For the most current updates, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. It's been quite a year and I'm finding myself lucky to have time in the studio, much less time to blog about it.
In the meantime, I recently unloaded my first glaze firing in the new studio. It was not without incident as I ran into some electrical snafus in the ^6 firing cycle that did not occur in the ^04 cycle, and a couple failed partial firings may have negatively impacted some of my glazes. But the bulk of the firing was more or less successful. Hoping to have at least a small offering of updated listings on the Etsy shop this week.
Thanks for stopping by.
First fruits of the new studio. Mountains from the mountains.
Out with the old, in with the new. It's been quite a year, friends, and certainly quiet one, digitally speaking.
On May 15th, 2013, two days after our scheduled departure for five weeks backpacking in Europe, my wife, Krystal, was diagnosed with a classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. Needless to say, by this point we were certainly not doing any backpacking. Long story short, on October 15th, 2013, after four full rounds of chemotherapy, Krystal was declared in complete clinical remission.
See! Good news! We'll just ignore the bad news that came first, right?
Like I said, quite a year. But we came out on a high note, certainly. On account of having already quit our jobs, stowed our earthly belongs, and selling our house in South Dakota, we spent six months in Arizona where we got to spend some quality time with Krystal's family during her treatment. I found work that kept me busy and the medical collectors at bay, but unfortunately left me in a clay- and studio-less state. In October, my wife was offered a job in Northern Colorado. With the clean bill of health in tow, we returned to the Rocky Mountain State and are making a home (and studio) in Loveland, CO.
[That really is the shortest version of the story. Mayhaps there is more to be shared later. This is it for now. Thanks for understanding.]
So: back on the road to having a studio up and running. Still some logistical issues to sort out in preparing the house for full studio-ness, but the bottom line is that there is clay in my immediate future, and I'm very much looking forward to sharing whatever 2014 may have to offer.
Currently working on a few small projects related to getting the studio up and running and should be able to offer some sort of a post on that in the near future.
In the meantime: Happy New Year!
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And as a PS: in as much as there's a lot of 2013 I'd like to just put in a box and forget about, please celebrate with me my favorite music from last year. Because, you know, that's kind of a thing I do.
10. Justin Timberlake, "The 20/20 Experience."
I'll probably losing my indie cred for including this record on my list, but let's face it: this two-part project is chock-full of undeniably catchy pop. I lean toward Part I in my including it on the list, but I won't back down and am not ashamed to say that "Suit & Tie" was my jam for the better part of 2013. Check out: "Suit & Tie"
9. STRFKR, "Miracle Mile."
Though I'd certainly hesitate to even mention them by name in polite conversation, I was really first introduced to this band by their inclusion in one of this year's SoundSupply Drops. And it's just an impeccable Alt-Rock/Pop album all the way through. This one became an almost immediate favorite of mine and was certainly perfect for summer in the desert. Check out: "While I'm Alive"
8. Atoms for Peace, "Amok."
Pet project of Thom Yorke (Radiohead) notably featuring Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and the extremely talented Nigel Godrich, Joey Waronko, and Mauro Refosco. Great mood music for a long, hard year. Along the same vein as Yorke's solo outing ("Eraser") and Radiohead's latest "King of Limbs," it's a great electro-jazz groover. Check out: "Before Your Very Eyes"
7. Citzens, "Citizens."
It's rare anymore that I come upon a "Christian" radio station that plays anything I'm really excited about listening to, much less introduces me to a new artist. Citizens certainly blew those expectations out of the water after I heard their song "Made Alive" on the radio in Phoenix this summer. This is just a good record for fans of music (alt-rock, specifically). Check out: "Made Alive"
6. The Hawk In Paris, "Freaks."
Dark pop. Clever lyrics, cleverer hooks. Hard not to groove along with this project featuring Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay) on lead vocals. Check out: "Freaks"
5. Leagues, "You Belong Here."
Great danceable pop-rock here. I was grandfathered into my Leagues fandom via guitarist Tyler Burkum's previous work as a solo artist, hired gun (Mat Kearney, Matthew Perryman Jones) and as longtime lead guitarist of Audio Adrenaline (arguably his least engaging work as a musician thus far). Great beats, grooves, melodies, and harmonies throughout. Check out: "Walking Backwards (Live)"
