White Forest: Merge Coffee Cup by Nancy Bauch and Thomas Ryan Barkman

The Merge Cup

When I asked Thomas Ryan Barkman if he could put a wood handle on a porcelain cup, he did, unbelievably beautifully.
We brought this idea to life in a collaboration called "Merge"...where wood meets mud....and the rest is history

But, not only a pretty face, this cup works hard. The handle is fastened with food grade stainless fastener, permanently sealed, completely watertight. And the saucer with foot does double duty as a lid.

You can feel the quality when you fill it with hot coffee and the cup becomes perfect balance in your hand. I have been test driving mine for a year and will tell you that it is ALWAYS the cup I choose in the lineup every morning in the studio.

NEW! Baby Merge Espresso Cup
This season we bring you the "Merge Espresso"... a porcelain espresso cup with the same rich American Walnut handle.
Saucer available.

More info and ordering here:

http://www.mergecup.blogspot.com

....A Little Known Story About Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz

by Larry Bianco
(Part 1) beautifully written by Olga Besen
(Part 2) awkwardly finished by Nancy Bauch

.......after the twister ripped Dorothy's house and hurled it far, far away, into the magical land that was divided into four different countries, each a different color, and each ruled by a fairy. Two of the fairies were kind, and good, the other two were wicked. Dorothy's house landed smack on top one of the wicked fairies, and squished her flat; all but her beautiful ruby shoes. Glenda, (a good fairy), appeared to Dorothy and suggested that she put on the ruby slippers and go to Oz, where fabulous adventures awaited her, true and loving friends were to be made, who needed her help, and that she would discover a means of getting back home to her family in Kansas.

Dorothy went through all her adventures successfully, and appealed to Glenda again, asking her help. She wanted so much to return to Kansas. Suddenly, Glenda was holding a pair of beautiful blue sparkly shoes, exactly like the ruby-red ones, and even prettier! Glenda congratulated Dorothy on a job well done, and presented her with the lovely blue slippers. She told her that those shoes would take to a place even more magical, where Dorothy could rejuvenate and discover some lovely gifts to take home to her family and friends. Then, she should call Glenda again, and the fairy will tell her how to get home.

When, (as per the fairy's instruction), Dorothy clicked the heels of her blue shoes three times; she was in the most magnificent, enchanted forest, all white, with lovely bells, and woven ornaments hanging off slender white branches. The beautiful porcelain pieces were also nestled among the trees and shrubs. The very air was shimmering with magic which the ceramic objects seemed to emit. She was stunned momentarily, but then ran around, collecting one, and sometimes more than one, of every single piece she found. She loaded two birch baskets quite full, then, ecstatic, she called Glenda's name. The fairy came right away. She emerged from the little grotto in the forest, carrying a stunning sculpture, which she presented to Dorothy with the words:

"You have a good heart, and appreciate the true beauty and treasures found in nature . You should come to the White Forest again, and you should invite friends to come discover lovely, unique things".

"But how can I?" cried Dorothy, "I cannot take these blue shoes with me, and I don't know how to return to this enchanted land!"

"But my dear Dorothy, you don't need to come to the enchanted land to find beautiful ceramic pieces! All you need to do is come to a place called Cold Spring in New York State, and you and your friends could shop for gifts, (ones they would give to others, and some which they would want to keep for themselves). And, if they can't get to New York, the White Forest has an excellent website where everyone can find lovely, one of a kind, truly magical things. The address is:
White Forest Pottery.com

Well...Dorothy loved her new life in this Enchanted Land. She got to walk barefoot in the forest, make bells to hang in trees, weave rocks beside a stream and lovely snowflakes all year long. She was very very happy and one day Glenda appeared again in the clearing of the Forest while Dorothy was pouring a pitcher of pure white clay into a hollow. Glenda asked her if she would still like to return to Kansas where her family and friends missed her so. "No I do not need to return anymore" said Dorothy, and continued.. "as this my Home now and these elves are my true friends." Glenda looked up to the bright brilliant blue sky and said "Then you will live here forever and ever". The other elves and fairies of the White Forest jumped up and down with glee and they danced and danced around the big maple tree. Then they dressed her in flowing white clothes and made her a crown. It was fashioned with flowers and long trailing ribbons, crystal beads all tied up
at the top with a tiny bird's nest! Dorothy loved her new crown and it made her look ever so pretty. "Now I look like all of you" she said, and gave them all a big hug. Glenda then told her that she would stay pretty and ageless forever as long as she lived among in the forest and ate berries and nuts from the trees and drank in the sky every dawn like a cup of spring water.

