Stoneware & Co Summer Gift Guide
Stoneware & Co pieces for everyone on your summer gift list!
Summer is a time of new beginnings — people move after graduation, they get married, and they purchase new homes. I feel like I’m always on the lookout for meaningful keepsake gifts, and I find myself, time and again, giving presents from Stoneware & Co. I especially like to give pieces from the Embossed Running Horse collection. The neutral tones and subtle pattern complement nearly any decor, and are a great way to add a piece of Kentucky heritage to a home.
I’ve teamed up with Stoneware & Co. to show you some of my favorite Embossed Running Horse gifts, and Stoneware has graciously extended a coupon code for HerKentucky readers. Use code SUMMERTIME at online checkout, in-store, or on phone orders to take 10% off your Stoneware order. (This offer is valid from today, Friday June 21st, through Thursday June 27th at midnight.)
Here are a few of my favorite Stoneware pieces for summer gifting.
For a first apartment or dorm room
The Embossed Running Horse Julep Cup Soy Candle is such a great present for someone who’s just starting out in their first apartment or dorm room. It’s a clean-burning candle AND a keepsake julep cup. I love using Stoneware julep cups as small vases for fun, informal flower arrangements.
For a first home
The Embossed Running Horse 1 quart bar pitcher and julep cups are such a lovely housewarming gift for the new homeowner. Whether they choose to serve lemonade or Manhattans, they’ll entertain in style!
For the newlyweds
The Embossed Running Horse Wine Cooler and Saucer makes the absolute best present, y’all. It’s not only an elegant serving solution for chilling wine (you can store it in your freezer ahead of time to keep your wine appropriately chilled!); it also makes a gorgeous vase for tall flower arrangements! This is such a great present for newlyweds!
For the home chef
If you’re giving a gift to a serious home chef this summer, I suggest the Embossed Running Horse Large Oval Platter. The serving possibilities are absolutely endless with this piece. I plan to use mine as an elegant way to present my next charcuterie board, and it’s always fabulous for serving main courses!
I love that Stoneware has been producing unique Kentucky pottery — made from local clay and hand-painted and -fired by local artists — since the early 19th century. I love to gift Stoneware because it carries such a lovely story and provides your loved ones with a true heirloom. Let me know if you’re giving Stoneware gifts this summer, and don’t forget to use the special coupon code! Use code SUMMERTIME at online checkout, in-store, or on phone orders to take 10% off your Stoneware order. (This offer is valid from today, Friday June 21st, through Thursday June 27th at midnight.)
HerKentucky x Louisville Stoneware Shop & Sip!
Shop with HerKentucky and Louisville Stoneware to benefit The Center for Women & Families!
So, my birthday is this Friday. Every year, I ask the same favor of my social media friends. If you were planning to text, Facebook, call, or send a card, please take that time instead to clean out a closet and donate a gently used coat to a shelter of your choice. It’s always a cold, cold week, and I just love the idea that my friends and I are spreading some warmth to those who need it.
This year, my friends at Stoneware & Co. (formerly Louisville Stoneware) are helping me celebrate my birthday with a fun shopping event that benefits some of Louisville’s most vulnerable women and children. This Wednesday, January 16th, from 5-7pm, I’m hosting a Shop & Sip at Stoneware to benefit The Center for Women and Families. 15% of the night’s proceeds will benefit The Center for Women and Families which provides advocacy and support for individuals and families affected by intimate partner violence and sexual assault. We’ll offer a raffle and light refreshments, and will be collecting new and lightly used coats at the door.
I’m so excited about our raffle prize — it’s a wine cooler in Stoneware’s elegant Embossed Running Horse pattern! This gorgeous piece is a $75 value and also makes a very elegant vase for showstopping centerpieces. I love how it was styled at a recent charity event I attended!
Visit the event’s Facebook invitation for more information. If you can’t attend in person, Stoneware has graciously extended the opportunity for y’all to make phone orders during the event hours. Call the Stoneware showroom at 502-582-1900 Wednesday from 5-7 to place a local pickup or shipped order, and your purchase will benefit The Center for Women & Families!
I hope to see y’all there!
Go Big Blueberry-Lemon Brie En Croute!
An elegant and easy game-day appetizer
Brie en Croute with Fond Originals Blueberry Lemon Jam. Stoneware & Co Hot Brown Plate, Pomegranate Inc UK Collage napkins.
If y'all are like me, you're counting the minutes until tonight's UK basketball game. It's the best time of the year and the 'Cats have been playing so well. You need a snack that's a little more sophisticated than hot wings or chips and dip. Well, here's the perfect treat -- it's quick and easy and so, so delicious!
You only need three ingredients: a wheel of brie, a sheet of puff pastry, and a jar of Fond Originals Blueberry Lemon Jam. Y'all, this stuff is so, so good. When Chef Madeline Dee, owner and executive chef at Fond, offered to send me a jar to try, I was so excited! Chef Madeline's tiny Frankfort Avenue bistro is already booked until after Derby! She must be doing something right! Just cover the brie in the jam, add to a defrosted sheet of puff pastry, and bake at 425 until golden brown. It's the perfect accompaniment to your March Madness enjoyment!
