Philadelphia Pottery

Brochure + Pricelist

2012-01-24T20:45:00.002+02:00

Please note that the doorknobs and the tiles
are now R25 and R20 each.

Pictures of the items on the pricelist can also be
located by going to: Homepage / Items for sale /
Raku & pit firing. The codes are on the bottom.

Do not worry about the "Raku etc" but I am unable
to change the titles.

More pictures

2011-02-28T23:16:00.001+02:00

Kitchen Tea - paint parties

2011-02-25T23:44:00.002+02:00

This year I have been quite busy with groups coming to have their "kitchen tea party" at the studio.

It is actually so much fun and the bride-to-be gets these lovely personalised presents, decorated by her friends.

Sanlam Customer gifts

2011-02-25T23:36:00.002+02:00

We worked our butts off for a whole month to complete an order for Sanlam. So glad that some of the big companies are supporting the small craftsmen. Thanks Sanlam.

New sculptures

2011-02-08T23:27:00.003+02:00

They were really "talking" to me while I made them. I had no idea, except that I wanted to put these limbs on the wall.

Afterwards I liked them so much, I did not want to sell them but 2 are gone already.

Students Evening

2011-02-08T23:14:00.002+02:00

Twice a year we have a "student's exhibition". They bring all their pieces back from home (those which they kept for themselves) for the evening.

We all invite friends and family to come and have a look at what we were up to during the past few months. This was held in Dec and we had over 50 people here.

Pit-fire

2011-02-08T22:59:00.002+02:00

We had quite a successful "pit-fire" evening recently. After 2 weeks (2 classes) of burnishing the end product was worth it. I actually felt sorry for some because if you are not used to it, it can become a very painful, tedious and lonely task.

Students do a "Horsehair Raku" firing

2010-08-03T23:26:00.002+02:00

Last week we eventually had our "horsehair raku" session. Hopefully, now that they've experienced it, they will be more eager to do some burnishing of pots.

We also do these sessions as teambuilding exercises for groups, so please spread the word around.

MY NEW "chocolate" RANGE

2010-08-03T22:54:00.002+02:00

This is the latest from my studio! It is 2 coloured clays that are mixed and the result is that you can NEVER get 2 pieces the same.

The way that the clay "flowed" into each other makes you feel like licking the piece just to make sure it is not made from ice cream or something.

They came out of the kiln last week and my customers loves them! I've got no more mugs left, so guess what I'm doing for the next 3 weeks.

James busy with his pots

2010-07-26T23:25:00.003+02:00

Here we can see James in his element ... when he can be busy with his big pots.

Played around with slips on some of them.

Unfortunately one of the big pots broke at the bottom while we were manouvering it into the kilns. Lesson learned .... always use a strong bat underneath whenever you are moving pots around.

Student exhibition

2010-07-26T23:16:00.003+02:00

It was the student's turn to show off their handwork and artistic skills. We decided to have a bread and soup evening and invite a few friends and family.

The studio was converted into a showroom with all the tables being used as exhibition areas. We made space for the kids and they all got a small vase to paint ..... it kept them occupied for quite some time. Herewith a few pics of the tables.

Local school

2010-07-26T23:05:00.002+02:00

It was that time of the year again when I get the grade 4's in for a few classes. They were very proud of their own "pinch bowls".

Commission

2010-05-17T23:12:00.002+02:00

The other day my sketching was tested when I had to make a platter and draw all the places the couple visited recently.

Managed to take photo before it was fired. I gave it to the client without taking an "after firing" photo.

But I must say, the plate actually came out very nice.

Morne's Party

2010-05-17T22:49:00.002+02:00

The past weekend we had a painting party at the studio for about 30 people. It was the biggest group I ever had and although I did not have enough chairs everyone managed to find a spot and be creative.

The food was excellent and so was the wine. At the end it was a lovely day.

Next time I will post some pictures of the before and after items.

Olive Festival in Riebeek-Kasteel

2010-05-17T22:33:00.004+02:00

We were invited to exhibit at the wine farm, Allesverloren, during the recent Olive Festival.

Poor James worked his backside off with all the kids queing to have a session on the wheel. It was the 1st time we've done something like this and I think it worked very well. We will definitely do it again even if it it is just to make people aware of what clay is about.

Even had a few people asking us to do this at kids' parties, so give us call and we will go out to your place and teach the kids to work with clay!

Student's work

2010-05-17T22:19:00.003+02:00

Here are some items the students made during the past 2 months. The courful plate had some glass beads melted in.

