Blue Mountain Pottery was Canada's largest manufacturer of quality giftware pottery from its introduction in 1947 until the plant closed for good December 2004 ending a 57 year business. Located in Collingwood, Ontario, the uniqueness of Blue Mountain Pottery is a combination of the rich red clay, used in the moulding of the items, and the special glazing used to create the various shades of colour called "Reflowing Decorating".
Blue Mountain Pottery - Craigleith and then Collingwood, Ontario
Blue Mountain Pottery was a Canadian pottery company located in Collingwood, Ontario. In 1947, a group of skilled craftsmen experimented by making pottery with the red-brown clay found along the shores of Georgian Bay in Collingwood, Ontario. The first studio was located inside a converted barn at the base of the Blue Mountain, and it was there a vintage washing machine was used to mix the clay, which was cured for 12 hours before application of the glaze. It was founded in 1947 and closed in 2004. It produced various types of pottery, from animal figurines to jugs, pots and vases. The company's products have a large fan base and are collected world-wide.
Blue Mountain Pottery items feature a unique, trademarked glazing process known as "reflowing decorating". To achieve their trademark streaky effect, each piece of pottery was dipped into two different kinds of liquid glazes, which would cover tiny pores in the clay. During the firing process temperatures reached 1840 degrees Fahrenheit, which allowed the glazes to flow freely together, producing a mirror-like gloss. Since the procedure could not be strictly controlled, the finish on each piece was unique.
Blue Mountain Pottery (BMP) is generally recognized for its traditional flow-green glaze. This glaze was the original artisan’s attempt to portray the colors which appear on the face of the Blue Mountain during the spring and summer. Heavily laden with spruce and pine trees, the mountain’s slopes display vivid shades of green and blue interlaced with the dark clearings of winter ski runs. Over 30 other color combinations were also used throughout the years, many with the intention of echoing the natural elements of the area. Vivid, watery blues mirror the pristine waters of Georgian Bay, while red-orange, brown-yellow and red-black illustrated the magnificent colors of autumn. Blue Mountain Pottery items were available in the traditional green hues, but also in Harvest Gold, Cobalt Blue, Mocha, Pewter, Red, and Brown.
Collecting Blue Mountain Pottery is still popular by many and, as time goes on, pieces will become much more difficult to find in perfect condition. It is important to be able to identify Blue Mountain Pottery from other look-a-likes. All pieces that had a closed base also had one of a variety of BMP mould marks. For items that had no base including most of the bird and animal items, they were sold with stickers or tags, many long since lost. However, a trained eye can always identify the quality workmanship, the special glazing and the specific moulds of Blue Mountain Pottery.
Ongoing changes in base and drip colors should make dating BMP easy, but quite the reverse is true. “There are several factors to consider,” said Pat Pitcher, a dealer/specialist in Canadian Pottery, including Blue Mountain. “The first difference is that while some colors were offered exclusively through BMP catalogues, others were made strictly for sale in the factory shop, as studio pottery or as a special order, and these works could cover any time frame. In addition, ‘seconds’ and overruns from special orders were also sold from the factory store. Over or under firing also affected the end result, so a very unusual shade could just be the result of kiln conditions.”
