Putnam & Speedwell

How Tokens Work

In a world where online shopping can feel rushed and anonymous, I wanted to create something different — something human, steady, and rooted in the values that shaped me.

That’s where Tokens of Appreciation come in.

They’re not points.

They’re not a game.

They’re not a marketing trick.

They’re a simple, sincere way to acknowledge your return, your trust, and your presence here — a modern gesture inspired by the old kindnesses I grew up with.

What Tokens of Appreciation are

Tokens of Appreciation are small acknowledgments you receive when you return to the shop, make a purchase, or engage with the community. They’re my way of saying:

“I see you. I remember you. Thank you for being here.”

Each token signifies a gesture of gratitude — nothing more complicated than that.

How You Earn Them

You earn Tokens of Appreciation through natural, everyday interactions:

• Returning to the shop
• Making a purchase
• Sharing feedback or a review
• Being part of the community over time

There’s no pressure and no tracking on your end.

You don’t have to sign up for anything just follow us here.

You don’t have to keep score.

I keep track quietly, the way people used to remember who came through the door.

How You Use Them

Tokens of Appreciation can be exchanged for small gestures in return — things like:

• a modest discount
• a little extra in your package
• early access to something new
• a quiet kindness that fits the moment

Nothing flashy.

Nothing loud.

Just a steady, human exchange.

Why this Matters

In the old days, loyalty wasn’t something you enrolled in.

It was something you lived.

People remembered each other.

They showed up for one another.

They honored the relationship.

Tokens of Appreciation are one way of carrying that forward — a simple, modern expression of sincerity, sociability, and constancy.

A Final Note

You don’t have to do anything to join.

You don’t have to track anything.

You don’t have to manage anything.

Just be here.

Return when you feel called.

Let the relationship grow naturally.

I’ll take care of the rest.

For a full explanation of the values guiding this program, please see the Gratia Page, which outlines the principles and expectations in detail.

— V.

This journey began as a simple research project — exploring the pottery traditions of Ohio. What started as curiosity grew into something larger: a business that connects heritage with everyday life.

After wrestling with menus and directions, I’ve returned to simplicity. My WordPress site is now a blog with a single page for shopping— two buttons, two doors:

• Shopify — for dinnerware and linens, the structured side of the shop.
• Etsy — for stationery, books, and a touch of vintage clothing, the storytelling side.

It wasn’t easy to change. Like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, I’ve wrestled with tradition and the need to adapt. But change was necessary — to keep the work flowing, to keep the joy alive.

Alongside the shop, another project waits patiently: a book that began with pottery research and continues to call me back. The writing reminds me that this work is more than commerce — it’s story, heritage, and rhythm.

For now, I celebrate clarity: one page, two buttons, a path forward. Tradition anchors me, change keeps me moving, and the book reminds me why I began.

Links:

Telling Stories

Seems like such a long time since I decided to study the material culture of the potteries. There were hundreds of potteries that dotted the countryside with access to water. I had lived in Ohio for years; but, I recognized only Homer Laughlin. I faced quite a learning curve . . . I found an odd yellow unmarked dish, identified by a friend, as Glidden Pottery. The dish belonged to the Ferris Wheel Stand for hors d’oeuvre. I wondered about the basic utility of such a device and the maker. There are basic outlines in Wikipedia. While both entries (Glidden Pottery and Glidden Parker) are well-researched, thorough and maintained. Still, I am curious. Glidden Parker remains an enigma – bits and pieces of life as an artist are scattered like a puzzle.

Glidden McLellan Parker had not planned on making pottery. He knew that he wanted to study literature and write. Described as temperamental, he was a loner with few friends. He had little interest in cities and crowds of people. Close to home, Bates College seemed like a perfect fit. The small liberal arts college nurtured and encouraged students in the English Literature Department. And importantly, he wanted to live at home with his parents.

Owen Dodson was a long, long way from Brooklyn. He knew that he wanted to write. And he was gifted. Bates College awarded him a scholarship. He worked at odd jobs on the weekends and rarely partied with other students. Self described as one of two Negroes, he was obviously different. Yet, he was surprised that it mattered at a liberal arts college. The loneliness of that first year did not deter him from his ambition. Alone, he observed others from his window. He was an avid reader. And, he began writing in earnest.

Owen met Glidden in the library in the Autumn of his sophomore year. The meeting was pivotal for both; they shared a bond, a close friendship. Owen writes that they were soul mates – sharing their work and enjoying campus life. Loneliness was left behind. As Owen wrote, “They invited a small group of writers to share their work, “Several boys and girls who are particularly interested in creative work meet, eat supper, and discuss their works. . . . [the Bates poets] worshiped beauty, truth, and read Hedda Gabler.“¹

This circle of friends was a boon for both Glidden and Owen. They flourished . . . Glidden writing plays and short stories while Owen wrote poetry and plays. Owen entered the Yale School of Drama as a graduate student. Later, Owen Bates was recognized as a distinguished poet, playwright and professor at Howard University. Glidden Parker wrote and published short stories, plays and was working on a book.²

During family vacation to the Finger Lakes, they visited the College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Glidden knew this was the place. The faculty were among the best in the country. He was welcomed and felt comfortable in the Ceramics Department. Two years later, he began making pots to sell.

In 1941, Glidden Pottery opened for business. Local potters, a few faculty members and his spouse, Pat (Harriet Hamill). Glidden developed a mixture of clay from Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. This clay allowed a relatively low firing temperature of 800 Degrees which saved time and yielded oven proof ware. Eschewing commercial glazes, Pat developed glazes that were quite remarkable. Matrix a soft blend of turquoise speckled with other colors remains the most popular glaze. As described in the New Yorker, “This Pottery which is ovenproof is distinguished by a matte surface, soft color combinations.”

Glidden Parker, much like Russel Wright, was committed to bringing his pottery to market at an affordable price. For example, a sixteen piece set sold for less than 20.00 at department stores. To achieve his goal, Glidden used Ram Molds that simplified the process. And later, a tunnel kiln was built which led to the production of thousands of pieces each week. After the process of unmolding, each piece was hand decorated. Individual pieces had interesting shapes that functioned for the cook and for the family. Glidden Pottery was distinctive certainly, the quality was obvious with a handmade look and feel. The dinnerware was stocked at high end department stores like Bergdorf’s in New York City. Soon, Glidden Pottery was featured in popular magazines – House Beautiful, Life, and Woman’s Home Companion. He also sold pottery at the Roadside Markets along with other local artists.³ The popularity of Glidden Pottery grew . . . as we would suspect.

re-imagining the everyday of life

Glidden Parker, like Russel Wright, not only realized their designs but, they were welcomed in the market. The modern consumer had a “passionate desire for color and new forms” as noted in the New Yorker. Beyond the aesthetics of their pottery, they understood that the everyday of life was casual. Parker added the words, Casual Living, above his sketch of a few designs. Wright developed a new line of ceramics with this as his design principle. Odd, that both men traced their heritage to the Mayflower and at the same time, they broke with that tradition.

Sales had far exceed their expectations. No doubt, the extraordinary volume of sales confirmed their beliefs of the aesthetic of the modern household. The editor of About the House described, “an almost pathetic and largely frustrated eagerness” by consumers. Householders looked to modern trends instead of the advice in The Frugal Housewife.⁴ Conspicuous consumption was an unintended consequence that was not understood by the Old Guard. J. Stuart Johnson wrote, “Whenever new shipments arrived, near‐mob scenes developed at Macy’s and elsewhere.”⁵

Financial success required business acumen including management skills.⁶ This point was not lost by the editor of About the House who noted that Russel Wright understood business. This is not a surprise. Wright was an industrial designer engaged in solving problems much like an engineer. Wright had his feet grounded in the natural world. The color and beauty of the natural world inspired his glazes. The shape and form designed for the ease and usage by humans. Wright was not a potter; but he accomplished “beautiful design” with the “advantage – and limitations – of the machine.”⁷

Each piece of Glidden Pottery was painted and sculpted by hand after removal from the kiln. Kiln marks were knocked off the bottom. The process is slow. It is hard to imagine producing thousands of pieces in one week – but, they did. Skilled potters like Fong Chow were essential along with others who finished each piece. Parker borrowed to finance the expansion of the pottery to meet consumer demand.

The trajectory of Glidden Parker and Russel Wright are mirror images. The production go Glidden Pottery and American Modern began and ended at nearly the same time. The closure of both potteries was the result of the opening of the American market to ceramics produced in Japan. The Federal Trade Commission eliminated and/or reduced tariffs on ceramics imported from Japan, Europe and England. While the reductions were offered in the spirit of friendship, less costly goods from Japan flooded the markets. On the other hand, French Limoges represented luxury to consumers. The market pressure was to the detriment of American Potteries. By some estimates over 1000 potteries in the region closed soon after the Legislation. The closure of the Glidden Pottery ended in the devastation of bankruptcy. When Steubenville Pottery closed its doors in 1959, the potters and employees lost their income and too often, their homes. Sterling China and Iroquois China produced vitrified china designed by Russel Wright for a few years beyond most closures.

