For the second year in a row, the Stoneware Art Factory in Louisville, Kentucky has developed a two-dimensional ornament for the holidays. This year’s Elf design joins last year’s Santa, snowman, gingerbread man and reindeer ornaments. The new Stoneware Elf compliments the three-dimensional nutcracker version from 2013.

Stoneware’s clay body is a simple recipe of two types of ball clay, sourced from the Old Hickory Mine in Hickory, Kentucky. The production process begins in the Paristown Pointe factory when a roughly 50/50 mix is created using 5,000 pounds of dry clay with 200 gallons of water. The recipe is mixed for several hours before being filtered, pressed into cakes and then made into two different thicknesses of clay. The thinner slip clay is poured into a ceramic molds to form the ornaments.

After a period of drying each ornament is popped out of its mold and a hole for the hanger is hand drilled. Once the ornament is completely dry, the greenware as it’s called, is sent to the art department where the bottom is waxed (so it doesn’t stick to the kiln deck) and stamped with the Stoneware (est. 1815, Louisville, KY) logo on the bottom. The artists use satin black, celadon green, Christmas red, yellow, white, light blue, rust and wildcat brown glazes to hand-paint the elf’s boots, belt, clothes, hat and face details.

The last step in the process is the application of a transparent overglaze before it is loaded into the kiln. After 27 hours on the kiln – heating to over 2,000˚F – each ornament is quality control inspected, carefully sanded and a gingham ribbon attached.

From beginning to end, nearly 20 people touch every ornament on its six week journey to being a finished art piece. The two-dimensional Elf weighs about 4 ounces, is approximately 2.5” x 5” x 0.25” and the three-dimensional Elf weights about 8 ounces, is approximately 2” x 6” and each is hand tied with a red gingham ribbon.

The 2014 Stoneware Elf for $26 and the 3D version for $45 are available for purchase online at www.louisvillestoneware.com. They will be available for purchase in the Paristown Pointe retail store (731 Brent Street, Louisville KY 40204) beginning September 15. Gift boxes for the 2D ornament are available for $4. Stoneware’s retail store is open Monday – Friday 10 am – 6pm and Saturday 10 am – 5 pm.

Stoneware expects to produce approximately 3,500 ornaments this holiday season.

About Louisville Stoneware
One of the oldest stoneware manufacturers in the United States, Stoneware has been dedicated to the tradition and careful craftsmanship of transforming clay into enduring, functional art forms for the home, kitchen and garden since 1815.

The small, locally-owned company of 37 employees is located in Louisville, Kentucky’s Paristown Pointe neighborhood. The art factory offers tours twice a day Monday through Friday, a paint your own pottery experience and retail store Monday through Saturday.