4. The Civil Wars, "The Civil Wars."
I hope they're able to work out their "irreconcilable differences of ambition" to bring us more music, because Joy Williams and John Paul White make magical things happen together. Check out: "Dust to Dust"
3. The National, "Trouble Will Find Me."
I'm a late adopter of these slow-building indie darlings (2010's "High Violet" made a believer of me). This is a nearly flawless record. Haunting and beautiful, with layers upon layers of sonic master strokes. Check out: "The National - NPR Tiny Desk Concert"
1. TIE - Derek Webb, "I Was Wrong, I'm Sorry, & I Love You" / Jars of Clay, "Inland."
Two beautiful records from artists that write consistently write some of the truest music exploring the depths of life, love, and faith. Definitely worth checking out, regardless your personal feelings on any of those topics. Webb returns to his alternative rock/country roots after several experimental records for this beautiful collection of songs, while Jars of Clay forges new, yet familiar, ground again with a record that simply feels more "real" than just about anything else out there these days.
Things have been quiet here lately. So here are a couple of things worth sharing:
Getting ready for the "show" aspects of the upcoming Spring Zonta Sale THIS WEEKEND at the Pierre Mall, Saturday and Sunday. Come and say hi if you're in the area, pick up some pottery because...
I'm going on a studio hiatus do to an upcoming relocation. As in, out of town, out of state, here we go again. The house is sold, the studio is being cleaned and packed. I'm hesitant to announce any further details in this space until they're pinned down with some more finality. We have a bad habit of making plans and then changing them last minute.
For fans of my work who are local, this means that this weekend's sale is the last chance to get my work locally for a while. I won't say ever, but for a while. For those non-local, it means I've had to turn down too many orders for work in the last month than I should ever be comfortable with. Thank you in advance to those who have allowed those orders to be filed as a "hold," rather than "dismiss," until we get settled and my studio can be up and running again.
The good news, for me and pottery fans everywhere, is that having my own studio equipment means I won't have to wait (I hope) as long to get back into the swing of things once the dust has settled.
Also, I'd rather not move my inventory with me, so now's a great time to make me an offer and haggle over the details on work in stock. Which is hard to do over the internet, but know that it's an option.
Thanks again for following along. I know at least three people read my ramblings regularly, and I appreciate all of you dearly.
A sixth entry, for good measure.
And seven because it's my favorite number.
I hope you got all that. I'll try not to disappear for too long this time. In the meantime, keep tabs of me on Facebook and Twitter.
Because those are the holidays I have celebrated since I last posted.
(If you want more frequent updates I could just be a better blogger, or you can go LIKE my pottery page on Facebook to get the regular updates when they're actually, you know, updated. If you'd like to opt for me to just be a better blogger, why don't you leave a note so I now you exist, eh?)
Anyway, since it's the last week of the month I did think it was an appropriate time to share what I've been up to in the studio. Mostly in pictures. Because I don't words right now.
In no particular order, here's what I've been up to in and out of (but mostly in) my studio:
A quartet of communion chalices has been ordered. A quartet of communion chalices has been made. Quite satisfied with the shape and proportions of this set, all around.
The disembodied hand! Well, okay, that's mine. I guess I was trying to capture the "Here's what I'm up to right this second!" look for Twitter. You tweet? Follow me here!
These are my buds. My bud vases. Playing with textures, working through some bags of nasty clay. We had our ducts cleaned out in November and some amount of refuse and debris blew out of the furnace and into some of my recycling clay. I'll be picking those bits and pieces out forever.
Celebrated Krystal's birthday a couple weeks ago! We are now in the three months of the year that I really rub it in how much older she is than me. Which is three months. But for these three months it's almost like she's a whole year older than me. And that's a number I'm not at liberty to divulge right now. But we had a lovely celebration with friends and cake made my yours truly and hot tea. And then more cake. And then more tea.
Starting to look like it may be time to load the kiln. That's close to half a load on that shelf alone.
Here's a special order undertaken this winter: a single serving pour-over coffee maker. Hopefully it functions, but right now I'm proud of this handle.
More stuff waiting for the kiln. That's starting to look like a full load. There are those chalices again!
A stein. Special order. Want one? Shoot me an e-mail, leave a comment, or get working on your smoke signals!
