Shop from the Heart for Valentine's Day

Seagrove, NC - The Seagrove Potters of Historic Busbee Road will once again present a weekend experience of enjoyable Valentine's Day shopping on Friday and Saturday, the 10th and 11th of February. Refreshments, decorations and Valentine's colors and festivities will greet shoppers and give them a relaxed opportunity to talk to the potters and other crafts people.

When the group discussed the possibility of a second Busbee Road Valentine's Day event, all were in agreement that the first had been a hit with visitors.

"Last year's Valentines event was enjoyed by all who came. It was a time of the year when pottery customers weren't used to the ‘something extra' we put out for them simply with decorating and refreshments, and it seemed to go over well," said Mary Farrell of Westmoore Pottery. "People who attended had such fun!"

This year the Busbee Road group will put even more heart into the event with each of the shops donating 5% of their sales on Friday and Saturday to a charity of their choice. The charities will include St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Sandhills Children's Center, Brenner Children's Hospital, Humane Society of Moore County, Robbins Area Christian Ministries and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Eleven shops, including potters, three museums, a jeweler, a blacksmith and a wide variety of other crafts, are in a less than three mile scenic drive, where pottery has been made continuously for over 100 years. There is something for everyone on your list in the shops starting on Busbee Road at Pottery Highway 705 and ending at Jugtown Road.

Below is a list of shops and offerings for the event:

Ben Owen Pottery will have a new kiln of Chinese Red and Cosmic Blue for that special person. Ben will be demonstrating on the wheel both days and refreshments will be available as well. (10am-5pm both days) www.benowenpottery.com 910-464-2261

Chris Luther Pottery will feature a new serving ware line glazed in a variety of colors. Chris will demonstrate wheel throwing and clay altering techniques on February 11th. (10am-5pm both days) www.chrislutherpottery.com 336-301-3254

Westmoore Pottery's shop will be decorated for Valentine's Day and special gifts for couples will be highlighted. Valentine's Day refreshments will be served and wheel demos will be ongoing. (9am-5pm both days) www.westmoorepottery.com 910-464-3700

Mill Creek Forge, a blacksmith shop owned by Jerry Darnell, will have several items including hooks and hangers made up around the heart theme. (10am-5pm both days) www.millcreekforge.com 910-464-3888

Hickory Hill Pottery will serve refreshments and will decorate their shop for the occasion. Pottery wares available will be centered around the theme of Valentines Day. (9am-5pm both days) www.hickoryhillpottery.blogspot.com 910-464-3166

O'Quinn Pottery will have light refreshments made by Sandra O'Quinn, and will feature heart shaped bowls along with a fresh kiln load of pottery. (9am-5pm both days) 910-464-5125

Keith Martindale Pottery will serve refreshments and feature heart-themed ring holders and carved pieces. (10am-5pm both days) 910-464-3772

Cady Clayworks will be decorated for the holiday and we will have special heart-themed pottery for sale. Refreshments will be served and studio tours offered. (10am-5pm both days) www.cadyclayworks.com 910-464-5661

"Original" Owens Pottery will have their signature Owens Red glaze, with new larger pieces, including vases and jars, as well as a fresh supply of dinnerware. www.originalowenspottery.com 910-464-3553

Moore Pots Pottery will feature animals, including elephants, chickens, goats, and lions. You will find vases, jars, and faces jugs and pieces glazed in a new Burgundy and White Glaze. 910-464-1453.

Jugtown Pottery will have a new firing with Copper Reds, Soft Iron and Lavender glazed pieces, along with herbal candles and new American Crafts. Refreshments will be served, (including gluten free items.) (8:30am-5pm both days) www.jugtownware.com 910-464-3266

JLK Jewelry at Jugtown will feature new romantic jewelry with red stones and other new creations in a variety of colors. (8:30am-5pm both days) www.jlkjewelry.com 910-464-2653

For the Shopping with a Heart event, Ben Owen Pottery, Westmoore Pottery, and Mill Creek Forge have all chosen to support Robbins Area Christian Ministries (RACM). RACM is a local charity with about a dozen churches as members who work together in the name of Christ to help people in our community who are struggling with basic necessities. Moore County, where we live, was recently disclosed to be among the top five counties in the nation in increase in poverty level, and RACM sees that firsthand. The charity gives assistance to the greater Robbins, NC area with a food bank and assistance with other basic needs (power, water, and heat bills.)

Chris Luther Pottery chose National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCDL) as his charity of choice. This charity works to provide success in school and in life to those with learning disabilities through education, research support, and advocacy. Many children and adults struggle with learning disabilities on a daily basis. In our lifetime the number of learning disabled individuals has risen dramatically, partly due to an increase in identifying the problem, but partly because of a real increase in learning disabilities, attributable to many causes (more premature babies saved, possible environmental pollutants, etc.) NCDL works hard to make sure that those with learning disabilities see success in all areas of their lives.

For this event both Hickory Hill Pottery and Keith Martindale Pottery will support Brenner Children's Hospital in Wake Forest, NC. A pediatric hospital, Brenner is a godsend to children from all over who have special medical needs. Over 4,500 young patients end up staying at Brenner each year, and tens of thousands more are treated there without needing to be admitted. The costs of these pediatric hospital services are based on a family's ability to pay. Hickory Hill Pottery has a special reason for supporting this charity, since their youngest child has had several hand surgeries there over his young lifetime, working to correct a hand problem present since birth.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is the charity of choice for O'Quinn Pottery. The mission of St. Jude is "to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases, through research and treatment." The work of St. Jude with children who have cancer is well known, and medical treatments are provided at no cost to families. St. Jude is partially supported by the National Cancer Institute. Research funded by St. Jude has helped doctors and hospitals to reach the current level of care and cure of childhood cancers that we have today.

Cady Clayworks has selected Susan G. Komen for the Cure to support. Komen for the Cure is a well-known charity that supports women who have breast cancer, educates the public about breast cancer, and funds research into treatment and cures for breast cancer. The charity has over the years invested more than $1.9 billion in the field of breast cancer. Komen for the Cure is also a great resource for information for those with breast cancer, both the newly diagnosed and the many survivors of breast cancer. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a part of the greater funding given to breast cancer research today than was available forty years ago.

Sandhills Children's Center will be supported by Jugtown Pottery. This non-profit, with branches in both Southern Pines and Rockingham, North Carolina, provides an inclusive child development program, mixing children with special needs and those without special needs, for children from birth through age five. Sandhills Children's Center is active in identifying those young children who have a special need, so that they can receive the training, care, and treatment they need from a very early age. Sandhills Children's Center provides this care on an ability-to-pay basis. Many young children with special needs - autism, cerebral palsy, Down's Syndrome, developmental delays, nutritional difficulties, and other conditions - have been and continue to be served by Sandhills Children's Center.

JLK Jewelry chose to support Moore Humane Society. The mission of this charity is "to ensure that all animals are treated with compassion and respect, and to end euthanasia as a means of controlling pet overpopulation in our community." Moore Humane Society is not governmentally supported. It provides education about animal needs and care, rescues abandoned or mistreated animals, and maintains an animal shelter with a "no-kill" policy, so that the animals are kept until a suitable home is found for them. Another focus of Moore Humane Society is a low cost spay/neuter program to reduce the number of unwanted animals being born each year.

Visit www.potteryofbusbeeroad.com/ for direct links to the individual pottery websites. You can pick up the rack card for the Busbee Road section of the Seagrove pottery area at the NC Pottery Center, all NC Welcome Centers and at any of the shops along Busbee Road. Event flyers will also be placed at the NC Pottery Center, at Seagrove Creations, and the Busbee Road shops.

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