Blue Mountain Pottery

The company was founded in 1953 by Jozo Weider, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two other immigrants from Czechoslovakia, Dennis Tupy and Mirek Hambalek, also played key roles in the early days of the company. Weider owned the Blue Mountain ski hill in the Blue Mountains near Collingwood. He wanted to provide a line of items for the ski hill's gift store. Tupy, who worked at the ski hill, had European training in ceramics. One day, when a new ski run was being ploughed, he stepped into some heavy clay that had been turned up. Scraping it off his boot, he commented that it resembled the clays he had worked with in Czechoslovakia. Hearing the comment, Weider began to work with Tupy on a pottery project, experimenting with local clays from the Georgian Bay area. Weider then began Blue Mountain Pottery Ltd. as an offshoot of the ski hill. Tupy worked at the moulds for the products, while Hambalek, who had training in glazing techniques, became the chief glazer for the pottery. They built their own kilns for their product. As the pottery took off, it provided an income stream that kept the Blue Mountain ski hill afloat during the summers. The pottery was originally located in a building on the ski hill, but then expanded to a location in Craigleith, and finally to a factory in Collingwood. == Products ==

Blue Mountain Pottery were known for their combinations of glazes that gave each item a unique finish. The initial glaze used was a deep blue-green, combined with a darker glaze. This combination of glazes, called a "flow glaze" or a "drip glaze" process, meant that during the firing process, each piece obtained a unique appearance. Production of the red clay items with the distinctive glazing started in 1953–1954. The company went on to produce various types of pottery, from animal figurines to jugs, pots, and vases. One specialty item was a mug commemorating the Canadian Centennial in 1967. All of their products had the "BMP Canada" logo on the underside. The company initially sold its products in Ontario, but expanded, first across Canada, and then internationally. Blue Mountain pottery was very popular in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s, often as wedding gifts. The company also expanded into the export trade, with sales to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean. At one point, sixty per cent of the company's sales were for export, with two-thirds of those sales being to the United States. == Later years and closing ==

Tupy worked with the company until 1960. Dominic Stanzione became the studio potter, who helped expand the company and the popularity of its wares in the 1960s, particularly with large pieces made on a potter's wheel. Starting in 1982, David Bennett was the master mould maker and designer with the company. Weider sold the company in 1968, to allow him to focus on developing the Blue Mountain ski resort. Blue Mountain Pottery was acquired by International Silver Company of Canada. From 1971 onwards, the lead manager was Robert Blair. In 1987, when International Silver went into receivership, Blair bought the Blue Mountain assets, including the moulds, and maintained operations. The company finally closed on December 31, 2004, unable to compete with cheap imports. At its peak, it had been one of Canada's largest potteries. == Legacy ==

The Royal Ontario Museum has a large collection of Blue Mountain pottery, including both decorative and functional pieces, and one of the Centennial mugs. Many of the pieces are in the classic blue-green glaze, but there are also pieces in other glazes, showing the range of experimentation in the pottery studio. The collection includes donations made by members of the Blue Mountain Pottery Collectors Club in 2003, and also donations from Robert Blair, the last president of Blue Mountain Pottery, in 2005. The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto also has a collection of Blue Mountain pottery. The documentary was shown again two years later at a local film fest. ==References==