Red Wing Pottery Road Show once again proves that there are still new pottery discoveries.

Red Wing, Minn. – Red Wing Collectors Society (RWCS), RWCS Foundation, and local RWCS Chapter, Cannon Valley Red Wing Collectors Club were once again shown that undiscovered Red Wing Pottery is still hiding in closets and basements.

The 2^nd Annual Red Wing Pottery Road Show was held Saturday, May 16^th at the Red Wing Pottery Museum. More than 75 people brought 50 pieces of Red Wing stoneware, dinnerware, and art pottery for our experts to evaluate and answer questions.

This year’s show brought to light new finds – stoneware, dinnerware and art pottery – something for every collector’s interest, especially our experts. The stoneware experts, Larry Peterson, Wayne Bell and Dave Hallstrom, saw great examples of Red Wing salt glaze, advertising, and sponge ware. Larry Roschen, Ivy Loughborough and Todd Hintz, dinnerware experts, examined several unique finds including a juicer with cup, lunch hour chop plate and one piece from a 1941 Orleans dinnerware pattern set still in the box – including the straw from the factory. A lamp with hand-painted art, piano planters and “the Suitor” figural, cold painted (painted after firing) in bisque were noted as the most interesting pieces by our art pottery experts, Mary Bang and Bonnie Myers.

“It was so exciting to know that there are still so many great examples of Red Wing out there waiting to be discovered!” said Stacy Wegner, executive director, RWCS. “I hope that each person felt they learned more about their piece of Red Wing!”

Like last year, dinnerware and stoneware shared the show jaw droppers. Stoneware expert’s attention was immediately grabbed by a 5 gallon scratched Albany slip jug double-handled and double-stamped on the handle and side. This rare early Red Wing Stoneware Company jug was valued to be $5,000 to $7,000 by expert Larry Peterson. All three dinnerware experts were excited to feast their eyes on recent eBay “lunch hour” plate. It was a Town and Country white dinner plate with a blue flower decoration and date mark on the back. The term “lunch hour” refers only to pieces that were decorated or personalized by pottery workers during their break.

“I’ve seen many ‘lunch hour’ plates over the years, but I can’t recall any on a Town & Country plate,” said Ivy Loughborough. “This plate would be sought after by both Red Wing collectors and collectors of designer Eva Zeisel’s work.”

Thanks to the success of the 2^nd year of this event, the organization will plan to hold another Red Wing Pottery Road Show in 2010. If you missed the road show, there are two ways for you to find our more about a Red Wing piece in your possession – the RWCS free “Ask the Experts” service on the RWCS website www.RedWingColllectors.org or call the RWCS office at 800.977.7927.

The Red Wing Pottery Museum is managed by the RWCS Foundation. The museum has an extensive representation of characteristic and rare stoneware, art pottery and dinnerware items produced by the pottery industry of Red Wing is displayed and preserved. The museum also contains an important collection of memorabilia, vintage photographs and products related to this industry to provide for current and future educational experiences and scholarly endeavors consistent with the mission of the Foundation. It is located on 2^nd floor of the historic Pottery Place Mall, located at 2000 Old West Main Street. It is open daily during mall hours and is free and open to the public. Guided tours can be arranged by contacting Diane Hallstrom at diahall@redwing.net.

The Red Wing Collectors Society was founded in 1977 in Red Wing, Minn. The Society is dedicated to preserving the rich pottery history of Red Wing and other American pottery. There are more than 4,000 members worldwide. The Red Wing Potteries had diverse pottery lines of stoneware, dinnerware and art pottery. For more information or to become a member, contact the RWCS business office at 800-977-7927, e-mail membership@redwingcollectors.org or log on to www.redwingcollectors.org.

RED WING, MINN – Minnesota Public Radio talk show host Cathy Wurzer has accepted invitation from the Red Wing Collectors Society (RWCS) to speak at its 2009 Convention scheduled for July 9-11 in Red Wing, Minn.

