Members of the Brantford Potters Guild have been busy preparing for its annual fall pottery sale to take place at the Woodman Park Community Centre from Friday, December 1 to Sunday, December 3, 2023.
The fall sale, previously known as the Christmas sale, has been running for over 20 years and is a chance for shoppers to check out both their favourite potters and new-to-them ceramists.
This season’s sale will feature around 41 artists that will be set up around the centre’s gymnasium. From mugs to plates, serving dishes, and more, there will be a variety of items for shoppers to browse.
“There’s really something for everybody,” said Louise Harvey, a member of the guild’s sale committee. “There’s little ornaments and trinkets, there’s huge sculptural pieces and serving ware. There’s everyday dishes, vases, buttons, pins, and jewellery, there’s even some whimsical trees, and gnomes. That’s what so cool, is that with 40-plus different potters, the selection really is endless and it’s just phenomenal what the artists come up with.”
Harvey is also this sale’s featured artist and will have her pieces showcased at the entrance.
“I’m so excited and very humbled but I’m also bordering on terrified because my stuff will be right there when everybody comes in the door,” she laughed. “You can’t help but think ‘do I have enough pieces? how is it all going to look? do I have to change my tablecloth? or should I paint the tree that holds my ornaments?’ Then you start looking at all your other pieces and you wonder ’do I want to add to this? or maybe I can make another one of these,’ so there’s all these things to think about so you don’t fade into the background, but I’ve been working extra hard to push myself.”
She noted that to become the featured artist, the guild often looks at who has already been featured, as well as if the ceramist has a cohesive collection that is up to guild standards.
“Another thing is that we try to pick somebody whose work fits the theme of the sale,” she said. “So, if someone has a more floral look, they may be picked for the spring sale, or in my case, I do a lot of snowflakes, ornaments and Canadian forest creatures like deer, moose and bears, so it’s more of that wintery look.”
The annual fall sale also has several giveaways including two $50 gift cards that can be entered to win on Facebook and Instagram, as well as door prizes during the event.
For those interested in attending the event, the sale will run on Friday from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
