Announcement
Thank you for visiting our shop!
To see all the mugs that are available to mail immediately, enter the search word "available" in the shop search bar. The rest of those listed will be "Made to Order", even though they are shown as "in stock".
We want all animal species to survive long into the future!
Through sales of ANIMUGS since November 2018, our customers have raised more than $2890 to donate to organizations that are working to save various animal and human habitats, primarily funding work to raise awareness of and mitigate climate change. THANK YOU!
"CLIMATE CREATURES" and POLAR BEAR SPECIAL:
~In the "Climate Creatures" section, we have listed the mugs whose purchase will benefit climate activism work. This is also noted in the individual listings.
~We are featuring Polar bear mugs at $28 each. $10 of the purchase price from the sale of each Polar Bear mug will be donated to "350.org". $5 from many other animals will be donated to various organizations working for their conservation.
Currently, ANIMUGS donations contribute to these organizations:
350.org
Rainforest Action Network, ran.org
Seaotters.org
Save the Elephants, savetheelephants.org
Animugs Surprise Mugs are made by hand in our Cambridge, Massachusetts studio.
These Surprise Animugs are deceptively plain on the outside, but feature an unexpected creature on the inside. Mugs are in stock, unless they are listed as "Made to Order".
Your order will come via the US Postal Service. Domestic shipments take 2-5 days from mailing date. Canadian Shipments take approximately 5 -12 days in transit. Overseas Shipments have been known to take from 6 to 14 business days from the mailing date.
Announcement
Thank you for visiting our shop!
To see all the mugs that are available to mail immediately, enter the search word "available" in the shop search bar. The rest of those listed will be "Made to Order", even though they are shown as "in stock".
We want all animal species to survive long into the future!
Through sales of ANIMUGS since November 2018, our customers have raised more than $2890 to donate to organizations that are working to save various animal and human habitats, primarily funding work to raise awareness of and mitigate climate change. THANK YOU!
"CLIMATE CREATURES" and POLAR BEAR SPECIAL:
~In the "Climate Creatures" section, we have listed the mugs whose purchase will benefit climate activism work. This is also noted in the individual listings.
~We are featuring Polar bear mugs at $28 each. $10 of the purchase price from the sale of each Polar Bear mug will be donated to "350.org". $5 from many other animals will be donated to various organizations working for their conservation.
Currently, ANIMUGS donations contribute to these organizations:
350.org
Rainforest Action Network, ran.org
Seaotters.org
Save the Elephants, savetheelephants.org
Animugs Surprise Mugs are made by hand in our Cambridge, Massachusetts studio.
These Surprise Animugs are deceptively plain on the outside, but feature an unexpected creature on the inside. Mugs are in stock, unless they are listed as "Made to Order".
Your order will come via the US Postal Service. Domestic shipments take 2-5 days from mailing date. Canadian Shipments take approximately 5 -12 days in transit. Overseas Shipments have been known to take from 6 to 14 business days from the mailing date.
Items
All Items
Reviews
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Steffany on Jan 16, 2021
5 out of 5 starsI purchased these for my friends and they love it! All were great quality and safe when arrived!
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Leah on Jan 12, 2021
5 out of 5 starsAbsolutely incredible and even better looking in person. Well worth the wait.
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Elizabeth on Dec 24, 2020
5 out of 5 starsOh my gosh this is beautiful! Exceeded expectations! Made it just in time for Christmas. Thank you!
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maddieannybarra1 on Dec 23, 2020
5 out of 5 starsThese mugs are absolutely wonderful and full of whimsy. I love the attention to detail that they put in each and every mug. Very excited to give these out as gifts!!!
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Res on Dec 13, 2020
5 out of 5 starsIt’s so cute! I requested to even paint the inside pink instead of yellow and the artist did it no problem. Very good quality. Absolutely recommend
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Lindsay on Dec 9, 2020
5 out of 5 starsCan I just say how cute this is? It’s really well made and just adorable. It looks just like my Sally girl!
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Ivy on Oct 6, 2020
4 out of 5 starsbeautifully made item!! ordered for without pawprints but the cup had them anyways. it will make a great gift, thank you!
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Erin on Sep 29, 2020
5 out of 5 starsMy friend's son loves his new doggy mug! I wanted to find a mug like this that wasn't made in China (i.e., lead-free). Great artist and super communication to ensure that it arrived in plenty of time for his birthday. Thank you!
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yuuki on Jan 17, 2021
5 out of 5 starsI wrapped it up and sent it to their house, I know they'll love it! They love giraffes~
About SpademanPottery
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Sarah at the studio in summer
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Cambridge studio entrance
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Ready to be unloaded from the kiln
SAVING THESE BEAUTIES
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.
Shop members
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Sarah
Owner
Shop policies
Shipping
Payment options
Returns & exchanges
I gladly accept returns, exchanges, and cancellations
The following items can't be returned or exchanged
- Custom or personalized orders
- Perishable products (like food or flowers)
- Digital downloads
- Intimate items (for health/hygiene reasons)
I accept returns I do not accept returns
I accept exchanges I do not accept exchanges
I accept cancellations I do not accept cancellations
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for: