Holiday Pottery Fest Fun For All

Ephraim collectors from coast to coast gathered in Lake Mills (WI) the first week of December for the 10th Annual Holiday Pottery Fest. First-time Fest attendees came from as far as California, Texas and Pennsylvania for three days of opportunities to get some great pottery and make new friends.

The Fest kicked off on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009, with our first-ever Glaze-Your-Own-Pot Workshop. The Ephraim glazers, led by John Raymond, instructed participants on basic glazing techniques, and then participants got to glaze their own pot. By all accounts, the workshop was a great success and we hope to be able to repeat it in the future. The generous patronage of our workshop participants allowed us to donate $1000.00 to the Lake Mills Food Pantry to help feed the hungry in our local community during the holidays. Thank you to all who participated. Click here for more about the workshop.

A selection of the experimental ornaments and miniatures that
were available at Friday's sale.

Another first this year was the Experimental Ornaments and Miniatures Sale. Collectors packed the demonstration area of the EFP studio on Friday morning for their chance to purchase unique experimental ornaments and miniature vases. Attendees entered their names prior to the start of the sale, which was held by random drawing. The sale continued in rounds until all of the pieces had been sold. The feedback on this new event was overwhelmingly positive and we have received many requests to repeat it next year.

Late Friday afternoon, attendees headed over to the Lake Mills Community Center for the Sale Preview. All of the experimental pieces that would be available at Saturday morning's sale were on display, as were numbers 1-25 of the Winter Holiday Series Ornament Trio. Digital cameras were out in force as collectors took photos of the pottery to use for reference during their evening strategy-planning sessions. While the main attraction was definitely the pottery, attendees also got to enjoy light refreshments and gift bags provided by downtown Lake Mills merchants.

On Saturday morning collectors gathered at the Lake Mills Community Center for the main event - the sale of experimental pieces and Ornament Trios. They were able to look over all of the pieces while enjoying brunch provided by EFP. Attendees also got to witness the unveiling of the pieces from Thursday's Glaze-Your-Own-Pot Workshop - see photos here.

As the preview ended, Kevin Hicks welcomed collectors and explained the sale process. A volunteer from the Lake Mills Food Pantry also spoke, thanking us for the donation and talking about the organization's programs. Marilynn then confirmed all of the entered buyers' names, and the sale began! We had a great turnout with several buying rounds and lots of happy collectors. We also had a lot of positive comments about the Lake Mills Community Center as the venue for the event, and we hope to be able to hold the 2010 Fest there.

We'd like to thank everyone who attended this year's events. We hope to see you all back again on December 3rd and 4th, 2010!