First Night Carlisle

There is still time to join the fun and come out New Year's Eve for First Night Carlisle...we have several rooms available!  The festivities, events,and shows begin at 6pm and are showcased in historic venues around the downtown...all walkable from the Carlisle House.   At midnight join the countdown to 2013 with hundreds of revelers as Carlisle drops the Mini-Indy car to a backdrop of fabulous fireworks!

As this is the 15th anniversary of First Night Carlisle, the evening will be spectacular!

White Christmas

We had just enough snow that we have a white Christmas.  Merry Christmas to all.

We send a very special greeting and thank you to all our service members, especially those far from home.

Deneen Pottery - St Paul: A most interesting visit

While visiting my sister, Helen, in the Minneapolis area last week, we scheduled a very special visit to the Deneen Pottery company.  Deneen is the amazing family business that was founded by Peter and Mary Deneen and is celebrating its 40th year - 1972-2012! They produce the beautiful signature mugs and gift items that so many Inns, B&Bs, restaurants and organizations use and sell around the world!

The potter's wheel

While we knew that the pieces were handmade, we had no idea of the time and number of individuals involved in the creation of one single piece. 

First glaze

From the clay preparation (clay mixed locally), the logo artwork design, artwork mold formation, piece(mug) molding on the potters wheel, handle application, pressing, cutting and application of logo medallion (many like ours with the Select Registry Quill), firing, glazing, marbling, etc....all the way to the packing and shipping. Niles Deneen says that 24 pairs of hands touch each piece in some step and we now can truly verify that!