1st firing

2010-05-13T00:43:00.002+02:00

This is some of James' items of his 1st firing.

James

2010-05-13T00:20:00.003+02:00

James is an old hand at potting and he is working with me for the past month.

He is throwing pots and giving my students a tremendous insight into using the wheel. My classes never included any wheelwork but it became an integral part of the evening classes.

Here you can see some of James' work which was made from clay he dug & mixed himself. His agateware is something to see!

Playing with moulds

2010-05-13T00:13:00.002+02:00

My landlord's mother used to make some porcelain dolls in her past but the moulds have been lying in a garage for the past 10 years. I got my hands on a few of them and are now enjoying myself as you can see.

Kitchen-Tea

2010-05-11T00:22:00.004+02:00

Also in Feb. A group of friends came together to celebrate the bride-to-be's kitchen-tea here at my studio. It was quite hot that day so every now and then the guys went for a breather (or smokebreak) outside.

The whole idea was to create a personalised set of crockery for the bride-to-be as a wedding gift. It was a lovely day and judging by the results the bride will always remember that friend when she use a particular piece.

Just can't manage to upload the pics I received from one of the participants, sorry

Painting Party

2010-05-11T00:13:00.003+02:00

Had a few girls in Feb to celebrate a birthday in a creative mood.

All the pieces were later given to the birthday girl as a present.

Our holiday

2010-03-15T21:56:00.004+02:00

We went to Keimouth in the E-Cape to my friend Charl son's christening.Spent 2 fantastic weeks there and then we all went to Hogsback and Aliwal-North.

It was truly a holiday that we will remember for a long time. Glad my ribs are feeling much better after I broke 2 during a fishing expedition .... late at night.

X-Mas party

2010-03-15T21:33:00.003+02:00

It was time to go on holiday! ..... and we had a braai to celebrate.

Unfortunately I will have to work during the following 2 weeks but will be dissappearing when Patricia comes back from her leave.

It was also the last day of Ilze who decided it was time for her to go and open her own studio. Thanks for your support during the years and I wish you all the best.

Jade on the wheel

2010-03-15T21:11:00.003+02:00

I can't believe it was so long since I've updated my blog.

Must say, the X-Mas markets kept me working like crazy

These pictures were taken in Oct already when my daughter Jade, and a friend David, were on the "wheel" for the 1st time. They really enjoyed it.

Darling Voorkamerfest

2009-09-09T22:31:00.004+02:00

Spent the weekend in Darling, exhibiting at Evita's Perron, during the Voorkamerfest. It went very well and hopefully I will be there again next year.

We made a series of stickpeople all related to something about Darling .... needless to say, I sold them all.(before I had time to photograph them!!).

Tour visit us

2009-08-11T23:26:00.003+02:00

We had the pleasure to host Carol Coombes, from Travel Time, and her group of 30 ladies for the day in Philadelphia. Twenty of them took up ceramic painting and we hope that they enjoyed it so much that we will see them again soon. Enjoy your pieces of art, ladies!

CCDI Trade Fair

2009-08-04T22:40:00.003+02:00

Were invited by the CCDI to participate with 19 other crafters to hold the first Trade Fair of this kind.

My stand looked quite good and I got orders from 2 new shops.

Fine Arts class

2009-07-08T22:25:00.001+02:00

Leonie Brown gave her painting class in the pottery studio to a few ladies from Malmesbury.

The great thing about it is that I can then sit in and try my hand at painting as well. My painting is the one in the centre with the dark border.

New Brochure and Route

2009-07-08T22:11:00.000+02:00

Jill launched a lovely route and it is brilliantly displayed in her new brochure.
We had several visitors already and the "treasure hunt" is quite a hit.

Hopefully all the B & B's will have this map on their notice boards.

For more info see: www.capecountrycalls.co.za and make sure to participate in the "treasure hunt".

My Week magazine feature

2009-06-14T22:28:00.001+02:00

We were fortunate to have a 2-page feature about our little town, Philadelphia, appear in the Apr 2009 edition of the My Week.

It was well done and thanks to Karen from My Week for such an honest and nice article about the town and it's people. We had people coming in here, who lives in Durbanville (25km away), but never knew there was a place called Philadelphia on their doorstep.

We have a whole lot of new visitors who are becoming regulars after the article.

New showroom

2009-06-14T21:41:00.001+02:00

This is the reason why I did not spend much time on my blog! I moved my little showroom to a room adjoining my studio and the art gallery. I just love it! It is quite spacious ...... and I built those shelves myself!

School Project

2009-06-14T21:36:00.000+02:00

The students with their glazed pinch-pots.

