This one was Cindy’s brain child and what a great idea.  Taken from the traditional Holiday “Cookie Exchange”, this one is much easier on the figure and nothing is better than soup, in my humble opinion.

Here is an excerpt from Cindy’s email invitation laying the groundwork for the exchange:

“I believe we agreed that we wanted to exchange 4 cups per serving.  We will package the soup in ziplock bags and freeze (if possible) unless you just get it done that day… Anything goes!

We need to bring our soup in a cooler, then when you get here we will exchange and it will stay cold until we get home.”

There were 6 cooks invited and 4 of us lucky “significant others” that got to tag along and enjoy the tasting. One of cooks could not make it, so 5 soups were presented that evening.

Cindy continues:

“We will need six bags all together. One bag to exchange with each of the above and one to share that evening.  Please bring a crockpot in which to keep your soup hot for that night…….bring copies of your recipe and a wine that would accompany your soup! That way we will be able to sample 6 wines and 6 soups–sounds “souper”  don’t you think?”

Each soup chef made a selection from the variety of Polish Pottery bowls or tureens we had brought for the occasion from which to serve their soup and we had eight Polish Pottery wine cups to use for sampling the wine chosen to complement the individual’s soup.  The wine cups were the perfect size for the sampling and it was nice not to deal with stemware during the tasting.

The menu for the evening:

Soup #1  -  Jan’s Mom’s Gazpacho             wine selection: 2008 Borsao (Borja, Spain)

Soup #2 -   Potato-Leek Soup ala Tretton              wine selection: 2008 Loosen Bros Riesling (German)

Soup #3 -   Calvertized Turkey Stew in a Bread Bowl             wine selection: 2008 Clos du Bois Chardonnay (California)

Soup #4 -   Neighborly Chicken and Cheese Soup with Green Chiles             wine selection: 2007 Ridge California Zinfandel

Soup # 5 -   Mabel’s Potato Soup              wine selection: 2008 Yellow Tail Pinot Noir

Stay tuned for pictures and recipes………….

I know, it seems like I fell off the planet since the last post. We received a new shipment of over 9000 items from Poland arriving right at the beginning of December. We were in the midst of our seasonal rush and spent many days and nights unloading, inventorying, photographing and displaying all of the wonderful pottery items.

But enough with the excuses and on with the catch up.  I have many great things to talk about, but for today I wanted to back up to our Thanksgiving celebration. We put  our Polish Pottery to the test. We baked our stuffing in one of the large “Basia” platters; warmed the gravy in one of the Batter bowls; utilized several of the rectangular bakers; and served the sliced turkey on another Basia platter.

As you can see the table was set with Cindy’s beautiful “Bouquet in a Basket” square plates. It was a wonderful celebration with Cindy’s parents and the pottery just complemented the food, atmosphere and fellowship.

When we started Inspired Design, we were challenged with developing a unique identity – a logo, a slogan, and keywords for our marketing.  During that time, I racked my brain to figure out the most succinct term for the Polish Pottery from Bolesławiec.

Thinking about the many uses, usually limited only by the imagination, and the beautiful hand-painted and hand stenciled designs, I settled on the term “Functional Art”.  When put under direct lighting, the brilliant glaze encasing the handmade beauty seems to glisten as the design beneath  ‘pops’ through.  I envisioned the best way to use your Polish stoneware would be to hang it on a wall or in a rack on the counter, pull it off, stick it in the oven with a wonderful culinary creation, use it to serve the family or honored guests, put it in the dishwasher, and place it back in its mounting for all to enjoy as a piece of art.

Maybe you have a better term to describe the way you use your Polish Pottery – please let me know and I’ll look forward to sharing it with all of the Polish Pottery fans out there.

Vertical Dish Rack

Greetings and welcome to the first installment of the Polish Pottery Press.  You may be thinking “oh boy, here’s a snoozer.”  To the contrary, this medium allows us the potential of an enlightening adventure in Polish art and culture and life in general.

Why the Polish Pottery Press?

Consider this a vehicle. I have 2 reasons for starting its engines: one is altruistic, the other could be considered selfish.

When I began Inspired Design, LLC in 2005, our mission was to introduce Americans to the amazing arts and crafts of Poland, as well as, share the wonderful memories accumulated during our life in Poland from 1995 – 1999.  Prior to that experience, my persception of Poland and its people had been formed by propaganda and an embedded impression of a Communist country and its population behind the mysterious Iron Curtain, not to mention, the numerous Polish jokes I heard in my youth.

Hence, this weblog’s primary mission is to dispel preconceptions of Poland and present a more accurate picture of Polish life today. In addition, to help support the wonderful Polish artisans and crafts people, whose products have amazed and entertained myself and many whom have come in contact with them.

My selfish motivation arises from the need to attract attention to the wonderful products we offer at the warehouse/showroom of Inspired Design, LLC or on the internet at www.thepolishpotteryoutlet.com.  In addition, this allows me the opportunity to follow the recommendations of my mother and father advising me to put to use what they considered a god given talent for the written word.

I’ll let you be the judge; the critic; or the expert. All I ask is that you check us out from time to time and contribute your thoughts, pictures and experiences as we travel together.

Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle…bookmark the page…visit us often!

Best wishes,

Dan Danner

President

For more information, read “About Us” at:

“About Us”