All the gnomes gathered to build her a tree house and one day a big handsome gnome came to build her a ladder so she could climb to the top of her tree to go to sleep. Now this gnome was different from all the other gnomes for he wore a very pointed hat and had the most beautiful crystal blue eyes she had ever seen. They sparkled like the light that danced above the lake at the very top of the mountains every time he smiled. They even kind of reminded her of the sparkly sapphire slippers that she had worn when she first came to the White Forest but were now tucked away in a very secret spot deep inside the old oak tree. This gnome thought that Dorothy was very different from the others too for she laughed when she spoke about herself. So he visited her almost every day while she did her chores and sometimes he would leave her a poem beneath the big rock where she sat. He sometimes would write on the
back of a piece of bark that had fallen from the tree where she slept. Dorothy would take these special poems and roll them up and tie them with the ribbons from her crown then tuck them away with her sapphire slippers so no one would see.

Then one day, he told her about the Black Forest... the place where he had come from. It sounded very exciting and so Dorothy asked "do you think you could you take me there someday?" "No no no" he exclaimed, "you must never go to the Black Forest" The man said. "This is your Home, you are so loved here". Then one day the man was gone and Dorothy waited and waited by the stream for him to come but he never returned. Dorothy decided he must have gone back to the Black Forest and she so missed him so very very much, that one day she decided to see if she could find the place that he often spoke about... The Black Forest.

So Dorothy walked through many many forests and many many fields and finally she arrived at the edge where the Black Forest meets the White Forest. She was hesitant at first because of what the gnome had said but at the very same time she thought she smelled food cooking and by this point she was very very hungry. So she tiptoed into the Black Forest and all at once discovered a whole new world...

She was most pleasantly surprised to discover the beauty of the Black Forest and the ways of the Urbanites who lived there. They welcomed her with open arms and invited her to join them for dinner which was cooking in a great stone fireplace. Now Dorothy was so hungry and cold by this point that she decided to accept their invitation and gratefully joined them around the biggest round table she had ever seen. One of the Urbanites sitting beside her told her that it was made from a slice through the center of a 1000 year old black walnut tree! It had been hit by lightening and had fallen down many years ago. The Urbinites great grandfathers had made many beautiful things from that big old black walnut tree. They had made benches and tables and even stools.

The urbanites also had these curious metal urns filled with a dark black liquid which they called "coffee" and they poured it into white cups made of clay that had square black walnut handles.. made from the scraps of that magnificent old 1000 year old tree. They ate with soft wooden utensils that were tucked in rich linen pockets. And they placed their food on square black plates in 2 different sizes. These plates had a surface like the black pearls Dorothy's mother had once shown her on a necklace. Beside every of these plates were beautiful round balls with candles inside. They had been pierced with different size holes and these holes made a thousand tiny stars upon the big round table.

After dinner they brought out a giant white cake that was black on the inside and white on the outside. They called it a "Black Forest Cake" and with it they drank tea from the most beautiful tiny cups that were shaped like eggs and filled with bright green leaves. And in the center of the table was a big beautiful white flower that was floating in a big black bowl filled with water. They called it "The Lotus Bowl"and at this point all she could think of was how much she wished the other elves and fairies back home could see all this splendor.

Then all of a sudden Glenda appeared and spoke to her but the gnomes could not see Glenda nor even hear her. But this is what Glenda said, "you must return now to the White Forest for all the elves and fairies are worried sick about you and have been trying to find you for weeks." Dorothy thought about her beautiful life back Home at the White Forest and she began to think how much she missed them all too. So she gathered her tiny rose colored purse and kissed all the gnomes good bye and thanked them for their beautiful meal they had shared with her that night. One of the gnomes presented her with a gift in a big black box with a shiny white ribbon. "Take this home and show it to your friends" one of them said, "And when the moon is full and the first snowflakes fall on the first of day of the last month of the year share these gifts with them."

Glenda accompanied Dorothy home on her journey through the many many fields and the many many forests to finally the White Forest where upon her return, she noticed a few tiny snow flakes beginning to fall. She could see off in the distance the White Mountains of the White Forest now had a bit of a dusting of white upon their ragged tops that had not been there before. When Dorothy arrived no one was around then she saw a big white birch house and looked into one of the windows. The elves and fairies were warming themselves around a big stone fireplace inside. When she opened the door, they lifted their heads and saw that she was finally home and they were so very happy that they jumped up and down and danced all around. She gave each and every one a great big hug and this is what she said: "I have ventured to the Big Black Forest and learned the ways of the Urbanites. This is a gift from them to you." She opened the big black box and called them all to gather round as she took each piece out carefully..unwrapped each one slowly revealing her lovely new treasures...

The Black Forest Teacups
The Black Forest Condiment Plates
The Black Forest 5" Square Plates
The Black Forest 7" Plates
The Black Forest Salt and Pepper
The Black Forest Lotus Bowl

No one ever knew what became of the gnome with the very pointed hat and the most crystal blue eyes...but there were a few voicemails on Dorothy's new cell and she ran out of minutes...

stay tuned

The End.

Please join us on Thursday evening February 10 at 7pm for a special reading of: "A Little Known Story About Dorothy From The Wizard of Oz" by Jonathon Kruk "The Story Teller" and live acoustic guitar music by Steven Kellman.