Choosing how to serve your coffee, beer, and everything else you offer to your customers is a big decision. You’ll have to design or approve the design of your branded merchandise, pay for it, care for it, and look at the mugs or steins every day as you brew a coffee or serve a pint.
It’s just one of many choices you’ll make as you run your brewery or coffee shop, so we’re here to help by giving you a little bit of information about stoneware and how it stands out against other materials. Keep reading to learn more.
Stoneware Sticks Around
Most of us are not ceramics artists and, therefore, would have a hard time describing the differences between stoneware and other ceramics like earthenware or porcelain. Different types of clay are used for porcelain and for earthenware and stoneware contributing to the different colors and textures of the finished products.
Stoneware and earthenware are more rustic and “earthy” than porcelain, but they differ quite a bit from each other due to the temperature and duration at which they are kiln fired. Stoneware has been fired long enough and hot enough, around 2300 degrees, that it becomes vitrified – when a substance transforms into glass. Stoneware is completely non-porous even without glaze.
Earthenware, by contrast, reaches only about 1900 degrees when fired and therefore doesn’t achieve vitrification. This means that earthenware remains somewhat porous and not as strong as stoneware. Stoneware is very much like—well—stone. If you drop a stoneware mug on the concrete, it will break, of course. But, during regular washing, handling, and human fumbling, stoneware is remarkably resistant. durable
Stoneware Feels Good in Your Hand
Most people who run a small coffee shop or a brewery taproom want people to feel comfortable and invited to stick around. The ideal is that your small business becomes a part of your community – a “third place” for your regular customers. You can encourage people to stick around and come back regularly with a welcoming atmosphere, a friendly staff, and some subtle touches that make people want to settle in.
Stoneware feels solid when you hold your mug of coffee or stein of lager in your hand. Stoneware is organic, not fussy, and it can help provide a subtle sense of comfort for your customers.
Stoneware Can Be Fully Customized
Stoneware mugs and steins from Grey Fox Pottery can be customized in so many ways. We invite you to work with our artists to create something that’s entirely your own. Choose from twelve styles of coffee mugs with sizes ranging from 10 to 16 ounces and twelve styles of stoneware beer steins, from a stoneware pint to a familiar and classic Bavarian stein, ranging in size from 16 to 24 ounces.
Choose different mugs or steins to serve different coffee drinks or beers, from a small classic coffee mug for a drip coffee to a pilsner-style stein to open up the beer. Play around with the choices and combinations available in glaze colors to tell the story of your company and your brand.
Stoneware Shows Off Your Logo
The artisans at Grey Fox Pottery have developed a unique ceramic scrimshaw process for creating a logo badge that becomes a part of your mug or stein during kiln firing. We know you’re proud of your logo, and people who are familiar with your brand should be able to identify it at a glance. Whether it’s bold and straightforward or detailed and intricate, our talented artists can translate your logo into a badge that won’t wash away or chip off.
Stoneware Is Collectible
Investing in stoneware branded merchandise means you and your customers will have the mugs and steins for a long time, so bring on the collectibles. Many people love to acquire something to show their affiliation with or loyalty to a place where they spend time.
Brew heads will jump at the chance to be first in an exclusive line when you tap a keg of a limited edition seasonal beer. Offer those loyal fans the opportunity to buy their spot in line and a free pour or to collect a stein in the process by commissioning logo-specific steins for any big event brew.
Offer an annual seasonal assortment of merchandise at your coffee shop too. Kick up your holiday vibe with specific glaze colors and make sure customers who want to give a gift card to your coffee shop as a holiday gift can present their gift in a seasonal mug.
Stoneware Is Local
Stoneware itself isn’t necessarily local, but Grey Fox Pottery is. We’ve been a part of the Minneapolis small business community for decades, and we’re proud to represent this place. Our products are all handmade in the USA by local artisans.
You can feel good about supporting local artists and fellow small businesses when you work with Grey Fox Pottery. Contact us today to find out more and to see your logo rendered in clay.