The Mt. Saint Helens vocano ash mug

Here’s a new mug handle design that is actually an old mug handle design.  I used to make a lot of these “loop mugs” when I first started making pottery for a living back in 1978.  It’s got a really comfy grip even though it looks kind of clunky.  They are for sale in my online store.  This mug handle was a mainstay in my pre-Wally reduction glaze line (1978 – 1984).  A really interesting artifact from that era are the “volcano mugs” that my wife Lori and I created back then.  Lori’s father grew up in Castle Rock, Washington and his family farm was flooded the day after Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980.  That year, he gave me some coffee cans filled with ash from this eruption, and the pure ash made an excellent cone ten glaze.  Lori did the artwork on the outside of the mugs and we sold them at craft fairs for years.  I’m guessing we produced about a hundred of them over a period of three years.  Thank goodness I kept one for posterity!

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3 Responses to The Mt. Saint Helens vocano ash mug

  1. Cindy Bower says:

    I’ve still got mine – and it’s personalized! Your mugs always have the most functional handles, Tom, retro or current. Thanks for a walk down Memory Lane.

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