How to Write a Mission Statement

Developing a mission statement for a company that has been in business for over 30 years is quite a challenge!  But that's just what we have done in the past several months. Here is an overview of our process and the mission statement with which we ended up.

1. What is a mission statement? We reviewed the definition of a mission statement to make sure that everyone involved knew what we were looking for.  Thanks to BusinessDictionary.com, we know that a mission statemtent is a "Written declaration of a firm's core purpose and focus which normally remain unchanged, whereas business strategies and practices may frequently be altered to adapt to the changing circumstances."
2. Brainstorming. Next, we had a brainstorming meeting and invited people who had been involved in Jean Elton at one time or another throughout the years.  During that meeting, we examined various mission statements from companies similar to ours in size and industry.  Then everyone took some time to list words and phrases that they thought described Jean Elton and were central to its purpose.  Next, we answered some essential questions about Jean Elton.  Some examples include, "What need does the company fulfill?" and "How do we differ from our competitors and what is our competitive advantage?".  And finally, everyone put together a mission statement using various descriptive words and answering the most important questions.
3. Party. After the brainstorming meeting, we had a dinner party for more people that played some sort of role at Jean Elton, plus the people from the original brainstoming meeting.  In this way, we could gain some new insight on our original ideas and discuss further descriptive words and phrases.
4. A Collaboration. After the meeting and party, we took all of the most important ideas and merged them into one cohesive statement.  This took on many forms before we finally settled on the statement below.  We hope that it makes it clear who we are and what we are about.

Jean Elton Studio & Gallery is a stoneware pottery company committed to creating functional and decorative dinnerware and home decor from our studio in Fairfield County, CT. The ceramic products in our ever-evolving product line fuse artistic design and practical durability. Our custom work celebrates the collaboration of artist and client on a journey to inspire and delight, and to create one-of-a kind objects pleasing to the eye and to the touch.

Why Stoneware?

At Jean Elton Studio, we work exclusively with stoneware and have for over 30 years.  We love stoneware because of its durability in every day use, as well as the ability to dress it up for more formal table settings.Stoneware is so durable because it is made with clay and then fired at very high temperatures.  We fire our pieces at over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit!  Like its name implies, the resulting material is like stone: hard to break and waterproof.  Many of the dinnerware that you can buy at big box stores are made of another type of porcelain dinnerware and tend to break more easily.  Like Lois says, "While we believe they are of better quality, safer, and better designed than many of the imports currently available in the marketplace, we hope you will want to own them because you love the way they look and feel!"On a personal note, as the daughter of "Jean" and "Elton", I grew up using their stoneware dishes.  In my nearly 30 years of interacting, using, cooking with, and cleaning their dinnerware, I have only ever broken one bowl!  And on that occasion, I had mistakenly slammed it against the dishwasher as I was unloading it.  I can testify that, as well as being beautiful, their products are durable and will last years and years.

Hand-Painted Mugs

Sometimes when I'm between projects, I try to come up with new ideas for our pottery.  A couple weeks ago, you saw the evolution of our large bowls through the years.  It seemed like such a big jump when I started hand-painting our bowls with so many different colors!  From there, I started hand-painting everything!  But only this past week did it occur to me to hand-paint our mugs.  The picture above shows the first ever Jean Elton painted mugs and I am so excited about them that I will probably keep them in my kitchen for myself.  But even if someone didn't want a whole set, wouldn't just one be a fun gift?

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!