HOT SELLERS
Pueblo artists’ pottery designs replicated on line of Starbucks travel mugs
Elizabeth Medina signed so many autographs on Wednesday that she lost count.
Erik Fender, who sat next to Medina during an artist meet-and-greet at the pueblo-owned Starbucks on 12th Street, had much the same experience.
Medina and Fender are among the five pueblo potters from around New Mexico whose original designs have been replicated on a new line of hot-selling travel coffee mugs offered across the street at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The center’s gift shop began taking orders for the mugs on Thanksgiving, and customers bought all of them before they even arrived, shop manager Alejandria Rodriguez said.
The store quickly placed another order, then ran through that stock, too. It is now placing customers in a queue for when the next order arrives from the manufacturer, some time after the holidays.
“I knew it was going to be popular,” said Fender, whose original design showcases San Ildefonso Pueblo’s customary black-on-black style with a hint of turquoise and his most distinctive touch, a bit of sterling silver. “I had a lot of people asking me how to get one, but I didn’t think it would be this — this is overwhelming. It’s amazing.”
Fender — who said he represents at least the fourth, if not the fifth or sixth generation of potters in his family — has had fans clamoring for a mug since the Starbucks opened last December.
The pueblo-owned corporation that runs the cafe had commissioned Fender, Medina (Zia), Frederica Antonio (Acoma), Patricia Lowden (Acoma) and Robin Teller (Isle-
ta) to create clay, traditionally fired pots in the shape of travel coffee mugs. The store has had the pieces on display in a glass case since day one, generating a steady stream of customer inquiries.
Medina, whose design incorporates the traditional Zia sun symbol, a spinach plant, a roadrunner, a raindrop and more, said the attention the mug has brought has spurred interest in her other work. She specializes in usable pieces like storage jars and serving bowls. (She and husband Marcellus Medina also collaborated on the Gildan New Mexico Bowl trophy, itself a piece of pottery.)
“I’m very surprised,” she said of the coffee mug frenzy. “It’s very good for us as artists. It’s a lot of advertising. Even with the traditional pots I make, they’re really selling good because of this publicity we’re getting.”
The 20-ounce, double-walled polyresin tumblers cost $25. They are sold out now, but will eventually be available again through cultural center’s gift shop, Shumakolowa, and its website, shumakolowa.com.
Rodriguez said orders have come in from places as far away as Germany and Poland.
“It goes to show these traditional and contemporary designs resonate with people in New Mexico, the Southwest and across the world,” she said.