Weekends not spent in the studio have looked more or less like this. Which is pretty great when it's snowing outside. Or cold. Or just gray, regardless of temperature. Either way, there have been more than a few hours when I could have been potting and instead I was sitting and reading and sipping hot tea and eating crumpets, etc.
A few small pieces of throwing productivity. The two on the right are to go with Teapot #2 (below).
Teapot #1. That was not the final lid. Genie not included.
Teapot #2. The cups to match are above. Starting to get more comfortable with my handles. Still don't like them - like a wrench in the gears of my productivity, but necessary evil.
Teapot #3. Full set. For the record, these are being made for fun and are as of yet unspoken for. So if you're in the market for a new teapot, just let me know.
Puppy also has spent plenty of time in the window, keeping the couch warm. It's a hard job, but somebody has to do it.
And a "finished" piece ready for the kiln. Yup.
That's the story. Taking it easy, making pots for fun. I have a pretty full inventory of "basics" to get me through any shows this spring, so this winter has been about fun things and one-off special orders. I don't suppose I have much else to report on.
Of course, always listening to lots of music. There's new music on the horizon from the likes of Phoenix, Atoms for Peace (Thom Yorke, Flea, et al), and The Strokes, but I can't say that I'm crazed with anticipation for any of those. Phoenix should be great, but AfP just reminds me I really ought to listen to more Radiohead and as much as I thought 2011's Angles was solid, if not anticlimactic, if I really want to feel like it's 2001 again I'll probably be listening to Is This It. Speaking of nostalgia, I have been listening heavily to the records that I associate with my high school days: a lot of "Christian" alternative and Top 40/mainstream rock circa '99-'02 has been providing some variety in the studio and early morning workouts. Turn of the century records from the likes of Audio Adrenaline, Skillet, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Santana, Lenny Kravitz... you know, the usual suspects.
Thrown in the mix and worth mentioning this month are the debut LP from Leagues (You Belong Here), records from The Heavy (bluesy, danceable rock), Local Natives (alt-folk; think less ethereal Fleet Foxes), and Gary Clark, Jr. (Again with the blues rock. Check him out!).
Until next month, unless I get a bee in my bonnet to provide a quicker update this time around, although still not likely to happen before next month, so that statement stands. Thanks for stopping by. Keep making things. Always love to hear from you. Tell me, what are you listening to these days? What's keeping you occupied through the winter? Or are you still in hibernation mode?
Well, I did it again - successfully went a full month between updates. Apparently I've been doing things other than pottery. Mostly. When I do get into the studio, I'm much more apt to post a picture on Facebook or Twitter.
Because, also: you should go like my Facebook page. More pictures, more frequently, and sometimes other things that you might like. Generally things that I like. Music, other artists, thoughts and ponderings. Anyway. Check it out!
Speaking of, Facebook informs me I have 4 friends who were born on this day in history. That seems like a relatively high amount for one day. So that's, you know, worth noting. But more importantly, today is my father's birthday. And he was actually born IN history. When I was in high school we actually learned about stuff that happened AFTER he was born, so that's significant. I wonder how late they're teaching history these days anyway?* But that's really not important. What's important is that he was born, and then he lived for some years, and now here he is and he's my dad and has been (since before I was born, actually!) for some time now and that's pretty cool. So happy birthday, Paul (Dad) Langholz!
On to the important things. If I haven't been throwing oodles of noodles, where I have I been? Here's a guide...
After my show I thought it would be healthy to step back, take a little break, collect my thoughts... and then we had company for a few days and I got sick and things just sort of went from there.
Unpacked everything that came home from Iowa. Took inventory. Deciding what to throw next.
Took a look at things that DIDN'T go to Iowa. Thinking maybe I need to have a Facebook Inventory Reduction Clearance Sale.
Went off Apple Orcharding. Found a tractor. It was pretty neat.
Played some soccer with my dog. She's pretty fierce.
Played some guitar. Also doing some repair and maintenance work on them. Certain projects were a long time coming on those. Guitars generally sound better without post-factory holes. Just saying.
Played some board games. Sometimes the Robber takes an alternative form in our household. Also, cute Robbers are harder to get (as) upset about.
Played some... no, wait. This is just the sign out front of our church. It's been a hot one up here. Moving right along...
