marguerite Wildenhain’s Pond Farm School and later earned his M.A from University of Iowa in 1971, before opening his first studio and showroom in Park Square Court, St Paul. This was just the beginning to the groundwork for what would become one of the most respected names in handmade stoneware. Through his hard work and dedication to his beloved craft, Peter built a legacy that his son, Niles, has taken on the torch and continued the beautiful work we see today.
Niles Deneen: A Father, a Leader, a Bright Light
As the current CEO and a father of three, Niles wears many hats. While the responsibility is great, his positive spirit carries a bright light! He’s the kind of leader who walks into a room and instantly lifts the mood. Whether he’s troubleshooting a production hiccup or jumping into Commando Cupid costume for a marketing video, Niles brings a sense of joy and gratitude to every corner of the company.
Balancing leadership and fatherhood is no small task, but Niles makes it look effortless. Maybe it’s the way he approaches every challenge with optimism. Or maybe it’s the way he genuinely cares about every person on our team, always making time to check in, crack a joke, or offer a word of encouragement.
In many ways, he embodies the very values Peter built into the company: humility, creativity, and family-first thinking, but with his own modern-day energy, upbeat personality and dad-joke humor.
Mike: Our Office Dad
Every great family has a behind-the-scenes hero, the one everyone turns to when something goes wrong, who dishes out dad-level sarcasm like it’s a superpower, and who’s watching out for the people in his care. At Deneen Pottery, that person is Mike, our CFO aka our Office Dad! He’s always ready to share his life-time of knowledge and strives to uplift all our employees!
Mike is the steady presence who makes sure everything and everyone is taken care of. But his real moment to shine? The holiday season! Besides being the CFO, Mike is also part of the fun committee at Deneen Pottery. Without Mike, our special surprise Christmas tree wouldn’t be complete without our office Angel beaming down on us!
He may not be the founder or even a Deneen, but if you ask anyone here: Deneen Pottery wouldn’t be Deneen Pottery without Mike!
Fathers of All Kinds, We Celebrate You
When you look at the story of Deneen Pottery, it’s one of a family. It’s about generations passing on knowledge, passion, and values, not just through words but through action. From Peter’s wheel to Niles’ leadership, from the craftsmanship of our production team to the culture that keeps us laughing through busy seasons, fatherhood runs deep here.
This Father’s Day, we raise our mugs to all of the dads who do it all, who show up early and stay late, who listen, lead, and love with everything they’ve got.
To Peter, whose vision and work ethic gave us this foundation.
To Niles, who continues to shape our future with heart, hard-work and humor.
To Mike, who gives us the tools and advice to tackle the hurdles of the day.
And to every father, grandfather, stepdad, uncle, mentor, and father figure out there: thank you. We wouldn’t be who we are without you. Thank you for being our rocks!
Happy Father’s Day from all of us at Deneen Pottery!
Faith Lo
