The earliest ceramics were pottery objects made from clay, either by itself or mixed with other materials, hardened in fire. Later ceramics were glazed and fired to create a colored, smooth surface.
In the second half of the 20th century, a new mass-market type of ceramic hobby industry grew. In the "greenware" business, the customer goes to a shop which supplies raw unfired pieces, along with decorating materials, tools, firing, communal work space, and lessons. The shop owner slip-casts the pieces on-site, using a wide variety of molds purchased from manufacturers and dealers. Most of the pieces are decorative kitsch of one kind or another.
The customer cleans the seams of the greenware, decorates it with fired underglazes and glazes, and the shop does the firing. In the 1960's-70's, every town had a ceramics shop like this, either in a storefront or in the home of a hobbyist-turned-store owner. (At one time it was, some claimed, the biggest hobby in America.) The "greenware" (unfired dry slip items cast from molds) shop fulfilled a social function, as "classes" became a regular weekly "girls' night out". Again, manufacturers responded by producing molds, slip, decorating material, and affordable electric kilns.
One of the largest was Duncan Enterprises. What began in 1946 as a small startup in the Duncan family’s garage was until today, a thriving international business with the same close-knit, family-owned vibes our company was founded on. Their dedication to teamwork and adaptability to change, has evolved this company from the garage to selling creative lifestyle products in every state in the U.S. and 35 other countries. In 2020, they were one of the largest ceramic arts, crafting adhesives, cosmetics and fashion art manufacturers in the world with its ongoing reputation for excellence in product development, quality, education and health & safety.
Sadly Duncan became a victim of COVID and on January 4, 2022, sold its crafts business and associated brands to the Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation (DKM), a private investment company, which I hope, will eventually operate under the name of
"iLoveToCreate." Duncan's paint line was taken over by Mayco. You can see their products at Mayco Colors.
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| The Aris Collection |
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Hobby Ceramics |
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Cast Iron Banks |
| Collectible items made in Occupied Japan during the summer of 1945 through the spring of 1952 while U.S. troops were in the country. The entire 2000-piece collection is up for sale and includes all documentation. |
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| Authentic Still and Mechanical cast iron banks from the Collection of Charles Westerly Atwood. These banks were first manufactured in the late 1800s to instill the concept of saving money in children. |
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