Vineyard Vines Christmas Mugs
Christmas mug collaboration between Vineyard Vines and Louisville KY's Stoneware and Co!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
Y'all, we're entering the dangerous holiday territory where I want to order something cute for myself with every present I purchase. Now, I promised myself I'd be good for the rest of the season and try to remember the spirit of holiday giving. But then I saw that Vineyard Vines and Stoneware & Company (formerly Louisville Stoneware) have paired up to make Christmas Whale Mugs! This is so awesome, y'all. I've been collecting Stoneware for nearly 20 years, and I absolutely love their mugs. My Pappy & Co and Derby Whale mugs are my absolute favorite coffee mugs... and I *may* have a few more Stoneware mugs. These are such a perfect size and weight. And, I probably do need one... And so do you!
Louisville Stoneware for Pleasant Hill Pottery
A few months ago, I won an Everything But the House auction for an amazing set of vintage Louisville Stoneware luncheon dishes and bowls. Now, I've been collecting Stoneware for as long as I can remember, but this is one of the most unique designs I've ever seen. According to the mark on the bottom of the pottery, it was made for Pleasant Hill. Of course, I knew that Pleasant Hill is the home of Shaker Village -- I certainly took in more than a few grade school field trips there -- but I wanted to learn a little more about the pottery and the Shaker Tree of Life logo.
The familiar Tree of Life on the front of the dishes was, of course, a variant of the orange-and-green logo that's represented Kentucky's Shaker Village since the property opened to the public as an inn and restaurant in 1968. A little more research told met that the stylized Tree of Life logo dates back to an 1854 painting by Shaker folk artist Hannah Cohoon. Mrs. Cohoon, perhaps the most famous painter of the short-lived Shaker religious and folk art movement, painted many variants of the Tree of Life theme. (For a fascinating take on Shaker iconography and art, read this New Yorker article.)
My research into this awesome pottery pattern got even more interesting when I posted photos of a piece to Instagram, and got some comments from an IG follower who works at Stoneware. She showed photos of the pattern and the branding marks to a longtime Stoneware painter, who dated these pieces to the late 1980s or early 1990s. How fun that social media, online auctions, and a little research could piece together the story of these fun dishes!
Louisville Stoneware Bachelor Button
The venerable blue and white Stoneware pattern has appointed homes for decades!
I think it's safe to say that I probably don't have a lot in common with Mamie Eisenhower.
Politics can be fun!
But, it turns out that Mamie and I share an everyday china pattern, Louisville Stoneware's Bachelor Button. Well, I use it now, and Mrs. Eisenhower used it in the White House in the 1950s, back when the Derby City's venerable pottery house was still known by the name of a previous owner -- John B Taylor -- and the pattern was called Cornflower. There's something pretty fascinating about a pattern that is as fun and timeless now as it was in the Eisenhower era.
The Bachelor Button pattern, created by artist Edith Ellis, is the quintessential Louisville Stoneware pattern. It's a favorite for Louisville brides, and always makes a perfect present. It's clean, simple, and elegant. And you never have to worry that your pattern will be discontinued.
Here's to the Louisville-based dish pattern that has appointed homes from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to my far more modest St Matthews address!
A Bachelor Button mug in production, Louisville Stoneware.
Shop Local for Valentine's Day!
Great Valentine's Day presents from local Louisville artisans!
Happy almost-Valentine's Day, y'all!
If you're still looking for an amazing gift for your sweetie, here are some absolutely gorgeous pieces made by local Louisville artisans that are fun, romantic, and unique!
Louisville Stoneware Mug
I debated putting this one on the list, because I want one myself, and I've heard a rumor that there are only a few remaining. But, these are absolutely the most adorable pieces of locally-made pottery! If your Valentine really, really loves coffee, this is the perfect gift. Available in-studio only at Louisville Stoneware.
Anchal Project Scarf
The Anchal Project is an AMAZING Louisville-based company that trains and employs former sex workers in India to create stunning, one-of-a-kind textiles. I had the good fortune to hear Anchal founder Colleen Clines talk about empathy a few months ago. After watching her speak, I'm OBSESSED with Anchal and their mission!
Elva Fields Necklace
Elva Fields is one of my favorite, favorite local companies. Owner/ designer Emily Wheat Maynard is one of the sweetest ladies you'll ever meet, and she is crazy talented. She scopes out lovely antiques and one-of-a-kind gemstones to make every piece an experience. Check out this Elva Fields necklace and this necklace!
Cellar Door Chocolates
This may be my all-time favorite take on the perennial "sweets for your sweet" gift. It's Phoebe Buffay's lobsters, reimagined in locally-made chocolate.
Just as a reminder of why this is so awesome,
A piece from Cuteopia!
Revelry Boutique Gallery in NuLu has some of the most fabulous pieces every day, but their Cuteopia exhibit is over-the-top fabulous. Who could say no to these declarations of love?
Here's to a perfect Valentine's Day with your sweetie!