Pottery enthusiasts, both local and from out of town, attended the Brantford Potters’ Guild’s winter sale at the Woodman Community Centre over the weekend, from Friday, December 5 to Sunday, December 7, 2025.
The sale, previously known as the Christmas sale, has been running for over two decades and is an opportunity for holiday shoppers to check out new items from both their long-time favourite potters and new-to-them ceramists.
This year’s sale featured 48 potters from the Brantford-Brant area and surrounding region, as well as a host of functional items and decorative work.
From mugs to bowls, plates and serving dishes, vases and Christmas trees, oil dispensers and candle holders, there were hundreds of unique items up for grabs.
Deandra Mercer, one of the Brantford Potters’ Guild many members, said that there were several popular items shoppers typically come in for during the winter sale.
“A lot of people actually come for our Empty Bowls fundraiser,” she said. “Our potters typically donate two bowls each, and when someone buys one for $30, all of the proceeds go to the Brantford Food Bank. It’s really popular and we usually have people that line up outside waiting to get their top pick. But other popular things to buy here are mugs, or anything you might want to pick up for somebody around the Chritsmas season, like a teacher or a loved one.”
When asked why people are so drawn to ceramic work, Mercer said it often comes down to an appreciation of knowing something has been handcrafted and thoughtfully designed.
“I think a lot of people, especially in this area, place a lot of value on handmade things. I’ve noticed within the last five years or so that there’s been a shift; people don’t want to be giving all of their dollars to big box stores and they’re really looking to support local,” she explained. “There’s been a big push towards shopping for Canadian made things the past couple years and so there are a lot of potters that are including that, or Brantford itself, in their designs. I think people also like that these pieces have all those handmade touches that make them unique and they appreciate that we use these products as well so we know what a consumer might like.”
When it comes to preparing stock for a sale, the potter said a lot of work goes into it.
“We’re often making things year round and so as the sale approaches, we’ll try to get as much done and into the last firing as possible,” said Mercer. “The potters really go full force to make sure everything’s perfect so then comes the sanding to make sure that the bottoms are smooth, the handle fits nicely, there’s no sharp areas and everything is accurately priced; it’s all about the attention to detail.”
Stephanie Udovc, who traveled from Burlington to shop the sale, said she and her daughter typically attend both the winter and the spring sale each year.
“Sometimes I’ll tell myself, ‘You’re not going this time,’ but it’s difficult not to…it’s like a little addiction for me,” she said with a laugh.
The shopper explained that one of the reasons she’s drawn to pottery is because it’s something she hasn’t learned to do herself, but also because she enjoys searching for the perfect piece.
“It’s all very tactile and it’s visual, and you just know that the individual has spent a lot of time coming up with their collection and making it special,” said Udovc. “Each piece is unique and so when I’m picking something out, I’m usually looking for something cute and if it’s a mug, the type of handle it has is super important to me. I’m also looking for colour and something smooth, I don’t really like to feel anything rough; I can be pretty picky about it so I usually run my finger around the edge of the cup, and I really hold the handle to see how it feels in my hand.”
Having collected everything that piqued her interest into a basket, Udovc said she’d be making one final round before settling on her chosen pieces and heading home for the day.
Later, Mercer said she and the rest of the guild were happy to have had another successful event.
“We’ve seen a real influx of people coming in to shop this year and not just from Brantford or Paris, they’re coming in from out of town too which is cool,” she said. “Just to compare, on one of the days last year, we had something like 370 people come in, and this year, we doubled that in just one day so it’s been great. It’s nice to see how it’s grown in popularity and how people line up to get their first choice.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