Took in some live music in the Sioux Falls area over Labor Day. Pictured is House of Heroes, headlining an amazing night at the festival. I saw them once in 2005 at a tiny little hole-in-the-wall club in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. They've come along way, and they were amazing. Check them out.**
So that just about brings us up to speed. I have a show coming up (8 weeks out) and I'm realizing I'm a bit understocked. But I'm also not willing to stress out about it because I've decided that I'd rather enjoy the process of getting there and feel a little picked over at the end of the weekend than maintain a fully stocked display for the duration of a show but spend the months prepping for it in constant agony over my volume. There's a happy medium in there somewhere (something like don't ever take a month off from throwing and maintain a steady base inventory) but oh well.
But I have been throwing the last couple weeks/days. I've spent a lot of time messing about with larger pieces, most of which end up scrapped because I'm a bit too picky maybe. And one very nice, large sectional piece that I accidentally left uncovered for an undisclosed amount of time before it had been trimmed to shape and thus it was fail and sadness. But I'm getting back to the nitty-gritty functional throwing now to replenish what has been sold and distributed for selling.
Playing with mugs again. Ways to incorporate my "voice" a bit more than simply splashing about with glaze.
2-pounders. Conspicuously absent from my inventory these days. A good problem.
More of these guys. Right now sticking with the 2-pounder size. There are a couple larger ones already drying, and I'm sure I'll throw a hump of baby ones later this month.
Hard to tell, but that's a wide shallow bowl, not a platter. For a commission piece (I think).
Broad, broad bowl in this style.
All together, now - say, "Cheese!"
I've also been commissioned to create a set of Communion service wares for our congregation, so that's a fun little project I'll be embarking on in the near future.
And that would be everything I've really got time to share right now. If you're at all interested in commissioning something special (or reserving something of a specific style) for the holidays, now's the time to do it! Drop me a line at lukelangholz (at) msn (dot) com or contact me via private message on Facebook or Twitter - though really, e-mail is currently still the best method of proper communication. So it's back to the grind.
Thanks for stopping by, y'all. Have a great weekend!
*I'm totally chasing this thought, as distracting as it may be: at what point do they decide what to cut from history classes? Because with every passing year there's more history to teach. The last proper history class I took was American Heritage History my junior year of high school. As I recall, we spent close to a month on the Civil War, and then America post-Vietnam got approximately half of a class period's worth of attention the day before finals. And believe it or not, there's a whole extra decade of material to cover since then. Just curious at what point you decide, "Eh, it's time to throw out the carpetbaggers and reconstruction, and might as well toss the Era of Good Feelings too, no matter how memorable it is - gotta make room for at least ten minutes of classroom discussion on post-9/11 foreign policy and God forbid we actually shorten our coverage of the Civil War..." Anyhow. Back to the regularly scheduled content.
** Other highlights from the weekend of live music included:
Jenny & Tyler (an adorable husband'n'wife duo out of Nashville who make beautiful alt-folk together).
Sosaveme (indie band out of Michigan who make beautiful "aggressive alternative" music together - I highly recommend their most recent release, "The Garden."
Run Kid Run (nothing dramatically original or different going on in this pop-punk outfit, but one of the better non-headliners we saw).
Five Iron Frenzy (ska-punk-all-out-frenzy of a show. If you don't know about Five Iron I'm not going to try and describe them now, but WOW. My favorite from them is their 1997 sophomore release, "Our Newest Album Ever.")
Well, I suppose I've been away long enough - two weeks past the Art Sail (my big summer event this year) and I'm ready to get back into the studio. Trying to plan the coming batches of work to be efficiently productive for fall sales and also with enough room for creative growth. I squeezed a little bit of experimental work into the last batch of pots for the Sail, and I'd like to go back and pursue those further. Looking forward to mixing some things up.
But first, a look back!
A great big thank you is in order for any and all who came out to the Art Sail at the end of July! It was a wonderful day for an art fair, with plenty of sunlight, moderate cloud cover and just enough breeze off the lake to keep things refreshing. The sun never stayed out long enough for things to get truly HOT, but it was never cloudy enough to scare anyone away. Rain fell north and south of town, I heard, but we stayed dry all day long. Late that night, after the pots were long packed away and I was tucked into bed, the thunder finally rolled in and we fell asleep to the sound of the rain pelting the window panes. Beautiful day.