Glidden Parker was an artist. He wrote stories, made pottery, painted, and designed stained glass. At the peak of production at Glidden Pottery, he published a short story and two plays. His short story, Bright and Morning, was included among the best published in 1950. His stained glass designs are outstanding.⁸ Yet, he never escaped, the melancholy described by Owen Dodson. Years later, Glidden committed suicide.⁹

Short Bibliography

Glidden Parker in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glidden_Parker

Glidden Pottery in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glidden_Pottery `

Sterling China, https://www.themuseumofceramics.com/sterling

Iroquois China, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iroquois_China_Company

Bruce A . Austin, Tourists and Trade: Roadside Craftsmen and the Highway Transforming Craft (State University of New York, 2023)

Glidden Parker, Bright and Morning, The Kenyon Review, Winter 1949 • Vol. XI No. 1.

James V. Hatch, Sorrow is the Only Faithful One, Arnold Rampersad (Reprint, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1995).

Ronald J Kransler, Glidden Pottery: Alfred Mid-Century Highstyle Stoneware ( Universal Publishers,  About the House, The New Yorker (Sept. 17, 1949: p. 82 – 87)

 The International Museum of Dinnerware Design, https://dinnerwaremuseum.org/main/glidden-pottery/

The Museum of Modern Art included Glidden Pottery in the exhibition, Useful Objects of Fine Design. The piece was described: “covered casserole, oven proof pottery . . . Cover to be used as serving dish. Glazes to order” ¹⁰

Footnotes

1. James V. Hatch, Sorrow is the Only Faithful One, Arnold Rampersad (Reprint, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1995). ↩︎
2. A short story, The Axe, was published in The Literary Workshop in 1934. ↩︎
3. Bruce A . Austin, Tourists and Trade ↩︎
4. Child, Lydia Maria, The Frugal Housewife: Dedicated to Those Who Are Not Ashamed of Economy. Boston: Marsh & Capen, and Carter & Hendee, 1829. ↩︎
5. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/23/archives/russel-wright-pioneer-designer-in-the-modern-mode-is-dead-at-72.html?smid=url-share ↩︎
6. About the House, The New Yorker (Sept. 17, 1949: p. 82 – 87) ↩︎
7. Fong Chow, Craft Horizons  1953-08: Vol 13 Issue 4 ↩︎
8. https://www.mlive.com/opinion/jackson/2014/06/brad_flory_column_huge_glass_m.html ↩︎
9. Grant, Nathan L. “Extending the Ladder: A Remembrance of Owen Dodson.” Callaloo, vol. 20 no. 3, 1997, p. 640 – 645. Project MUSE, https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/cal.1998.0068. ↩︎
10. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/2730 ↩︎

Restaurant Ware has everything necessary for busy places even with children. Colors and Styles are endless . . . and best of all these pieces will last through a generation or two. After all of these years, I still find something new or even “my new favorite.” And that last statement is something because, I am not fickle. But, I so love color. Even though, I once told Mr. Wells at the Chicago Housewares Show that I preferred White. He was taken aback, no doubt, because he was standing in front of the New Fiesta Colors. He appreciated my honesty and to try to convert me, I received a large Creamy White Baroque Salad Plate. A few weeks ago, I finally found this pattern in an old Catalog. It is listed in the Melody Line as an “ornate salad plate.”

Since then, Restaurant Ware has had a “moment” . . . so much easier to find. My new favorite color palette includes Blue in all of the shades from aqua to turquoise. Here are a few of our latest finds . . .

Mayer China is truly one of the very best makers of china. Their history goes back to 1881 in the USA. Quite a story – and a legend! They produced thousands and thousands of pieces for Horn & Hardart like this small bowl for ice cream or sherbet.

Sterling Vitrified China began producing restaurant and hotel ware in East Liverpool Ohio in 1917; later moving to Wellsville Ohio closing in 2003. Sterling is incredibly durable and produced interesting designs that still look modern. This large dinner plate in a modern coupe shape has turquoise blue and olive green alternating matchsticks around the rim. The plate weighs 11/2 pounds – truly built to last!!

This Syracuse Pattern is new to me. . . after a bit of time researching, I found the original hand drawn pattern with a name, Charm. Love the name mostly because the French Blue is so appealing. And also the size of the cup is large enough for a coffee lover/addict like me. . . .

Last but not least, Buffalo China produced a wonderful shade of Blue that reads Jade at times and depending on the color of other pieces that may be mixed with it.

All of the restaurant ware is still available at our Etsy Shop. You may use this link to access a code for a discount of 10% off: https://putnamandspeedwell.etsy.com?coupon=WORD10PERCENTOFF Also, if you are looking to stock up, we offer shipping at no charge for any order over 100.00