Local School

2009-06-01T22:48:00.000+02:00

Had the opportunity to teach 27 local school children something about clay. It was the 1st time for all of them to be inside a pottery studio.

The 1st day they all made some pinchpots. Last week they glazed it and this week we are taking it out of the kiln.

Kickwheel

2009-03-18T23:52:00.000+02:00

Received a pottery wheel as a present the other day. Thank you Loamie and Aletta.

P.S. now I have to learn how to use it, but I'm looking forward to master this gracious tool.

Top Billing program

2009-02-16T10:26:00.000+02:00

The plates which I fired appeared on the Top Billing program last week. Herewith some pics of the plates.

Top Billing

2009-02-09T11:24:00.001+02:00

I recently had the opportunity to glaze and fire a few well-known artists' paintings on ceramic plates, for the Top Billing team. This will feature in Feb sometime and I will post some pics as soon as the program featured.

Thank you Top Billing for the nice letter.

Feature in the "My Week" magazine

2009-01-21T23:45:00.000+02:00

Thank you to the guys from the magazine "My Week" for the write-up they had about us. Quite a few people came in and mentioned that they heard about us due to the article.

Tuesday eve class

2009-01-19T10:57:00.000+02:00

Last week I started with a Tuesday evening class as well and I'm looking forward to spend the next 6 months with them. There is place for another 2 students, so contact me asap.

The Thursday eve classes started off with slipcasting and 5 out of 6 attended. We are looking forward to a great 2009.

Took some time off

2009-01-19T10:38:00.000+02:00

We spend 4 days in a tented camp near Paternoster, on the West Coast.

It was a very relaxing break. Jade really enjoyed herself, running around and playing in the tents until late at night. She does not like to shower so we had to improvise. Nothing was more than 20m from the bar, so guess where we spent most of our time.

Ceramics SA Regional Exhibition

2008-12-19T07:23:00.000+02:00

Visited the Regional Exhibition at Rust en Vrede Gallery recently. There were some really nice pieces and it was definitely worth the visit. As usual there were the not so nice pieces which came through as well.

Just wish they would clarify the criteria on which they base their selection, as I saw some very nice pieces on the selection day, which did not make the selection.

Interior group teambuilding

2008-12-12T23:48:00.000+02:00

Chris brought his colleagues from work to spend a day in Philadelphia. After a drive on the back of a farmers truck onto Koeberg they came to glaze some ceramic pieces. They all work for an interior company and there were some nice and interesting pieces.

Potters Market

2008-11-24T11:00:00.000+02:00

The twice yearly Potters Market was held this weekend in Rondebosch as usual. Apart from the light drizzle (and a lady who made us pack away alot of items for her shop, which did not pitch to collect or pay) the market went well.

We had a lot of people promising to come and visit our studio in Philadelphia .... most people did not even know where Philadelphia was.

There were some lovely pottery available and alot of value for money items. It seemed that the prices came down from last year.

For all the supporters, we say thank you and see you again at the next Potters Market in Mar'09!

Woodfire Jamboree

2008-11-12T21:58:00.000+02:00

Together with 23 other potters (some from as far as Pretoria) I attended the yearly woodfire jamboree in McGregor. There were 3 kilns in operation. Two of them we lit on Fri afternoon and the kilns could only be opened on Sun. Stoking the fire was a thirsty job and we drank plenty of local red wine. Each day was a wonderful experience with 2 demonstrations per day by different potters.

Team building

2008-10-19T22:49:00.001+02:00

The ladies from Cargill Flavor Systems decided that their team building exercise should involve being creative. None of them had any previous experience in pottery and we decided to do a Raku firing. They could choose their own bisque ware to glaze.

It was a lovely day, the firing was successful and the girls had a good time. Thanks Cargill.

RAKU Firing

2008-10-13T22:36:00.000+02:00

Hazel, a potter from Melkbos, brought her students for a Raku demonstration. They made their own pots but glazed it here. What was supposed to take us a morning took us a whole day due to a couple of extra firings.

I got some beautiful coppery colours on the pots and we had only 2 broken pieces. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the girls were so eager that there were always more hands than necessary, to throw sawdust.

It was a lovely day and they are all coming back for another firing!

Art class

2008-10-13T22:24:00.000+02:00

Once a month Leonie Brown, a proffessional artist from Melkbos, are giving art classes in Philadelphia. She used my studio and I had the oppotunity to participate (... and learn a lot). Thanks Leonie.

In the meantime The Jan Brand Band had their debut at the Pepper Tree. Would love to see them again.

