Making Animugs is so fun because I think about real animals while I work. I picture stroking the springy brown and black bushiness of a real raccoon tail, while painting black rings on a tiny ceramic one. Black padded paws under creamy fur with snow glinting between the toenails come to mind while applying feet to my polar bear miniatures. How crusty and rubbery whale skin must be, I muse, as each paint drop barnacle gets applied to the nose of the humpback.
I also love sharing the enthusiasm of collectors who are passionate about various animals: pandas, otters, horses, beavers, elephants, loons, and I assume that they love many of the same qualities that I do.
My feelings about Animugs have changed recently, though. I can no longer brush aside awareness of the difficulties that all of these species face due to effects of climate change, and habitat loss. I am not comfortable making tiny polar bears, and other charismatic animals, without also doing work to make the world livable for them all.
For this reason all of our Animugs are now, also, fundraisers for a few organizations that work against climate change. I hope our mugs are incentives to do what it takes to make the world livable for these animals and people in the long run, during the critical time period that is now!


SOME SPADEMAN POTTERY HISTORY.....
Hidden behind our apartment building in Cambridge is this cement garage. I moved here right out of college (many years ago). Wanting to continue the fun I had in the pottery shop at University of Massachusetts, I bartered wheel thrown pottery for electrical, plumbing and carpentry help from my friends, and transformed the garage into a primitive studio. Water came from the hose, heat from a small stinky coal stove. My nearly finished environmental science degree fell by the wayside, as I sold one of a kind pots at craft shows, and taught occasional pottery classes to friends.
Eventually, I started to go to wholesale gift shows, and my customers were all gift shops and catalog companies. Needing to make multiples of the same object, i turned to ceramic molds, which allowed me to make elaborate shapes at an affordable price. I enjoyed the magic interaction of plaster and liquid clay.
After many years of adding ever more figurines to our Surprise Animugs line, in November of 2004 our mugs were featured in Oprah Magazine. My crew of 4, plus mom and dad, family and friends weren't enough to fulfill the onslaught of orders. With that success I decided to offer our mugs on Etsy, in addition to wholesaling to stores. Since it is so much more fun to have contact with people who are using what we make, in 2013 we chose to sell exclusively through our own on line shop.