Wurzer authored the regional best seller Tales of the Road – Highway 61 in 2008 and hosted the public television documentary by the same name that premiered earlier this spring. The book, which features historical sites along Highway 61, includes a chapter about Red Wing Pottery and the potters themselves.

Wurzer’s presentation will take place at 10:30 a.m. July 9 in the Hove Auditorium at Red Wing High School, 2451 Eagle Ridge Dr. in Red Wing.

The national RWCS Convention has been held every July since 1977 in Red Wing, Minn. This year’s Convention, July 9-11, will attract thousands of collectors to Red Wing for a week of educational meetings, auctions, buying, selling and fun for the whole family. While there’s usually a fee to attend all Convention activities, Wurzer’s keynote presentation will be open free to the public this year.

The Red Wing Collectors Society was founded in 1977 in Red Wing, Minn. and is devoted to educating people about all American pottery. There are more than 4,000 members worldwide. The Red Wing Potteries had diverse pottery lines that included stoneware, dinnerware and art pottery. For more information or to become a member, call the RWCS business office at 800-977-7927, e-mail membership@redwingcollectors.org or log on to www.redwingcollectors.org.

Red Wing, Minn.: The Red Wing Collectors Society (RWCS), the largest collecting club dedicated to the preservation of Red Wing and other American pottery, launched a new group page on IAntiqueOnline.com.

IAntiqueOnline.com is a website community for people who buy, sell or collect antiques, collectibles and art. Like other online communities, membership is free and open to anyone. Users have the ability to post pictures, join groups and create discussion topics.

This website community is just one of the many ways the RWCS is increasing its internet presence in 2009. Other online communities that the Society has become affiliated with include Facebook and Wikipedia. The RWCS recognizes the benefits of the internet to help increase awareness of the organization, Red Wing Potteries history and membership benefits. In addition, this type of presence gives RWCS members and Red Wing collectors a chance to share their passion with others no matter their level of collecting interest.

The RWCS business office encourages its members that are interested in networking with fellow antique buyers and sellers to consider joining IAntiqueOnline.com. Below is a link to the RWCS Page:

http://iantiqueonline.ning.com/profile/RedWingCollectorsSociety

“We hope that by increasing the online presence of the Red Wing Collectors Society, people will learn more about Red Wing, Minnesota’s rich pottery history, become aware of our organization, and consider starting a collection and joining the RWCS,” said Stacy Wegner, RWCS executive director.

The Red Wing Collectors Society was founded in 1977 in Red Wing, Minn. and is devoted to educating people about all American pottery. There are more than 4,500 members worldwide. The Red Wing Potteries had diverse pottery lines that included stoneware, dinnerware and art pottery. For more information or to become a member, call the RWCS business office at 800-977-7927, e-mail membership@redwingcollectors.org or log on to www.redwingcollectors.org.

Red Wing, Minn.: The Red Wing Collectors Society, the largest collecting club dedicated to the preservation of Red Wing and other American pottery, has started a Wikipedia page for the Red Wing Pottery Industry. The goal of this page is to share Red Wing’s rich pottery history with the world and create more interest in collecting Red Wing stoneware, dinnerware, and art pottery.

Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based, free content encyclopedia project. It is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. Wikipedia is an ongoing work where anyone can contribute information to its articles at any time.

Over the past several months the RWCS Businesses Office and Laura Beall, RWCS member, have created the framework for the Red Wing Pottery Wikipedia page. In order to develop this page more rapidly, we would like to encourage members to visit the Red Wing Pottery page and add content, pictures, and references.

“We hope that the development of the Wikipedia page will extend the preservation of Red Wing’s rich pottery history into this online media and create interest for new collectors,” said Stacy Wegner, Executive Director, Red Wing Collectors Society.

Wikipedia is very easy to use whether you are a casual or experienced internet user. The editing feature has a number of tutorials and help pages to assist new contributors to Wikipedia. If members are interested in working on this project in detail, you are encouraged to contact the RWCS Business Office or start today.

The Red Wing Collectors Society was founded in 1977 in Red Wing, Minn. and is devoted to educating people about all American pottery. There are more than 4,500 members worldwide. The Red Wing Potteries had diverse pottery lines that included stoneware, dinnerware and art pottery. For more information or to become a member, call the RWCS business office at 800-977-7927, e-mail membership@redwingcollectors.org or log on to www.redwingcollectors.org.

Wikipedia Page Link

Red Wing Collectors Society Wikipedia Page

Date: Sunday, July 5th ~ Rain or Shine

Location: Downtown Red Wing

Time: Sunrise till about 3:30 depending on the sun and heat

Space Rental: $50 for a 20′ x 20′ street space, tables available for $10 each / Chairs $1 each

Payment information: Checks made payable to the RWCS Foundation and send to: Diane Hallstrom ~ 317 Bush Street ~ Red Wing, MN 55066

If you have questions regarding the street sale please call Diane Hallstrom at 612-247-9876 or email at diahall@redwing.net.

Celebrating Monmouth, Illinois’ historic tradition of creating quality stoneware and pottery is the idea behind our annual Pottery on the Square Swap Meet event on June 27th, 2009 starting at 8:00am. Monmouth’s history with stoneware and pottery dates back to the 1890’s and continues today with Western Stoneware and Maple City Pottery, both of Monmouth.

Beginning at 8:00 a.m. and running until noon, on Monmouth’s Public Square, activities will include a pottery and stoneware swap meet, pottery demonstration, and window displays of rare pottery pieces. A pottery/stoneware consignment auction will begin at 9:30am. The public is welcome to bring vintage items the day of the event for the auction or can register them ahead of time and have them advertised on the auctioneer’s website www.burnsauctionservice.com. Swap meet and consignment auction participants are not limited to Illinois pottery, but pottery items must be vintage.

Also returning to the event this year is the pottery appraisal clinic beginning at 8:30am, where knowledgeable Illinois pottery collectors will be on hand to examine pieces of Illinois pottery brought by the public. In 2007 a rare Macomb Pottery Duck Decoy was brought to the Appraisers Booth and it was purchased for $2,500 by a board member of the Lakeview Museum in Peoria, Illinois, for the museum’s collection of Illinois duck decoys. They have been searching for this particular decoy for over 15 years. There were only a couple dozen made and it was a perfect example.

Another rare piece, a Bardolph Pottery Pig, was brought to the appraiser’s booth that had an estimated value of $1,500 to $2,000. The individual didn’t even know it was worth that much money, and decided to keep it.

In conjunction with the event the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce is offering to the public an opportunity to purchase a handcrafted limited- edition, Western Stoneware brown pig that measures approximately 3 ¼ inches tall and 6 ¾ inches long. Western Stoneware Monmouth, IL and the maple leaf are embossed on one side with “Pottery on the Square, June 27, 2009, Monmouth, Illinois” decal on the other side. 2009 is embossed on the pig. Orders are currently being taken for the Western Stoneware pigs that will be available the day of the event. The deadline for orders is June 1^st, 2009, and they are priced at $45. Shipping charges vary based on quantity.

Creating the Western Stoneware pig began with the assistance of a local artist, William DeSelms, of Pheasantry Studio, from Roseville IL. Bill carved in clay a replica of the pre-1906 Monmouth Pottery pig with Western Stoneware and the maple leaf on the side. With the hardened clay replica he constructed silicone rubber mold in which he made the casting. The casting is a two part resin compound mixed with tiny glass particles. The resin casting and the silicone rubber mold was taken to Western Stoneware. Using those pieces they commissioned the construction of the stoneware mold. The stoneware mold ended up being a complicated eight piece mold.

For more information on the event or the commemorative Western Stoneware pig please contact the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce at 309-734-3181 or e-mail maccdir@maplecity.com. You may also go to the tourism page of the Chamber’s website, www.monmouthilchamber.com.