Hedgehog trimming excess clay off of pottery

FAQs

Got questions? Hedgies can help…

General Product Information

Are your ceramics food safe?

Our clays are sourced in the Blue Ridge Mountains out of completely non-toxic and food safe materials. The hedgehogs paw-form and fire all of our pottery to almost 2000 degrees making the pots very durable. As such, any stray spines are burned out.

Our glazes are made of very basic, food safe minerals and contain no lead, barium, uranium, manganese, chromium, or stinky durian fruit.

Is your pottery handmade?

Yes, the hedgehogs use only traditional pottery wheels and handbuilding techniques. We don’t have any fancy machinery like ram presses or jiggers (bacause, seriously, can you even imagine a hedgehog using a ram press?)

Because of this, every piece may be a tiny bit different. Your new mug may be half inch wider than the last one you got. The bowl may be a hair taller. It all depends on the hedgehogs’s diet and mood that day.

Every piece goes through three kiln firings here in our studio, with all glazing and decorating also done individually and by paw. The puppies on staff provide quality control and our two cats ensure that no box goes unutilized.

Where are your products made?

Our studio is in a big red barn on an occasionally working farm on a beautiful valley in the Blue Ridge mountains of East Tennessee.

Everything on this site, with the exception of tshirts is made right here.

We source American made Tshirts and have hired a crack team of marmots to custom print them for us in Florida where it’s warm and flat. The shirts are shipped directly to you from their breezy studios.

Fun fact: marmots are afraid of heights and cold. It didn’t work out for them here.

How do you get the drawings on there?

The illustrations you see on all of our products are hand drawn in our studio in Tennessee.

We then use glaze material and an image transfer process involving screen pritning, and kiln-fire them onto the pottery and into the glaze.

We do NOT use sublimation or other impermanent techniques so the images are there forever.

Our tshirts are printed by our superteam of marmots who use Direct to Garment (DTG) machines. DTG uses water-based, sustainable and bio-degradeable inks that are vegan friendly and not tested on animals. The entire process uses less energy and less water than traditional methods, which is very nice.

Are the drawings original?

Oh yes. Very. They are mostly biographical representations of the hedgehogs’ day to day activities and memorable events.

Hedgehogs, as you surely know, don’t have the dexterity to operate cameras so they can’t Instagram their special moments. Luckly, they are prolific illustrators and usually carry sketchbooks.

With a few strokes of a pencil, they capture tender family moments, along with the thrills of victory, the agonies of defeat, and even the occasional selfie.

Back at the studio they frequently refer to these sketchbooks and finish up the drawings with pen and ink. Some of the more precocious hedgies have taken to drawing via tablet.

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May I download your drawings?

Sorry no. All of our illustrations are copyright protected and can only be used by the hedgehogs. Using the hedgehogs’ drawings would be in violation of all that is good and sacred in this world, and would incur the sadness and wrath of all the animals in the forest.

You don’t want to make the little foxes cry do you?

Can I order a color that you don't offer in the store?

Our palette of colors is based on the seasons and the hedgehogs’ state of mind. Think “mood rings” and you get the idea. Whenever a someone starts pining loudly for another glaze, there’s usually a meeting with “the chemist” who is given coffee and doughnuts and asked to concoct it.

When the new glaze is made and thoroughly tested, the hedgehogs do a happy dance and let everyone know about it. Check in frequently, as glaze colors can quite suddenly change.

I bought a piece of Darn Pottery at a shop but I don't see it on the website?

Our fabulous stockists frequently have pieces unique to their location and available no-where else! They may have a special relationship with a hedgehog and there may have been extra special snacks involved.

If you are looking to replace a piece you purchased elsewhere, we may be able to help. It won’t be an exact match, but the hedgehogs can probably come close.

Please visit our Bespoke page to get started.

What is the appropriate age for your products?

Darn Pottery products are obviously made for people, young people, old people, little people, and even littler people who can barely walk. It is great for dog people, cat people, rabbit people and horse people.

Fair game are all manner of grandparents, students, commuters and pianists. It is also perfectly appropriate for friends, dog walkers, bike riders, bird watchers, sea captains and babysitters.

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Retail Questions

When will I receive my order?

