Mooreville Pottery is a Michigan-owned and operated Etsy shop that sells handmade ceramic goods. Ornaments, mugs and trinket dishes can be found on the shop’s Etsy site. The owner, Anthony DeNardis, runs this business out of his garage in Mooreville.
DeNardis studied ceramics at Eastern Michigan University before pursuing his master’s degree in special education. After becoming a middle school special education teacher, he began to notice that something was missing.
“I had a void in my life, I needed to do the artwork,” he said.
What began as a way to exercise creative muscle, progressed into a business in 2017. DeNardis inherited a box of vintage license plates from his grandfather, a car enthusiast who worked for General Motors. Using the license plate as a mold he can make an imprint in the clay and form it into a mug.
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“It was just to honor my grandpa,” he said. After posting his piece on social media people wanted to purchase the mugs as keepsakes. He eventually acquired license plates for all fifty states. These mugs are now his most popular item and are even sold at the Henry Ford Museum gift shop in Dearborn.
The name Mooreville comes from the small hamlet where DeNardis and his family live near the Milan area. DeNardis has acquired four kilns at his home where he operates out of the studio in his two car garage. His wife does the bookkeeping and his two young children lend a hand with packaging.
DeNardis makes the most of his materials during his annual Seconds Sale. Every summer he hosts a sale at his home where the items that didn’t quite make the cut can be purchased at a discounted price.
These items are perfectly functional and have the bonus of being unique: “they’re called seconds…the color may be off or the mug might be warping a little bit…they’re still usable items.” The studio is open for people to get an inside look at where these items are crafted. The sale is a creative way to practice sustainability, limit waste and satisfy customers.
The Etsy shop has over 4,500 completed sales with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. “I get a lot of really positive reviews and I’m really thankful for them,” he said.
DeNardis is actively involved in each and every step of the process from picking up the clay in Ann Arbor to carefully packaging and shipping each item.
Currently, DeNardis is experimenting with trinket dishes, glazing methods and 3D printing. “I’m constantly developing new products during this time of year,” he said.
Mooreville Pottery has created opportunities for DeNardis and his family to achieve lifelong goals.
“Our goal was to visit all 50 states and within the last eight years we were able to do that because of the business,” he said.
He and his wife are both teachers and make the most of their summers off with RV trips with their children. “The license plate mugs fund my road trip traveling… that’s perfect if you ask me.”