Looking down Main Street USA the morning of the Art Sail.
Sales were steady and, as far as I'm concerned, very good for a one day event. Seeing as how Clear Lake is my hometown there were a lot of familiar faces - folks I haven't seen in many cases for close to ten years. But great fun catching up and sharing what I've been up to.
Booth Shot.
I didn't know quite what to expect for this show as it was my first year doing it, but the Clear Lake Art Sail attracts quite a crowd from all demographics - young, old, local, vacationers - all sorts. And getting to meet everyone is just such a treat.
Pedestals in action.
My favorite incident from the weekend came in the form of a man who approached me while I was standing out in the street in front of my booth doing some people-watching. After asking if that was my work, he began with "You know, I really don't like pottery," before continuing, "but man, I really like your stuff!" Even from out in the street, he said, the decoration stood out boldly amid the shapes and colors and really exuded the style of my work without getting busy or overpowering. We chatted for the better part of 15 minutes, going over my process and stylistic influence and he left with one of my sgraffito bowls with a Retro Blue-Green interior.
It's for the stories like these that I love the shows.
It's for a lot of the rest of the stuff that I wring my hands and fret and become a mess. I had a few "Ah, #$%&" moments while loading up the chariot for the commute to the show before finally squeezing everything in with barely enough room for my copilots.
That's what we looked like 2/3 of the way through packing. No rear view? No problem!
And then the first in-the-field trial of tent and pedestals and such brought their own challenges (shout-out to my father and brother, Paul and Noah Langholz, for some assistance in my set-up and tear-down!). But overall, I think I'm figuring things out pretty well. Maybe a couple more of these things on the schedule next summer? We'll just have to wait and see!
In addition to the sales the day of the show, I was grateful for the opportunity to fill a wholesale order for the owners of a couple local jewelry & gift stores in northern Iowa, and also took some time to restock the Clear Lake Arts Center with more of my work for the gift shop. All told, I was able to come home with half of my bins empty, which meant that I had a functional rear view for the drive home. Hot dog!
After we were done setting up she ditched me for a long run. Devoted, that.
And no show recap would be acceptable without mentioning that none of it would be possible without the unwavering support of my lovely wife, Krystal. Leading up to the show means sacrificing nights and weekends and free time and many, many fun times of the summer-y sort. And to top it all off she's on-site the day of helping with set-up and tear-down and selling pots while I take potty breaks (<-"Potty" breaks? It's funny!). So she's awesome and y'all should be amazed.
"Oh, hey - thanks for stopping by!" Just your friendly neighborhood Potterman.
Edit: I realized shortly after I hit "Publish" that I'd forgotten something very important. I'd also like to give a great big thank you to everyone who helped make the Art Sail a great experience - it was a very well organized and pleasant event to be a part of. Big thank you to Jacky Garlock as well as Kim Larson and Amy Palmer at CLAC for all their hard work and for allowing me to be a part of North Iowa's premier art festival!
On the non-pottery front, we were very excited to be in-state for the arrival of the newest member of our family, nephew #2 (congrats to my big brother Sam and sister-in-law Kristin on their beautiful boy!). We couldn't have planned it better, and we were so happy to be near enough to meet him right away!
Krystal loves being an auntie!
I got back into the studio last week a little bit, and so will be back to a more regular schedule of throwing now I think. Tackling some larger mounds of clay, right now focusing more on practice and form than intent of finished project - meaning I'm not so attached to these pieces that I won't decide they need to be recycled at some point pre-firing, but here are a few things I've done.
Vase is 12" tall, for comparison. That's a rather large bowl. Not quite sure where it will be going - either stylistically or otherwise.
Yesterday's pot. 25#. Not 100% pleased with the top, but there might be some room for adjustment yet. Decent amount of weight to trim out of the bottom, though not so bad as it could be.
In addition to the big pots, I need to re-stock some of the things that sold well this summer. It's always a little predictable, but there are some things that I do always need to have on hand. I also need to spend a little time this fall hanging out with mugs, trying to find common ground that doesn't harbor any hostilities. Explore creative expression with mug as a canvas. That sort of thing. And, always, a couple commission pieces to take care of and fulfill those obligations.
