Pottery – The Goods

Comments of the Week

November 4, 2011

Our Uncommon Ceramics Design Challenge semi-finalists are now up for community voting, and we’re already getting some amazing feedback!

We love that our community is weighing in with their votes and comments to help us pick the winner of a $500 prize and the opportunity for a vendor contract with UncommonGoods.

To start the comments roundup, we’re pleased to share posts from Chelsey and Giraffe, who each mention the amazing technical skill illustrated by Kyla Toomey, who entered her Button Series.

Our next voter didn’t love a design in our voting app, but the reason was more aesthetic. While Katie’s not a fan of the Teef Mug, Kim sees the humor and gave it a thumbs up.

We’re glad Ginny Waters’ design is making you smile, Kim!

While Katie gives “creepy” a thums down. Another semi-finalist, The Blob by Nereida Trujillo got an up-vote from Tasha for being a bit risqué.

We love to see our voters sharing their unique viewpoints! We welcome your opinions, and we can’t wait to see what else you have to say about our Uncommon Ceramics Design Challenge semi-finalists. Visit our community voting app before November 9 to cast your vote!

Design

Quiz: What’s Your Design Style?

October 4, 2011

Sure, over the years you’ve developed your unique fashion sense.

But do you know what your interior design style is? These six images represent the work of some of our favorite pottery and ceramics designers. Pick the one that best matches your aesthetic, and see if you can match each picture with the designers and their signature styles, listed below!

Match each image with the corresponding description. Need a hint? Click on each artist to see more of their work.

1. Sleek and modern (Elan McPherson)
2. Organic and sculptural (Daina Platais)
3. Layered and mysterious (Whitney Smith)
4. Quirky and natural (Michael Terra)
5. Textural and timeless (Alice Goldsmith)
6. Subtle and clever (Jono Pandolfi)

So what’s your design style?

Maker Stories

Terra-bly Delightful Design

September 22, 2011

Ed. note: Next month we’re hosting a ceramics design challenge here at UncommonGoods, and we can’t wait to see all your beautiful, clever and unique creations. But ceramics can be a somewhat broad category. If you’re wondering what sorts of product entries we’re looking for– well, would it be fair to say everything? We love pottery and ceramics– plates, cups, vases, decorative objects, all of it. Especially pieces that make you start talking. And there’s no doubt that Michael Terra’s designs are conversation starters.

If you’re a frequent reader of our blog, check out our product stories, or subscribe to our emails, you’ve probably noticed that we don’t shy away from wordplay. So, when we heard that ceramicist Michael Terra’s new products were taking puns to the another level–the third dimension–we couldn’t resist.

“I like looking at what everyone else is doing and then look in another direction and look at what no one else is looking at,” Michael explains. “I love puns at any time, and as I was thinking about word conversions I realized that there was a multiple way of seeing/hearing the sounds of language that we use everyday.”

His Writer’s Block and Ceramic “Reading” Glasses play on the multiple ways we see and hear language.

Maker Stories

Pillow Talk

September 19, 2011

Ed. note. We’re pleased and excited to announce that Jono Pandolfi will be a guest judge for our Ceramics Design Challenge, coming soon. If you have dreams of selling your pottery or ceramics on UncommonGoods.com, get ready to enter!

A few years ago, Jono Pandolfi was working with Chef Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park, an upscale restaurant on Madison Avenue in New York City, collaborating on ways to present the food to accentuate its delicate nature. Although he was hard at work on some abstract designs, when the Pillow Plate popped into his head, he knew he was on to something.

“I pretty much abandoned all of the other ideas at that point, because I knew that the pillow would be perfect for what he wanted to do,” says Jono, who works in porcelain, ceramic, and silver in his New Jersey studio.

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