It started when I was unpacking my car at the hotel in Fairford. A woman walked up to me and asked, "Do you blog?" How weird is that?! She is a quilter who enjoys reading the Maverick blog ring.
The next morning we left at 0500 in a 16 passenger van with lots of space for shopping...we used every inch of it! Seventeen hours and countless bags of junk food later we were in Poland. Our main purpose of the trip was to visit the potteries. There are a lot of potteries there. In our first day we visited at least a dozen stores - I lost count. I lost count of a lot of things - like how many cups I bought, how many boxes of pottery the driver loaded in the van with my name on it, and just how much I spent. I'm calling it pottery amnesia.
In some ways it was a lot like fabric shopping. There are so many beautiful patterns and so many of them mix that putting them together was similar to pulling pieces for a quilt. My favorite purchase is the 6 mugs each with a different design to use on a mug tree.
I also really liked our visit to a tiny pottery workshop where they had many unique pieces. They also were very nice about letting me take photos in their work areas. I love to see how things are made! The photo below shows one of the drying racks stacked with pots. After they air dry they go to the painting room.
Here are some waiting to be glazed/painted.
Below are some items that have been painted and are waiting to go into the kiln. It is interesting to see how different the glaze is prior to being fired. They look very pale and dull...
After the firing they are very vibrant! I can't wait to make some soup for this tureen!
Last trip they found a store that sold fabric that went with the pottery but we couldn't find it this trip. Guess I will have to get creative when I make my table runners.
I'll post some of my photos of Prague tomorrow. Need to finish unpacking an do laundry! (don't you hate that part of traveling?!)
17 comments:
What an amazing thing to happen and very lucky you.
I love the colours.
Mum goes to Poland every other year for the Arab Horse Shows. She's always going on about the pottery and now I know what she's talking about.
Oh man! How fun is that?!? I LOVE pottery! They make quite a bit of it in my home state of WV. And I have always wanted a soup tureen! But it would have to be a VERY large one for me- big enough for eight...wonder how much that would cost? So I keep dreaming. Thank you for all the pictures- I was a sucker for the Mr. Roger's show when my children were little- especially when he had a clip about how things were made. Those blue patterns are just so charming. Glad you got a bunch to take home with you!
Did you have an candy/chocolate while in Poland? Some of the best I've ever had came from one of the nurses here at hospital- she is Polish and hands out candy if you are very good and your diet allows! "Praliny" she called it. Mmmm.... chocolate and vodka cream- I seriously doubt there is any achohol content left in them, but it sure was a treat!
And how wild that someone recognized you from your blog! You're famous! Hope you have a great week!
That blue and white pottery is gorgeous - not disimilar to Desvres china in Northern France but slightly more concentrated on the blue - and of course the beauty of driving over is you can bring back so much more than by plane
You've got groupies, Sio! lol How fun was that!
Love the pictures! Glad you treated yourself to the trip, as well as the purchases!
ooh look at you...miss famous! You must have felt like a celebrity being recognized as a top blogger :o)
Sounds like you had a fab trip.
Sounds like you had a great time! You certainly needed the van for all that shopping ;O)
I love Polish pottery! My DIL did the trip to Poland while they were stationed in Germany. She has tons of it! I bought some in Germany and I love it. My DH is a potter and has a dark blue glaze that coordinates well with the Polish stuff, so has made lots of go-with items for DIL. How great to get to see the "behind-the-scenes" stuff! It looked familiar! That sounds like a killer trip, but how cool to be recognized by "your public". You must have been thrilled. ;) BTW, I found your blog thru Pam-Purple Quilter and Lazy Gal Quilting. Come see my blog if you have time: www.indigothreads.blogspot.com
That looks like so much fun. I'm sure you only bought the things you ABSOLUTELY couldn't live without.
So pretty! Love that pottery! I saw a big display of Polish pottery of all places...in Pike Street market in Seattle!
wheee, so much fun. first off, hope the fellow quilter lives in the area and wasn't just visiting. that trip sounds amazing and look at those goodies. that tureen is gorgeous.
Thanks for taking us on a tour of the potteries in Polland! The blue and white pottery is beautiful! What fun it is to run into another blogger. It is a small world after all!
Funny, I JUST got back from my excursion to the potteries at StokeOnTrent. Guess what was on my wishlist? A soup tureen. Found a "blank" at Spode that I think is gorgeous.
At the Burleigh factory tour we got to see how they print thier earthenware via the copperplate method. Fascinating! They were wonderful and I got some great pictures of all that pottery and how they make it.
I think my stars were lined up just right with yours--that I could spot you unloading your car in Fairford still just makes me grin. I hope to keep reading (hah! you called it "lurking") about your quilting/life adventures. You go girl.
That pottery is fabulous. And what a great trip. I am glad you were able to go. It appears that you had a great time and made some wonderful purchases. Way to go, girl!
How funny is that?? I was recognized at a quilt show in Wisconsin last year - I actually looked down to see if I was wearing a name tag. Since I usually try to only post flattering photos of myself I was surprised someone actually recognized me in person!!
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Look at all that gorgeous pottery! Oh man, I would have spent so much money! I just loved those shelves of pottery!
Hi. What wonderful pictures. I have an Eastern European food site on About.com -- http://easteuropeanfood.about.com -- and I would love to review some Polish pottery. Can you hook me up with manufacturers I might contact? Thank you. Beth Peterson, our guide to pottery on About.com referred me to you. Her site is http://pottery.about.com.
Your Poland and Prague trips bring back wonderful memories for me. Having been stationed in Germany for the better part of the last 12 years, I've been to both places on multiple occasions and have a hutch full of Polish Pottery. I've never been brave enough to drive so long though -- we maxed out at 7 hours. I was recognized once in France by a Norwegian blogger. The internet sure makes the world a small place. ;-)
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