Happy holidays to our ceramic savants! 

As the weather grows chillier and we crank up those space heaters, we also crank out that pottery. We know you’ve worked hard this season for markets, holiday gifts and everything in between. We just wanted to remind you that you’re amazing and doing beautifully! We believe in you! We love getting to supply our customers with only the best supplies, and know they’re churning out their best work.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

We have an EKW (Electric Kiln Workshop) coming up! These workshops are excellent for learning more about how to properly approach your electric kiln. The cost is $75 or free with purchase of one new kiln from Stone Leaf Pottery in the last two years! One kiln = one EKW.

Saturday, December 7th, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

Saturday, January 11th, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm

Sign up at the front counter, order online or give us a call! If you’ve purchased a kiln, you’re still required to officially sign up in order to be a part of the workshop.

Here are our December specials!

CLAY OF THE MONTH

White Bear by Kentucky Mudworks, $1.14/pound up to 100#

$28.50 per bag

‘Tis the season to throw with gorgeous white clay, and do we have the perfect clay body for you! White Bear is an incredibly smooth-bodied, plastic clay. It throws like an absolute dream. If you’ve ever worked with KY Mud’s iconic Brown Bear, White Bear is simply its white-as-snow counterpart! The whitest mid-range stoneware known to man, and bears, and a perfect match for those who prefer a porcelain style stoneware. White Bear also has stellar glaze compatibility, with a wide-range of glazes that look great on it. We recommend this to throwers over hand-builders as its plasticity is best enjoyed on the wheel!

Check out this great Instagram post by Kentucky Mud on their improved White Bear formula!

TOOL OF THE MONTH

Fill the Stocking!

Another tradition we love to share with our customers! We have a (ceramic) Christmas stocking and most tools that fit in the stocking are 10% off in December.

There are a couple of rules:

1. The tools must comfortably fit in the stocking completely. This means, you can’t crumple or crush items into fitting within the stocking. The whole tool must fit and not be sticking out of the top.
2. Most tools are available for this special but there are certain lines we cannot offer discounts on. Inquire at the front desk for more information.
3. Tools only! No cones or refractory or underglazes, etc. You get the idea.
4. DiamondCore tools are not included with this special.
5. You can only fill the stocking once. Feel free to fit as much as you can (see rule #1) but you can only utilize this special once, so make sure you get all the goodies you can when you use the stocking stuffer special!

GLAZE OF THE MONTH

Amaco’s Golden Honey, 10% off

$20.93 per pint

This December we have Golden Honey as our glaze special! A soft, buttery glaze for the stars on top of your trees, or a perfect accent color to your evergreen pieces. Semi-gloss warm yellow, mid-fire Golden Honey is a translucent glaze like whipped honey. It breaks lighter on texture, a richer color where thick. Golden Honey layers well over AMACO Celadons, other Potter's Choice and Satin Matte glazes! A new glaze to Amaco’s stoneware line, don’t miss out on grabbing a pint today!

Need some inspiration? Check out this great layering post on Facebook!

Now, for Ingrid’s TIP OF THE MONTH! 

This tip is necessary for potters: protect your plumbing.

“Wherever you make pottery, chances are, you have put clay down your pipes. If you do that long enough, trouble ensues. I protected my plumbing by pre-rinsing all my tools in a bucket of water. I did a final rinse at my sink. When I began teaching classes in my studio, it clogged my plumbing. Unless you never wash your tools in a sink, and always dump the water outside, eventually it does affect the traffic flow in your plumbing.

At home we have a section next to our driveway that is covered with rocks. That’s where I dumped any water I wanted to dump. (I also saved throwing water to recycle clay scrap, so not all of it was dumped.) Unless zero of your cleaning water goes into your drain, you may want to consider installing a Gleco Trap or some other type of sediment capture device. They will have to be emptied periodically, because as the name states, they do trap things from going farther into your pipes. You install them under your studio sink. They are commonly available at pottery supply stores. We sell Gleco Traps at Stone Leaf Pottery too.

We don’t recommend putting food down the same sink you clean your pottery tools in if you have a sediment capture device. Adding food scrap to clay will exponentially increase the mold growth that naturally happens in clay, and the sink can stink quite a lot. Having a frequent cleaning schedule will help avoid this problem. In the meantime, if you need 5 gallon buckets to pre-rinse your tools or to help reprocess your clay scrap, they are commonly available for free from grocery stores that have bakeries on site. Just ask at the bakery when you are food shopping if they give away their empty buckets and lids. Make sure to bring your own box or trash bag to prevent batter or frosting from getting into your vehicle. Also ask at Stone Leaf. Sometimes we have buckets and lids to give away.”

DECEMBER PUBLIC EVENTS

There are so many fantastic markets this season, but I’ve gone ahead to highlight a few!

We have the Olde Town Arvada Winter Market! Join in the fun for Saturdays with Santa & the Holiday Winter Market on December 7th, 14th, & 21st from 11:00am - 3:00pm. There will be a gorgeous collection of art available for sale!

The Making the Space: Holiday Market will be on December 14th, 3:00pm - 9:00pm. Come visit for the local vendors, games, art, apparel, baked goods and more!

The Holiday Makers Market is on December 14th - December 15th, 12:00 - 7:00pm at MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater. Check out a slew of handmade art, as well as enjoy music and holiday activities!

The Holigay Market is an incredible market that will be on December 8th - December 9th, 11:00am - 5:00pm at the Town Hall Collaborative! This market showcases both well-known and lesser-known artists and will have an amazing variety of work for sale.

Want more information on more markets happening in the local area? Check out this website!

We’re so excited for Clay Con West in January in Utah! Don’t forget to sign up and check into plane tickets!

YEAR END HOLIDAY CLOSURES

Closed for Holidays 12/22 - 1/1/25

Reopen Thursday 1/2/25, regular hours

FINAL NOTES

Also, please be aware that during the freezing months, we cannot accept returns on clay or liquid chemical products such as wax resist. As much as we wish we could take back that half-frozen bag of B-Mix, we can’t repurpose it.

As the weather starts ramping up, we encourage our customers to check our social media (Instagram, Facebook) for any late openings or snow days announcements. On snowy mornings with a regular opening, we may be out clearing snow and might not be able to answer the phone. Don’t fret, we’ll return your calls in a timely manner!

That’s all for now! Happy holidays, dear friends, and we look forward to seeing you around the store.

Elise and the Stone Leaf Pottery Crew

Follow us on social media, Instagram @stoneleafpottery and Facebook Stone Leaf Pottery!

All Clay of the Month purchases are limited to 100# of clay. The sale price is valid only in December 2024 and not combinable with other discounts.

It's not uncommon for us to run out of the clay (s) of the Month, so we always suggest you shop early in the Month to ensure the clay is in stock. Also, when purchasing Glaze or Tool(s), or Equipment of the Month, again, it's limited to products on hand. So, if we don't have it when you shop, come shop with us again soon! We replenish our shelves constantly—we'll hopefully have more soon! Got more questions about how this works? Please, please reach out to us!