The Art of Collecting Travel Tokens Along the Way. . . . 

. . .(And as for me, That's a Whole Lot of Pottery!)

Bowl from the Greek Island of Mikanos

Most  travelers want to find a keepsake that reflects the memories of a special trip. The typical souvenir selection is t-shirts, sweatshirts, ball caps, visors, key rings, hair barrettes, refrigerator magnets, coffee mugs, shot glasses, and, of course, snowballs. Let's face it, most of that stuff is tacky, BUT that too, is part of the fun! I've certainly bought my share of shot glasses and snowballs! I still buy my all-time favorite souvenir: recipe post cards. I see these a lot down South. Got my favorite Key Lime Pie Recipe off of a postcard rack in Savannah.

Eventually, I became what I call a serious traveler--i.e. researching my destination well in advance, reading Rick Steves' guidebooks, comparison shopping with airline tickets and hotel rates, using award credit cards to accumulate frequent flier miles, etc. I came to realize that often times the souvenirs from street vendors cost just as much or more than other items available that would last my lifetime, for example, pottery. Yes, that's correct--pottery. I try to find pottery that is indigenous to the area I'm visiting.

So, you ask, "How do you get it home? Doesn't it break?" Not the way I pack it! I always pack a few pieces of bubble wrap to use around fragile pieces; and I place the piece in the middle of my checked bag, and totally surround it with clothes for padding. I've never lost a piece yet. I don't purchase large nor expensive pieces, so any loss might be minor.

It's like this, I have a pottery illness. I love pottery of all kinds and buying pottery as I travel along the way helps to nurse that illness. My pottery "problem" began when I moved to Southeast Ohio, the land of extraordinary pottery. Here treasures are found from former companies such as McCoy, Weller, and my personal favorite, Roseville in Perry County. Please see a Roseville piece of mine below, a special gift from friends.

                                                    

Vintage Roseville Freesia Pattern

I have been traveling to Southwest Virginia for many years to visit friends. Here I was introduced to Emerson Creek Pottery in Bedford, Virginia. Many trips have allowed me to expand my collection of Emerson Creek. Below are a few pieces.

 

Pitchers are my Favorite!

Let's go further south to Seagrove, North Carolina, a pottery lovers paradise. There is at least a hundred pottery shops within a 20 mile radius of Seagrove. I spent some time there wandering around in a daze and below are a couple of pieces I couldn't live without.

 Crystal King Pottery

Signature Piece Owens Pottery

On to the southwest and Santa Fe, New Mexico, where art galleries abound, along with the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. In a Santa Fe gallery we found this exquisite piece below, a seed pot with stunning etching, made by Gwen Tafoya, Santa Clara Pueblo Potters.

This last piece is a trivet we purchased in Istanbul, Turkey. I particularly like it because it enhances Tulips, the symbol of Turkey. Turkey's connection to the Tulip dates back 300 years to the Ottoman Empire Tulip Era. Each spring the "world's largest carpet of tulips" appears in Istanbul at Sultanahmet Square.

Do I have more? You bet I do, but I'll save them for another time. By then, I'll probably have accumulated even more!