How Reannag Teine Started

Founded in May 2004 by a mother-daughter team, Reannag Teine is a small family pottery business that began on the far northern coast of California. That is home to the studio, at least; much of our time in the warmer months is spent traveling to medieval events, Scottish games, and Renaissance faires throughout the Northwest. It all started as a loose collection of hobbies. Since grade school, Sarah loved drawing Celtic knotwork and playing with graphics programs and Elizabeth made pottery for the fun of it. Bored and watching her mother throw on the wheel, Sarah asked to draw on the bisqued pots, and the Celtic-decorated pottery began. Being involved with historical re-enactment and the Society for Creative Anachronism since the early 1980s, branching into more historical patterns was a natural step... and that proceeded to branch out more... and more... and more...

Now located in Washington, Elizabeth throws the pieces and paints the designs while Sarah sketches the designs onto the pieces and develops more designs and does graphics and websites. Mainly, it is the two of us: the potter and the graphic artist, that make up the core of Reannag Teine—and the pair of clay-loving cats inspecting the in-progress pieces. Sarah’s brother, Christopher, deals with the technology both at home and in the booth, creates the Eyeball Monsters, makes dice, colors game pieces, and helps expedite things in a myriad of ways. This business grew to be our way of life and our means of making a living.

Become a Fan on Facebook to see what we are up to. Watch us on YouTube or Twitch—remember to click subscribe, bell, & follow buttons. Inspired to look for pottery tools? We also have content on Instagram and occasionally even Twitter... even check out our Pinterest page. Ask us questions; our degrees are in both art and education.

The Pottery

Beautiful yet durable enough for everyday, Reannag Teine pottery is all individually hade-made and painted freehand--no stencils used. All our pottery is safe for all food and drink, as well as being oven-safe, dishwasher-safe, and microwave-safe. It’s important to us that our pottery is not just pretty, but usable too, so we use the highest grade of food-safe glazes and make the pieces sturdy enough for years of use and travel. Solid enough for the medieval re-enactors but created to please modern sensibilities, our designs are a blend drawn from historical sources and our own original work. Our pieces bear our dragon-triquetra maker's mark stamped onto the bottom--but a rare few also bear feline footprints (see the information on our "inspector pets").

While we started out with just functional pottery, we branched into ceramic pendants (initially for the kids), then game sets and Weights & Beads. The designs branched out into coloring books and taking on graphic design projects for individuals and other companies--which in turn branched out into hand-painted signs.

Thanks to everyone who has encouraged us and are still encouraging us--and sending us new ideas and further requests--especially those who, after having bought their pieces, came back giving to us the stories of how they use and love their pieces. With the work that goes into the pottery, it’s great to hear of them again and see them in use as we travel about.

Here's a list of other Frequently Asked Questions.

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