offcntr | May. 9th, 2026

So many mothers and their children at Market today, mostly daughters, though a few sons. And a very few Dads and children shopping for mom. All delightful... I featured several pictures of mother-and-child critters on my Instagram. My favorite? The killdeer mama and chicks, one peeping out from under her breast, the other boldly exploring the world on its spindly legs.

Had a number of people stop to tell me how much they loved their mug/plates/bowls. How they used them every day. More than one told me they were my "biggest fan." One bought a French butter dish--they'd been looking for them all over. Another brought in her friend, visiting from Chicago, who bought a pair of stew mugs to take home with her. Yet another, who'd got a mug at Holiday Market, tracked me down on the park blocks. She was looking at an orca stew mug, but wasn't sure; inventory showed I had the pattern on a tall mug, which turned out to be the perfect choice.

A couple of young women video-chatted with a third one while showing her every hen and rooster piece in the booth. Turns out they live in New York city, and space is at a premium, so they were determining what they had room for in their tiny apartment. The decision finally went to a hen and rooster soup bowl--they stack so compactly. [ETA: Actually, as I did the bookkeeping this morning, realized they'd gotten the mugs instead, which are smaller, but don't store so compactly. Oh well.]

Had a couple of fun interactions with kids. The first, a little girl in gold sweat shirt and pants completely covered in leopard spots. I showed her the cheetah mug, said, It's you! I love cheetahs! she replied. Then there was the little boy with the toy spinosaurus who discovered the dinosaur banks. Particularly loved the stegosaur; well, so do I.

Had a guy looking around the booth with a tiny pig tattoo on his left biceps. I showed him my pig with piglets dessert plate, made him laugh, then realized it wasn't just any pig: It was Waddles, from Gravity Falls. When I said, It's Waddles! he laughed and showed me the matching tattoo of Gompers, the goat, on the other arm.

Hat of the day: a ball cap with a shark's head, nose up, with the words Dun, Dun underneath.

At the very end of the day, a young couple stopped in. Said I'd sold them a set of soup bowls, fox and hare, perfect because they matched the set of tattoos on her shins. She was wearing long pants today, but had her shirt rolled up to show an elaborate henna tattoo on her very pregnant tummy. He picked out a lamb toddler bowl for her while she was next door at Jesse's booth, but put it back in the stack and told her to come over and make her choice. Sure enough, she picked the lamb again, and I wrapped it up and wished her a happy Mothers Day.

Back in the studio this week, starting another production cycle. I was down to 300 lbs. of clay, and Clay Art Center said they'd be shipping in two weeks, so I started with things that were more time-intensive that clay-hungry. Oval platters. Stick butter dishes. Colanders. Gravy boats and tiny cream pitchers. A short run of big serving bowls, six-pounders, because I have an order for one, and only have two more in stock.

And then they delivered a ton of clay on Tuesday.

So I can dive into the big orders--40 more mugs for Great Harvest Bakery, probably 60 tall mugs for me, casseroles, cookie jars, lots of soup bowls and dinner plates. Painted mugs, dessert plates, all the bits I'll need for Roseburg the end of June. Here's some of what I've made.