How to Set a Table

1. First, decide on whether you would like an elegant/formal presentation versus a casual one.  This will affect which dishes you will use and what you will accessorize with.
2. Decide which dishes to use.  We here at Jean Elton Studio are trying to create dinnerware that can be used for casual and formal table settings.
3. Match the dishes with a tablecloth or placemats.
4. To dress up your Jean Elton dinnerware (or any dishes that you choose to set), add some of your fine china, crystal, and/or silver flatware.  To keep it casual, accessorize with pewter or stainless steel flatware.
5. Remember, forks go on the left!
6. Find matching napkins.  To make the table more interesting, add napkin rings, or fold your napkins in clever ways.
7. Accessorize with other fun items like individual salt/pepper shakers or miniature flower arrangements at each place setting.  In the evening, add tea lights to make a warmer setting.
8. Finish with a centerpiece to match your theme.  Remember it doesn't have to just be flowers or a plant!  It can be a matching dish with a candle and greens around it, or a bowl of fruit.

Find creative ways to set your tables and take pictures!  We'd love to see them.  Or if you are out of your own ideas, copy some of our's from the gallery below.

Making of Square Plates

This movie was filmed in Jean Elton Studio and shows the whole process of making our square plates, from making the mold in the beginning, to glazing in the end. These plates in particular were made informally for an executive education class at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.

The Evolution of Painted Bowls

When asked why she started hand-painting her large ceramic bowls, Lois remembers a conversation she had with a fellow ceramic artist at the Rosen Show in Philadelphia several years ago.  "The woman had hand-painted her bowls and was selling like crazy," Lois says.  They got to talking and Lois mentioned how much she admired her work, while lamenting her own lack of drawing skills.  But the woman encouraged Lois to begin painting.  And that's how it began!  That's when Lois started painting plates; she liked it so much, she eventually graduated to hand-painting all her work!Browse the gallery below to see the evolution of her painting prowess on her large bowls.

The New Wall-Hangings

Wall-hangings are not a new idea to Jean Elton Studio.  In fact, we've been creating wall-hangings for years!  But you might be surprised at how much they've changed recently.

If you are unfamiliar with our larger wall-hangings, take a look at them on our website.  The wall-hanging you see there is a four-piece, three-dimensional wall hanging measuring 22" high and 52" wide!

But recently we have started creating much smaller wall-hangings like the one you see to the left, for those of you who may not have nearly 5-feet of wall to spare!  Interested in how they are made?  Keep reading!

As with many of our hand-crafted ceramic art, the wall-hangings begin with a slab of clay.

The slab of clay is then cut into smaller pieces and placed on plaster bats.

Next, we hand-stamp each piece of clay with any number of phrases.Here are some examples.(We do take custom orders!)

In order for the wall-hangings to remain flat, we have to cover them with another flat, plaster bat while they dry.  When they are completely dry, they are fired in a bisque firing.  Then comes the fun part: painting!

Next, we sprayed them with a transparent glaze so they would be shiny and then fired them again.  Here's the finished product, not including the one you will find as an April item on our website!

And there you have it!  As previously mentioned, we do take custom orders, but even if you're not ordering, we welcome ideas for words or phrases you'd like to see on a wall-hanging.  So leave them in the comments, or you can always find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Profile: Adriana Valenzuela

Adriana Valenzuela is a jack-of-all-trades in our pottery studio!  For the past four years, she has worked with Lois Barker on producing everything from mugs to large bowls.Adriana was born in Mexico City and moved to America 12 years ago with her husband and son.  Her mother, brother, and sister continue to live in Mexico and she visits them every chance she gets.Two years after moving to Connecticut, she met Lois at a nail salon.  Their friendship bloomed through the years.  Says Adriana, "She saw me when I was invisible... Now she's my boss, my friend, my mentor, my teacher, and I'm so glad I met her, she's like my angel."When asked what is her favorite part of working in the pottery studio, she can't decide!  She loves everything, she says, especially being able to work with a close friend.  And of course, she is a big fan of her Jean Elton dinnerware and uses them often, especially when she has company.Today, she is helping in the glazing process, helping to clean the glaze from the bottom of bowls, as you can see in the picture below.  It is an important job, because if the glaze is not removed from the base, it will melt in the firing and the bowl will stick to the shelf and will be unusable.