RAKU firing demonstration

2008-10-06T21:37:00.000+02:00

Hazel, a well-known potter from Melkbosstrand and her students have been preparing pots for the past month for a Raku fire.
I will hold the Raku firing on Fri, the 10th, at my studio and the students will glaze their own pots and do a Raku for the 1st time. Will keep you posted with some photo's.

New shelves and sign outside

2008-09-26T23:25:00.000+02:00

A new cabinet with lots of shelves gave the showroom a new facelift and the wooden sign outside was made from scrap pieces of wood lying around.

Summer classes

2008-09-21T22:25:00.000+02:00

Please note that the evening pottery classes will start on 07 Oct. E-mail me for an application form.

Philadelphia/church Basaar

2008-09-08T10:18:00.001+02:00

The yearly church basaar is probably the biggest happening in Philadelphia.

I've never seen so many cars in town. The fresh produce and the food was sold out very quickly. The basaar starts at 18:00 and by 20:00 all was over.

Just think what it can do for the town and the few shops if the basaar are held on a Saturday and the tourists can actually explore the town as well!

Explosion

2008-09-03T23:28:00.001+02:00

A bit upset with myself.

This is what happen when (1)you do not prepare the clay properly or (2) work the joints not properly in or (3) in too much of a hurry to get the pieces bisqued.

In this case I did all 3!!!

Small things!

2008-09-01T10:01:00.000+02:00

Made some small things and what a delight. The people love them! We call the flowers our own "Philadelphia daisies" ..... people do not have to drive up to Namaqualand to see some lovely daisies, haha.

Peter Beard Workshop

2008-08-25T14:26:00.000+02:00

It was a privilege to see Peter, the well-known UK potter, at work during his workshop at the Rust-en-Vrede gallery over the weekend.

Such a down-to-earth sculptor, with a keen interest to share his methods and recipes to all. This workshop makes a visit to his website http://www.peterbeard.co.uk/ even more interesting.

Art Gallery visit

2008-08-21T23:05:00.000+02:00

The Tulbagh artist, Vasek Matousek held an exhibition at the Rust en Vrede Art Gallery in Durbanville during the past month and I was so impressed, I had to go see it twice.

His ceramic sculptures are absolutely brilliant. See more pics on www.rust-en-vrede.com. Or for directions to his own studio vist www.tulbagh.com.

Ceramic painting party

2008-08-18T14:40:00.000+02:00

Cornelia and 13 of her friends celebrated her birthday on Sat and invited them all to a ceramic painting session.

They could choose from a wide variety of bisque ware i.e. milk jugs, cups, eggcups, vases, animals etc. Each kid had their own tray with under-glaze. The session lasted about an hour with some kids craving to paint another product or wanting to paint the tiles they were working on .... maybe tiles will be a very good option next time. They were all so engrossed with their own pieces of art, that you could hardly believe there were 14 youngsters in one room.

Website is up and running!!

2008-08-12T21:50:00.000+02:00

My website is finally up and running and Ben, from www.thepixelhouse.com , did a great job.
It is more of a photo album of the products we make. It makes it easier for art galleries and shops to see and select products without me having to pack and unpack ALL my products for a visit.
It's been a whole month since I took any photo's of new products, so be assured the site will change alot soon.
Please visit www.philadelphiapottery.co.za.

New artist exhibit

2008-08-08T00:19:00.000+02:00

AJM a photographic artist from Melkbosstrand are now exhibiting some of his work in the gallery at the pottery studio.

It seems that the photo's and the ceramics are complementing each other naturally. Well worth a visit!

New week, new shelves

2008-08-05T23:05:00.000+02:00

Just a few new pics of the showroom.

It actually looked like this at the opening party. Tomorrow is bisque firing day.

From warehouse to Pottery Studio

2008-08-03T00:22:00.000+02:00

This warehouse was the greasiest a place I've seen in a long time but being situated next to an art gallery and restaurant, and in the small but most beautiful little village called Philadelphia, it seemed like the obvious choice to have my pottery studio.

It took me a whole month to clean and set up shop!

The official opening took place last night and what a party. Met some great people from town and there was close to a hundred people the evening. People and friends from all over .... Blaawberg, Cape Town, Melkbos, Durbanville, Stellenbosch and even Pretoria. The mould maker, canvass makers, other potters, painters, musicians, interior decoraters and art lovers created such a wonderful "creative buzz". Over 50 meals were served by the Pepper Tree restaurant and the pub was kept busy until the wee hours.

Now, the work starts!