Howdy, fellow ceramicists and craftspeople! As we approach the excitement of springtime, we look forward to seeing all of your lovely faces in our store this month.

If you’re interested in participating at future workshops hosted by Stone Leaf, feel free to reach out to Ingrid for more information! Shoot an email to info@stoneleafpottery.com subject line: “Ingrid inquiry.”

We're VERY EXCITED that a member of the Laguna Clay Company's Glaze Team will be joining us in April for a glaze class. For over 20 years, Ingrid's students have been using and playing with Laguna glazes. Join us for a few hours in "glaze world" exploring Laguna's extensive glaze line. Time & Date TBD for April 2023.

The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) is hosting their annual conference coming up the week of March 13th! Stone Leaf Pottery will be attending, which means a reminder to our customers: we appreciate your patience! Our staff will be limited during this week, so we hope you’ll understand we’re working to get you what you need with the best of our ability.

If you’re a fan of Slabmat and plan to attend NCECA, good news! Stone Leaf’s booth will officially have Slabmat available this year. We hope to see you there!

Be sure to check our social media for snow and weather closures. Our Instagram and Facebook accounts are listed at the bottom of this article. Depending on the level of snowfall, we may have staff available to help, albeit a small number due to travel constraints. We strive to keep our customers and staff well-informed and safe during the snowy March and April months.

Interested in starting a career at Stone Leaf Pottery? We’re hiring! Feel free to send your resume to our info email email to info@stoneleafpottery.com subject line: “Resume.”

Now, onto the specials. We’re continuing to feature the favorite clay, glaze and tool of a Stone Leaf staff member every month! For March we have Sophia, an owner of our store and studio.

CLAY OF THE MONTH

Los Altos by Laguna

The Clay of the Month special price is $11.75 per bag up to 100# (after 100#, order from here: Los Altos)

Sophia’s favorite clay, Los Altos, is a cone 10 that fires to a rich orange-brown. Slightly rough in texture, it’s a beloved go-to for those who enjoy both hand-building and throwing with an extra bit of umph. While our customers who enjoy more buttery clays may shy away from the medium-coarse description, Lot Altos’s 60 mesh sand allows for great structural ability without worry of sharp grit against your hands. Those who throw with Los Altos tend to love both the process and the final product, as well as how vibrant white, green and blue glazes react against the body. In standard and reduction firings, small specks of orange appear on the clay, giving it an altogether warm look.

Los Altos is a cone 10 favorite of Stone Leaf’s, and we’re over the moon to offer it to our customers. Grab a bag today!

(The image above is an example of Los Altos from Pinterest!)

GLAZE OF THE MONTH 

Textured Kiwi glaze by Spectrum

$13/pint

If you’re a fan of green glazes, get ready, because Sophia’s favorite glaze is the mid-fire Textured Kiwi pint, on sale while supplies last! Textured Kiwi is a Spectrum delight, with an array of verdant reactions that require no extra layering for interesting results. Its pigmentation comes out layered with other commercial glazes and entirely on its own! Brighter on white clays versus dark, it’ll quickly become a regular favorite in your workshop. I recommend experimenting with fluxes on top of Textured Kiwi, but whether they’re Mayco, Spectrum or Amaco fluxes, be sure to make test tiles first! And if you receive cool results, shoot a photo to our info email so we can learn more about them! Medium to light green at its thinnest, blue-speckled at its thickest, Textured Kiwi brings forth a new realm of possibilities in your glazing world.

Interested in seeing Textured Kiwi glaze combinations? Check out this suggestion from Instagram!

TOOL OF THE MONTH 

Mudtool’s Mudsponges

Mudsponge: White - $8, Blue and Orange - $6

If you haven’t tried Mudsponges, you’re in for a ride. Sophia’s favorite tool, the Mudtool Mudsponges, have been recommended to our customers since we started selling them. An essential tool, Mudsponges are halfway between a rib and a sponge. The Mudsponges have a shammy-like texture that are used for both fine work or generalized sponge needs. The White’s tight-cell structure ensures it won’t pull out any silt or materials from the clay while working with it. It can be a valuable tool in any clay scenario. The Orange Absorbent is the perfect throwing sponge, even more absorbent than the White Finishing. The Blue Workhorse is our all-purpose Mudsponge, made for lots of use without fail. MudSponges are made of a biodegradable, environmentally friendly material that is incredibly durable.

Some reminders for our customers:

Snow days! Please be aware that during the winter months, we may have weather closures. Our first priority is staff and customer safety, so if it’s looking like the roads are perilous, we want you to know about it! Be sure to check our social media, website and voicemail for weather-related schedule changes.

If you require our firing services, give us a call and schedule a firing appointment to drop off your pieces! We now have a $2.50 surcharge for not having an appointment, so calling ahead both ensures staff will have time to check your pieces in, and you can avoid additional fees.

And, a spot of news:

SlabMat will officially be available at NCECA in the Resource Hall. Find us in Cincinnati the weekend of March 17th. Swing by and say hello, we look forward to seeing you!

Any further questions about our specials? Inquiry at our front desk during regular business hours, our staff are happy to help!

That’s all for now, folks! Happy potting, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

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 March 2023 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!