You can see more of Adriana in this video, where she is expertly trimming and cleaning up plates before a firing. Look for more of her in videos to come!

"We were pleasantly surprised to find a firm like Jean Elton..."

Remember The Making of the Mugs video?  We mentioned that the order of mugs was for a corporate gift, but neglected to mention it was for a company called Coalfire.  We wanted to share this email from the CEO and co-founder of the company, Rick Dakin:

Jean Elton is a “throw back company” that reminded me of a time when all American businesses focused on customer service and quality.  Our experience in designing, ordering and delivering unique corporate gifts for Christmas 2009 was extremely positive.As a small business, we thought we could only afford to go into a mass market catalogue and buy gifts for our valued customers.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a firm like Jean Elton that dedicated the time and skill to design and develop a piece of corporate art at a price we could afford.  Obviously, we are more than pleased with the quality and value of our purchase.We received so many thank you cards from our customers this year because we took the time to give them something that they understood was a unique piece of corporate branded art.  The Coalfire mugs look great and are functional.  We will definitely be back for Christmas 2010 gifts.Thank you for treating this small business with the care and dedication that allowed us to make a difference with our customers.Rick DakinCEO and Co-founderCoalfire www.coalfiresystems.com

Ceramic Jars: From Blue to New!

For years, I've been making these little ceramic jars and glazing them with one color or another.  They have never been a big seller like our dinnerware, but they are a fun little item.  Just a few days ago, however, I asked myself why I had never tried to hand paint one of the jars, like I do the plates.  So I decided to try one.  Suddenly the hand-painted jars are getting so much attention!  See the picture below and tell me what you think!  

This jar is on special offer from now until the end of March for anyone who is a fan of ours on Facebook, or a follower on Twitter!

A Note of Thanks

Hi Lois,Thanks to Jean Elton for your generous donation to our school auction. We are so grateful to have one of your beautiful vases to offer. Trying to fund artistic programs is difficult these days to say the least. We are so fortunate to have businesses such as yours who care about the children!Stay tuned for more information after we hold our event. We have many wishes for our Greenspace Art Center and you will help them come true!Thanks again.Ty MurrayPTC Co-chairMt. Holly Elementary SchoolMt. Holly, VT

What is a pugmill?

You've heard us mention using our pugmill.  You've even seen pictures of us using our pugmill. But what exactly is a pugmill?

A pugmill is essentially a machine that mixes materials with a liquid.  In pottery, it can be used with clay to achieve the consistency that you are looking for.  It is helpful because it means that leftover clay need not be thrown away, but just stored for later use.  When stored for any period of time, the clay will start to dry out.  Thus, a pugmill is used to mix the dried out clay with water to make the clay soft and workable again.In our pottery studio, we always have a huge pile of clay leftover from our projects, whether from pressing, building large bowls, or working on the wheel.  So some days become "pugging days".  Pugging clay doesn't take long, but we allow each batch about 15 minutes to churn.  You wouldn't think it, but the pugmill can hold 4-5 bags of clay!

Then depending on how dry the clay is, we'll add several cups of water.

Next, we close the top, flip the lever to "mix", and let it do its thing!

Finally, after we've allowed ample time for mixing and churning, we flip the lever to "extrude" and out comes the newly softened clay!

If the clay is soft enough, it is ready to be used again.  If not, it can be put back through a pugmill cycle.

March Featured Items

As it is the first of the month, we have added some new featured items to our website!  If you've been following us on Facebook or Twitter, you would have seen many of the items on there in the process of being made.  If not, check out the following gallery for before and after photos of some of our March Featured Items.  Not all of the "before" pictures are the same piece as the "after" picture, but we hope it gives you an idea of the process.