November 2002
Vol. 4 No. 4

Special Holiday Shopping Issue

Poinsettia Vase next in Winter Holiday Series
Third annual Holiday Pottery Fest
Shopping for EFP this holiday season?
The next best thing to EFP pottery and tile
Don’t miss out on the 2003 Collectors’ Calendar
EFP welcomes 2 new staff members
Year-end retirement
Wishing you warm holiday memories...

PLEASE NOTE: The Poinsettia Vase is SOLD OUT.

We were so gratified by the response to last year’s first-ever holiday piece, the Mistletoe Bowl, that we decided to launch a new Winter Holiday Series of limited edition pottery reserved exclusively for collectors. The second piece in this series, the new Poinsettia Vase, is shown below. This limited edition will consist of 50 numbered pieces.

The Poinsettia Vase was designed by EFP’s talented sculptor/potter, Laura Klein. The vase stands approximately 11” tall. A beautifully sculpted poinsettia flower, glazed in shades of white and red,  graces the top rim.  The poinsettia leaves and the body of the vase itself are glazed in our rich Leaf Green glaze. The effect is striking, while still evoking the peace and serenity of the holiday season.

The Poinsettia Vase will be introduced to collectors at the Holiday Pottery Fest on Saturday, December 7 (see story below). The first 25 pieces in the edition will be made available to collectors attending the Fest. The remaining pieces in the edition may be purchased  from Dovetail Antiques in person or by phone (608-764-1454) beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT on Sunday, December 8. A shipping and handling charge will be added to phone orders.  Please note: No pieces in the edition will be pre-sold.

We hope you’ll take advantage of this once-a-year opportunity and add this rare and beautiful piece to your collection.

You are cordially invited to attend EFP’s third annual Holiday Pottery Fest at Dovetail Antiques on Saturday, December 7. Please join us for a day of great holiday shopping, special promotions, and general merriment. Here’s just a taste of what we’ve got planned:

• Special signed collector EFP logo tile (yellow) free with purchase to the first 50 buyers

• First chance to purchase a limited edition Poinsettia Vase (see story above)

•  Once-a-year artist signings

• Drawing to win a coveted EFP studio tour (you must be present to enter)

• Hot cider and cookies

• And of course, other surprises!

Hope to see you at the Fest!

If EFP pottery or tile is on your gift list this year and you haven’t placed your order yet, don’t despair. Even though it’s too late to order directly from us for delivery prior to the holidays, there are ways to find that special piece and get it wrapped up in time for the holidays.

Call our company store.

Dovetail Antiques in our hometown of Deerfield, Wisconsin, carries our full line of pottery and tile and will be well-stocked for the holidays. Check their web site, dovetailantiques.com, or call them at 608-764-1454 to see if they have the item you want in stock. Pieces can be shipped anywhere in the U.S. Dovetail is also the exclusive source of our limited edition Poinsettia Vase (see article above), as well as our reduced-price seconds and irregulars. Store hours are Thursday-Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 11-4; messages can be left at any time, or e-mail info@dovetailantiques.com.

Shop your local retailer.

EFP pottery and tile is available  through nearly 200 fine retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada. To locate a retailer near you, go to the “Locate a Retailer” page of our web site, www.ephraimpottery.com/locate.htm. Can’t find a retailer? Call us at 888-704-POTS and we’ll try to help.

Check retailers’ web sites.

Even if you don’t have an EFP retailer in your area, our “Locate a Retailer” web page may be helpful. You can click the links to surf the sites of stores that may have the piece you want in stock. Most will be happy to ship items to you.

Call us at 888-704-POTS.

We’ll do our best to help you find what you’re looking for!

You’re probably thinking, “What could be better than Ephraim pottery and tile?”  Well, nothing, really. If you haven’t ordered your gifts yet and can’t find them through our company store or another retailer (see story above), the next best thing is an EFP gift certificate. Gift certificates are available in $20 increments, and are redeemable on catalog orders placed directly with us. Your gift recipients will have a full 6 months to decide what wonderful piece of EFP they would like to add to their collections.

It’s easy to order an EFP gift certificate. Just call our office at 888-704-POTS between 9-5 CT Monday through Friday. Simply give us your billing information and the name and address of your gift recipient, and we’ll take care of the rest. Reflecting your good taste, your gift certificate, showcased in a forest green card with gold accents, will arrive in the recipient's mailbox in a parchment envelope. 

