Few things can catch a snack thief red-handed as efficiently as a freshly painted crimson cookie jar. Keep track of your sweet stock with today's Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of handcrafted clay stoneware at Louisville Stoneware.
Since 1815, Louisville Stoneware's artisans have been transforming natural stoneware clay, harvested from deposits in Kentucky and Indiana, into elaborate table fixtures through an awe-inspiring series of crafting techniques. Twenty pairs of skilled specialist hands conspire to mix, form, and paint each functional art piece before professional fire tamers arrange finished items in the factory kiln, which reaches 2,350 degrees to melt glazes into a glassy, durable surface. Tableware such as the 11” Bachelor Button rimmed plate ($35) elegantly showcase gourmet meals or tidy up sloppy joes, and outdoor pieces such as the Komen Fairy Hollow birdhouse ($65) dress up gardens while benefitting Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Collectibles celebrate the equestrian history of Kentucky with hot-beverage-holding Derby City mugs ($24), and KFC embossed salt and pepper shakers emblazoned in the colonel’s likeness ($45) pay homage to militant poultry.
Louisville Stoneware
One of the oldest stoneware manufacturers in the United States, Stoneware has been dedicated to the tradition and careful craftsmanship of transforming clay into enduring, functional art for the home and kitchen since 1815.
On the Stoneware Art Factory tour, follow the steps of more than 20 skilled artisans who take the clay from raw form to completed piece. Pick from a wide selection of pottery pieces and use the same tools and glazes as Stoneware’s artisans, to decorate your own masterpiece. Once complete, your piece will be glazed and fired by Stoneware staff. After its time in the kiln, it’ll be ready for pick-up in about 7 to 10 business days. Allow 1 to 2 hours.
Located in Louisville, Kentucky the art factory in the Paristown Pointe neighborhood offers tours twice a day Monday through Friday and a paint your own pottery experience and retail store Monday through Saturday.