Travels in Vermont: Bennington Pottery

PP and I are back from a week long trip to the three wonderful states of Vermont ("The Green State"), New Hampshire ("Live Free or Die"), and Maine ("This is how life should be"). I will blog a little about what we saw and did, but it will be in random order as I sort through my photos and memories. First, but nearly last on the trip, was a visit to the Bennington Pottery, in Bennington, Vermont. It is a small pottery famous for their old-fashioned, handmade items, often glazed in either earthy tones (blueberry, sky blue, ochra, whitewash) or 'flammig' in two opposing colors. We bought new dinner plates in the blue agate series, which is white and cobalt blue glaze mixed together, like this:
On the pottery website, they say this about this glaze, so I guess we are not alone in our choice: " Bennington's signature glaze color - Blue Agate ("ag get") is a thick splatter of deep cobalt on a warm clay underglaze. This glaze color works well with a wide variety of kitchen, dining room, and country home decors. For nearly 60 years Blue Agate has been our customers' favorite pottery glaze choice."

Pottery has been made in Bennington, which is in the southwestern corner in Vermont and about 4 hours from New Jersey, since late 1700s. They used to have great clay here, but that is now all used up so they need to get it from other states.

You can go into the pottery and see them make the different things by hand (well, some machines are used, but most is really by hand). They make only 800 pieces a day and are famous for their pottery. We have several things from them earlier, but after seeing the pottery itself, I have a better appreciation for them. We also got a little bowl in the more turquoise-sky blue color, which became the temporary home for this year's first harvest of chanterelles in New Jersey, on June 30. Sauteed with a little garlic in butter - oh they were good!