In the fall of 2013, (our awesome sales rep) Carrie stumbled upon the branding mark of Great Lakes Clothing, which happens to include the state bird of Minnesota - the loon. She knew I would be interested in this unique local business and sent me a link to their...
In the last few weeks we've been hearing from a growing number of folks that have found Deneen Pottery mugs while visiting our great national parks. It is becoming clear that couples and families, new and old, are turning their vacation plans and free time toward...
Pack a picnic basket, pitch the tent, and pull on your hiking boots — In honor of National Park Week, held each Spring in late April, we have some splendid images and stories to share and many are connected to custom mugs that we have created. National...
We just found out from our friends at SNAP that their amazing work on redesigning our website, which focuses on our handmade pottery mugs, is now officially award winning thanks to the Internet Advertising Awards. We think the picture below says it all - The Best Work Won! I...
When your family business began with college sweethearts throwing and decorating pots in a garage, the idea of receiving an award for being a top Minnesota company is somewhat unreal. But then again, we have sprinkled in a lifetime of sacrifice while adding a second generation that's fueled by...
Most of the blogs that I write are about either the custom mugs that we make, custom mugs that we have made for others, or some topic that is related to stories that involve custom mugs. This is the first blog that will have a...
An exciting thing about the Birkie is that I contacted them in the summer and we were able to work with their staff in creating custom mugs for their Trail Run event in the Fall, trophies for the age class categories for all the ski races, and a line of handmade mugs for retail! Here are just a couple of images of the mugs that we made. The artwork shows the 2 Norwegian warriors rescuing the infant Prince Haakon Haakonsson in 1205.
Although my time wasn't as good as last year, I enjoyed myself... The air temps was about -3ºF at the start and maybe about 4ºF when I finished... Luckily after the race was over I got to drive back to MN and see my beautiful baby girl and amazing wife...
Now we enter the 'sweet' part of the blog, more pictures of Eloise!
A good friend and photographer, Becca Sabot, came over to our house 2 weeks ago and shot some amazing images of our baby girl. We talked about a few ideas and then began moving furniture and staging things - Eloise was great but didn't exactly go along with our 'plans'... She must be taking after dad. For the shots that we wanted to do with her asleep she would wake up, and then when we tried to go along with her being awake, she would... Yep you guessed it, she fell asleep. At any rate here are some of the favorites!
Estes Park, CO - Owned and operated Lois H. Smith - Stoneware by Deneen Pottery
We are now in our second year of working with the Baldpate Inn and we are just into the heart of the busy season. Thing are going well... Really well actually:
"HELP! The mugs are flying off the shelves! We can barely use them in the restaurant we have sold so many!!! Can we get another order ASAP? I think you have already sent all I had on my January Pack & Ship order."
"I guess I should have realized these would sell so great, but just didn't anticipate the demand" wrote Lois in a second email after her next order of 350 handmade custom mugs was approved.
I've been waiting to find the next Innkeeper to interview and after hearing from Katherine Brown of Bloomsbury located in Camden, SC earlier this week I knew she would be perfect. In October of lat year we first talked about her property and our mugs and a few weeks later we combined a photograph of her property, and a drawing, by Randall Peterson, into this beautiful creation by Teena our Art Director.
At the start of the week I received a sorta tap-on-the-shoulder email that, more or less, hit me over the head and prompted me to see if Katherine would want to be the second official participant of our Innkeeper Q&A. "Good morning Niles - this is where you can share a 'great laugh' with everyone at Deneen Pottery! When we ordered mugs a few short months ago, it was primarily because I like them--I wanted to try them on our breakfast table. As it would never have occurred to me to buy a mug (with some logo) when I was traveling -- I rather dismissed when you said how well they sell. OK - I need to place an order. Quit laughing and tell me what you need." I don't mind being dismissed especially when I get to hear about it - That's why this statement is also on our testimonials page... It helps to look back at positive statements when you are having a rough day - And I figure if I keep stacking up the positive things that have been said, more will KNOW that we ARE the best at making Custom Stoneware Coffee Mugs!