Our Seconds Sale

We recently held our Seconds Sale, a tradition that began when we were still firing a 40-cubic-foot kiln at Lake Wenatchee. Back then, we produced enough imperfect pieces to fill racks with “seconds” every year. In those early days, we simply threw them away—until neighbors asked us to hold a sale instead. Before long, it became a neighborhood tradition, complete with a large mailing list and a sellout crowd in less than an hour.

Since then, we have downsized to an electronically controlled 8-cubic-foot kiln and simplified our line. It took two years to collect enough seconds to fill just three tables—which, in many ways, is a good thing. Even so, 25 to 30 wonderful customers arrived and bought almost everything in just 45 minutes.

As we prepared for the sale, we also dug through boxes of older work we had been saving. It turned into a small display of Crutchfield Pottery history, including slip trail mugs, 12” carved iris dinner plates, oval trays with sculpted vines, rectangular trays with salmon, and Barry’s saggar work.

Those one-of-a-kind vintage pieces found very good homes.

As much as we love working from home and the ease of shipping all over the United States, we still miss seeing customers face to face—hearing their stories and watching their delight in our work. During the sale, people waited in the garden for their turn to check out, our granddaughter added up the totals, and we wrapped and packed each purchase. It was a very good 45 minutes.

These sales help us clear out the studio and make room for new work, but they also give us a chance to thank our incredible customers for their support. Through recessions and other economic hardships, they have stayed with us and reminded us, again and again, that we are doing exactly what we were meant to do.

“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.”

And we think we have found the most beautiful of destinations working together for 50 years,

Love, peace, and handmade pottery,

Barry & Terri