Some people wait all year for the Black Friday sales. I wait for the holiday pottery sales. Just as September always feels like the beginning of the year to me because of the start of school, the holiday season starts off with pottery sales. I hosted a sale for decades but always managed to get to some of the others. Now the season is here – the clay sales have begun!
at the PMC show earlier this month
The PMC (Philadelphia Museum Craft Show) has come and gone (it was a beauty this year) and every weekend from now until the end of December, there will be wonderful exhibitions and studio sales of ceramics and other media all across the country. Not only do you get to see and buy pots but you also get to meet and chat with their makers!
One of my favorite shows (and these are really exhibitions as well as sales – a chance to see new work as well as buy it) is the annual invitational Old Church Pottery Sale in Demarest, New Jersey. We have been going for more than 25 years and a number of our favorite pots were purchased there, including some early Ayumi Hori mugs, Bernadette Curran tumblers, Silvie Granatelli bowls and Matthew Metz cups. This year a number of young potters will be exhibiting there and I can’t wait to see their work!
Of the many terrific group shows I can’t get to this year but wish I could, the 16 Hands tour that takes place this weekend in Floyd, Virginia seems particularly appealing. And I would love to peruse Art Providence and the Foundry Show in Pawtucket the 2nd weekend in December. I have listed below the group sales I know about but there are certainly plenty more. If you have favorite potters, contact them to see when their sales are or in which group shows they will be participating. Many college and university ceramics departments hold holiday sales as do clay galleries, both brick and mortar and online. If only we could get to them all…..Happy hunting!
Society for Arts & Crafts in Boston
- The Clay Studio, Philadelphia “Gifted” started November 6th and runs through January 3rd
- Archie Bray Foundation Holiday Sale, Helena, MT – November 15-December 23rd
- Northern Clay Center Holiday Sale, Minneapolis, MN – November 19th-December 30
- Wesleyan Potters Annual Sale, Middletown, CT starts November 23rd (Black Friday competition)
- 16 Hands Studio Tour, Floyd Virginia – November 23rd-25th – 4 stops with 9 artists
- Objective Clay Annual Holiday Sale online at objectiveclay.com– November 26th at 12pm-December 14th
- KC Clay Guild Holiday Pottery Sale and Studio Tour, Kansas City, Missouri – November 30th-December 1st – 13 stops with over 50 artists participating
- Art School at Old Church Pottery Sale, Demarest, NJ – November 30th -December 2nd
- Foundry Artists Association Holiday Show, Pawtucket, RI – November 30th-December 2nd and December 7th-9th
- Highland Park Pottery Tour, Pittsburgh, PA – December 1st-2nd – 6 stops with over 17 artists
- Art Providence, Providence, RI – December 8th-9th
- San Diego Pottery Tour, San Diego, CA – December 8th-9th – 8 stops with over 30 artists
- Tampa Tour De Clay, Tampa, FL – December 8th-9th – 5 stops with 16 artists
- Craft Boston, Boston, MA – December 14th-16th
(A little consolation if you can’t get to some of the shows or miss the pieces you desire online – there will be another batch of sales around Mother’s Day).
A terrific blog archive for pottery resources. Thank you – I always get something from your blog!
Thanks, Connie! I so appreciate your support.
I like your pottery best!
Aw, shucks. But really – there is amazing work being made and these shows are a chance to see/buy some of it!