EFP holiday gift cards are another great gift-giving option. We can send a card with a photo of the piece you’re giving, along with your personal message, directly to your gift recipient. Simply ask for one when you place your order.

EFP will be offering our beautiful Collectors’ Calendars again this year. Measuring 4 3/4” wide by 5 3/8” high, these conveniently-sized calendars take up minimal space while providing maximum visual impact.

Each month features a beautiful full-color photo of an Ephraim pottery or tile collection.  Many of the photos were taken by last year’s photo contest winners and runners-up. The Collectors’ Calendar is a great way to bring a little bit of your passion for Arts and Crafts pottery into your office or work space.

Supplies are limited, so please  call 888-704-POTS soon to order yours. The cost is $11.95, postage paid (WI residents add 5.5% sales tax).

EFP is pleased to welcome 2 new members to our studio family: Jana Mirs, Sales and Customer Service Manager, and Ken Nekola, potter.

The departure in August of Wendy Krueger, our Coordinator of Daily Operations, gave us the opportunity to reorganize some responsibilities. We separated the shipping and customer service/sales responsibilities of Wendy’s former position and created a new Sales and Customer Service Manager position. As Sales and Customer Service Manager, Jana Mirs will be responsible for customer service, orders, some shows, and sales. Hers is now the pleasant voice you hear at the other end of the line when you call our office.

Kevin Hicks, potter and studio owner, has taken over the coordination of studio work flow, order fulfillment, and shipping. To ease some of the strain on Kevin, we were fortunate enough to be able to hire an excellent potter, Ken Nekola. Ken has 25+ years of experience as a potter and comes to EFP not only with a wealth of experience, but also with a stellar reputation. In fact, when Kevin was a still a potter-in-training, he worked alongside Ken and learned many valuable potting skills from him. We’re confident that you’ll like Ken’s pots as much as you like Kevin’s and Laura’s.

You can read Jana's bio on line now by clicking here. We’ll share more information about Jana and Ken in the next issue of News From Ephraim.

As 2002 draws to a close, so does the production of 8 more EFP vases. Orders for these pieces must be received in our office by noon CT on December 31, 2002. Don’t get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and forget this deadline—mark your calendar now!

If you’re an Ebay junkie, you know that the value of retired EFP pottery continues to increase in the secondary market. With the way the stock market has been going this year, investing in art, including Ephraim Faience pottery and tile, remains an attractive alternative. Why not invest in something that beautifies your home as well?

Click here to view photos and prices of the pieces currently being retired.

...like these, shared by the EFP staff.

"Several years ago, I went to visit my relatives at my grandmother’s house. As we all sat around figuring out something fun to do, my aunt suggested I build a snowman. Flattered by the suggestion, my uncle and I began to build. Once we had enough snow I wanted to keep going...so I did! On paper, I designed a Santa with a child on his lap. After about 8 or 9 hours and several different relatives later, he life-size Santa with

Jesse's snow Santa.

child was completed with colored lights and paint!!! Unfortunately, the next 3 days were warm, so it didn’t last too long."       -Jesse Wolf, decorator/sculptor

"Christmas morning was magical at the Triggs' house. My mother is an artist and also very crafty. Most of the presents were made, some were placed under the tree unwrapped. The tree's lights were on when we awoke, and the table was set with hard candy, oranges, apples, and Christmas cookies. The smell of coffee filled the air as we woke our parents up at the crack of dawn. I still remember the angel candy she always put out - I never was able to eat it!

My son Sean said to me one day that he can’t wait for Christmas. ‘I wake Liam [his brother] up, then we look at presents, then we wake Mom and Dad up, but Mom has to make her coffee before we can open presents.’”
     -Laura Klein, potter/sculptor

“After years of staying in the cold and snowy Upper Midwest for winter holidays, my family drove to Florida to visit relatives. The highlight of the trip was spending December 25th at a nearly deserted state park, where huge Live Oaks draped with Spanish moss overhung the sandy beach along the edge of a clear, spring-fed lake. We alternately basked in the sun and frolicked and swam in the cool water along with fish and turtles.”
     - Jana Mirs, Sales & Customer Service Manager