We ship Mondays and Thursdays, except on holidays when we ship on the next business day.

Why? Because our studio is over 30 miles away from the nearest post office and we feel bad about using so much fossil fuel. We’re saving up for an electric car!

Bespoke or Personalized orders can take up to 4 weeks to custom make for you.

T-shirts can take up to 10 business days to custom print prior to shipping.

Standard shipping may take between two days and two weeks depending on how badly the USPS is harmed by the administration. Your vote matters!

What if my order is damaged or broken when it arrives?

We will take care of it immediately. Please take a photo of the packing AND the broken item and send it to us at darnpottery@gmail.com.

What is your return/exchange policy?
Is my credit card safe?
Do you ship overseas?

At this time we ship only within the United States and Canada. The cost of shipping and time for customs paperwork to other countries would far exceed the cost of just about any item we stock. We are a wee business and do not have the shipping volume of a behemoth company.

How do I place a gift order?

Just click the button at checkout. We haven’t figured out how to split-ship orders, so each address needs to be placed as a separate order.

Do you offer gift wrapping or gift messages?

We will happily gift wrap any items made and shipped from our studio. Just select gift wrapping at checkout. We’ll be glad to include a personal message from you as well. Just type your note into the box at checkout.

Unfortunately, the marmots at our Tshirt printing studio cannot be talked into doing such fancy things. Tshirts are folded nicely mailed in a white envelope.

Do you have a gift registry?

Not yet, but you can create a free registry on Zola and Blueprint and simply add www.darnpottery.com to your list of stores.

Do you offer gift cards?

Not right now, but soon. We’re just little hedgehogs and don’t have opposable thumbs.

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Can I change or cancel my order?

If you ordered pottery, you absolutely can but you gotta be quick. It’s best if you send us an email right away. If your order is already packed and out the door it can’t be undone.

If your order is custom, personalized or bespoke, you can only cancel it if we haven’t started on it yet. Again, better email us right away.

If you ordered a T-shirt, we’ll be honest, the chances of catching the marmots at the print shop to stop the order are so miniscule as to be non-existent. Those guys don’t mess around, and start working within minutes of your order coming in. So, with t-shirts as with bakery products, choose wisely.

Can I sell your products in my shop?

Please send us an email at darnpottery@gmail.com. One of the hedgehogs will reply with our wholesale info & terms. Only our handmade pottery, and select other merchandise, is available for wholesale. Print on demand products are not available.

How can I check the status of my order?

Building a web shop is a tricky business. It took the hedgehogs close to 15 years just to learn English. Javascript might take just as long.  As soon as we figure out how, we’ll do it. If you absolutely need to know, just send us an email at darnpottery@gmail.com

Your website is the diggity-bomb! Who made it and can I have one too?

Every pixel you see here was made possible by Erik Haagensen at Viking Mountain Marketing

He is, hands down, the coolest nerd we’ve ever met. In addition to designing and managing our website, he also does all our marketing, sends out our newsletters and keeps us from committing terrible technical faux pas.

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Hedgehog and Other Vital Questions

Why are the hedgehogs always giving gifts?

The didn’t use to until the first time they went to Burningman in 1997. Since then, the gift economy has become an important part of their lives. That, and walking around naked.

How do hedgehogs ride bikes when their feet don't reach the pedals?

Hedgehog bikes are propelled by blackbirds. We can’t tell you much more than that because it is proprietary technology, but we can say that it is one of the main pillars of the Green New Deal and you’ll be seeing a lot more about this in the coming years.

How do hedgehogs hold pencils and pottery tools with their paws?

They don’t. They hold them in their teeth.

Why do Marmots print your tshirts?

Marmots have dominated the world of silk screening since literally shanghaiing a ship-load of Porteugese printmakers and their presses back in 1477 and forcing them to share their ancient secrets before making them walk the plank in the South Pacific. Since then, captalizing on these ill-begotten skills and their preternaturally powerful tails, the Marmot family has had virtually no equal in the business. Also, they’ve got some dirt on Darnit and threatened to go public if we didn’t give them the business.

Are hedgehogs involved in alien abductions?

We can’t talk about this here.

Hedgehog sitting on shelf full of rubber duckies

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