Laura
We are super excited to announce our new collaboration for our Illustrator Mug Series with Amber Share! During the dark days of the pandemic, especially at the start, when many of our Park Partners were canceling POs and having to close a bright, funny, creative light appeared on Instagram.
We fell in love with ALL THE THINGS: The beauty of each design, the amazing hand letterforms, and the humor!!! @subparparks filled us with laughter which kept the tears and fears away. We knew right away that we wanted to work with her…
We caught up with Amber on a google meet to chat about her interest in collaborating on an upcoming Illustrator Mug Series and she knocked our socks off within the first 2 minutes!?!
“I’ve been waiting for you to slide into my DMs. It’s been a bucket list of mine to collaborate on a mug – I’ve been a fan of your work for a long time.” Amber said.
While our company has been making pottery for half a century, we always get overly excited at collaborating with fun creative artists, especially when the feelings are mutual.
Our conversation was a blast and we didn’t get enough notes but here are some of the Q&A to help introduce her to our community of Mug Lovers.
Deneen Pottery: We know you’ve been asked this 1000s of times – but how did you get your start?
Amber Share: Originally I wanted to do illustrations of all the National Parks, more of a challenge to myself to help build my skills and continue to grow. With the WPA and Anderson Design Group out there I knew I would need a different angle. Back in 2019 when I found a thread on the Reddit National Parks page I found the 1-star reviews and a lightning bolt hit me.
DP: What was it exactly about the Reddit reviews that inspired you?
AS: The one-star reviews were hilarious to me; there were so many to choose from.
DP: You must have known this would be successful?
AS: I thought most people weren’t going to like my work. It was around this same time I was taking a class by Lauren Hom and I remember telling the class about the idea and everyone was really supportive.
DP: This was right around the time the world shut down – what was that like.
AS: At the end of January, I completed and posted my 9th design on @subparparks and by mid-March I decided to quit my job as I had a feeling that my life was about to change.
DP: You must have had a detailed plan?
AS: I actually get asked that question a lot and the truth is – I didn’t. There was no master plan, I think I just had the right idea and the right time.
DP: Is it true that you are a potter in training?
AS: My husband and I signed up for a pottery class at our local Arts Center. We’ve taken the intro classes and we now have a studio membership which gives us time on the wheel.
DP: What are some of the things you like best about wheel throwing and working in the studio?
AS: I’m an artist and I just want to explore all the options with glazes!!! Everything is on back order now – it’s hard to be patient as I can’t wait to experiment with more colors!
While we aren’t ruling out anything at this point, the design that we started talking about for the Mug Series isn’t going to be a Subpar Park. For now, we recommend grabbing Amber’s first book NOW and stay tuned to our social channels – there’s more to come!!!
Laura