And I'd be remiss to sign off without recommending some music to y'all. This fortnight I've been rather taken with one J. Tillman's full catalog. He released a record this spring under the moniker Father John Misty, and he may be best recognized as Fleet Foxes' former drummer, but his full catalog is phenomenal. Simple, earthy and mostly acoustic (solo work) and all that + amazing rhythmic sensibilities (especially with the FJM project), he will probably comprise the better part of my "official" fall soundtrack this year. Phenomenal. Check it out for yourself. Like in the video below (or here for the e-mail subscribers).
Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to check me out on Facebook!!!
Sometimes I like to imagine that there's a whole throng of folks out there that read this blog with regularity becoming a Swiss watch.
That aren't my mother. (Hi, mom!)
And in this imaginary world, all of you have been desperately wondering just where I went for all of November, as I seem to have missed an entire month of posting opportunities.
But really: "Hi, mom!"
The way it hangs there (above, see: "where I went for all of November) it almost looks as if I went on some great expedition. But mostly I didn't do a whole lot, and I'm so sorry for being absent. I've been in and out of my studio, and a little travel here and there, and back into the studio...
But generally, I feel as if I used up about 2 years' worth of discipline, motivation, and drive in the preceding three months. And while it was wonderful, and all things went great, that was just an awful lot of exertion in a short amount of time and so, intentionally or not, I took a little break. And since I don't depend on the selling of pots for the buying of food, I can afford to do so. For this I am thankful.
But I've kept myself sort of busy. Some pots, some travel, some pictures? Here:
Mugs! Yes, real mugs! And bowls. These have been drying since the first week of November. Waiting for some friends to justify a bisque firing. I'm getting there.
Spent some time in Phoenix to eat some turkey. My mother-in-law's bobcat has a thing for fine footwear of the smelly, leather variety. Seriously, look at that sublime state of bliss.
Drove up into the mountains and met a week-old zebra. Cutie-for-surie. (we call that a "Slant Rhyme.")
Got up close and personal with a giraffe. Krystal got to feed him. He was wrinkly, but friendly.
May I also say, the pinnacle of this experience was the "Predator Feed" which was essentially a parade led by a beat-up pick-up pulling a trailer full of seven hundred pounds of raw meat which was shotgunned over the fences by park staff (shotgunned in the football sense, for anyone following along at home). First of all, if you've never watched another human being chuck a 12 pound turkey in the air (and I mean, intentionally chuck - because I'm aware that Thanksgiving brings about all sorts of mishaps) - if you have never observed as someone shot-putted a 14-pound roast in the air, you are missing out. Because it's amazing. All on its own. Standalone entertainment in a heartbeat. Worth it.
Now, on the receiving end of that roast is a 6 year old, male lion - and he catches the roast in his mouth and runs off with it, shaking it dead while roasty-juice flies everywhere; on the receiving end of that flying turkey is a regular old Hobbes who up and poaches that turkey out of mid-air with a disconcerting crunch of fowl - THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT.
That said, aside from the carnivore's buffet, it was one of the strangest places I've ever been. And I've been sucked into some odd little tourist joints. But it seemed that most of the critters in the park were rescued private pets who would have otherwise been put down. Resident White Rhino Boom-Boom, for example, was originally booked as the main event at a canned hunt in Texas before being redeemed by Mark Ecko, "founder of the world famous rhino-branded apparel line, *ecko unltd., and a staunch supporter of rhino relief." Boom-Boom is now on permanent loan to Out of Africa. So, apparently good for the animals. Right.
Got Christmasy up in here.
Home-made ornaments, even. Maybe I should be marketing these things?
My lovely ladies. Tempy was helping to set up the tree.
Finally getting around to more pots this week. So there's always that.
So that's what I've been doing. Pots. A little. Running. Catching up on my reading. Shoveling snow. Scraping windshields. Running the furnace. Making soups and chilis and such things. Also, plenty of music-listening. Today I've been getting into the brand new release from the Black Keys. It's pretty dope. <--Hip=Me. Thinking that maybe this is the year that I'll actually post a "Luke's Favorite Music/Top Albums of the Year According to Luke with some input from Tempy" post.
So there it is. Nothing too exciting, but it's what I've been up to. Finishing some Christmas orders. Still lots of pots in stock around here if you're looking for any specific gift needs.
