From themid 1950s to late1970s,
BlueMountain Pottery, or as it was known, “BMP”
was a valued fixture in the living rooms of middle
classhomes.
LesleyHiscoe,presidentof theBlueMountainPottery
CollectorsClub recognizes, “Thepotterywassopop-
ular thenbecause thedesignswere incommonwith
thedecorating styleof the50’sand60’s.”
Startingwith experiments in1947by creatingpot-
teryusing the red-brownclay foundalongGeorgian
Bay’sshores,acompanycreatedby local legendary
figure, JozoWeider grew until about 150persons
wereemployed crafting theuniquedesigns. Sadly,
in2004, thecompanyclosed itsdoors forever.
Hiscoe said, “Interest in the product declined be-
cause thedesignersweren’table tokeepupwithnew
demand. Now thingsareminimalist, employing sharp lines.”
JozoWeiderwasa talented ski instructorand is credited
as the inspiration and perspiration behindwhat devel-
oped into a massive resort at BlueMountain. Born in
1909 inZilniaSlovakia, (thenpart of Czechoslovakia) he
escaped the rumblingofwar inEurope, just prior to theNazi
invasion of his country. He immigrated toCanada in 1939,
workingat manual labour in the far northand thenwas as a ski
instructoratQuebec’sChateauFrontenac. In1940,hearrived in
Collingwood.
A second fellow countryman, Denis Tupy came to Canada in
1951and joinedWeider in1953. Tupy, trained inEuropeasa
ceramicmouldmaker,collaboratedwithWeiderandwas thecre-
atorofmost of theBMPmouldsandglazes.
According toHiscoe,Weider hireda number of immigrants, in-
cludingMirekHamabelek, whowouldalsobea key player in
the genesis of BMP later becoming a ceramic decorator and
glazer. Themenworked forWeider repairing the original ski
hills and Tupy, becauseof his education in thearts, suggested
that theuniqueclay in theareabeused forpottery.
At first,Weider onlywanted to create items that couldbe sold
as souvenirs to sellatanew shopat the ski hill. “Tupy tookmore
risks,hewanted tomakepottery thatwasnotonly functionalbut
artistic,” saysHiscoe.
Theoriginal studiowhere thepotterywas createdwas located
ina small barnatWeider’s property. It was here that Tupy ex-
perimentedwith thedelicious designs that useddramatic curves
andsoft, rounded lines. The first colours for thepotteryweregreen;
tomatch thecolourof thehills. He is renowned forhisangelfish,horse
headbookendsand frondvasesand itwas these iconiccreations that
became the centrepieces inCanadian homes. But it was not only
local buyers whowere intrigued by the pieces and BMP found
markets in theUnitedStates,British Isles,Caribbean,Australiaand
other foreigndestinations.
Thedesignswerenot theonly featureof BMP that caught theeyes
of thepublic. The trademarkedprocess knownas “reflowingdecorat-
ing” that combined twodifferent liquidglazes, onedarkandone light
incolourwaswhatmadeBMPpopular.
Before the itemswere fired in thekiln, theclaywascured for12hours,
duringwhich time thedeepblueand richhueswereapplied. Theclay
wasexposed toa temperatureof2000degreesFahrenheitandwhat
emerged were the flowing patterns and mirror-like exterior that
madeBMP internationally recognizable.
In1960, with theblessingof JozoWeider and some financial as-
sistance, Denis Tupy set uphis own company, CanadianCeramic
Craft, orCCCwhereheexperimentedwithcreations that satisfied
hisartisticbent.
By this time,BMPhad leftWeider’sbarnand the tinyoriginal road-
sidegift shopandsetupoperations inastudiooutsideCollingwood,
employing35. The company continued toprosper anda second
plant was occupiedand now the company ranks had swelled to
175employees. BMP continued tomimic thegreenof the famous
escarpment but alsoaddedautumnal red-orange, brown-yellow,
and red-black to its inventory. HarvestGold,Cobalt Blue,Mocha,
Pewter, andSlate shadeswereaddedaswell.
DominicStanzionebecame thestudiopotter in the late1960’sand
he is recognizedas the individualwhoprovided thenudge that
made BMP and the area fromwhich it originated, truly fa-
mous. Hemoved toCollingwood fromhis native Italy in
1966andwas employedby theBMPCompany to su-
pervise operations at the recently built, “Pottery Stu-
dio.” LikeDenis Tupy, Stanzionewas a European
trainedartistwhoenjoyedcreating largebright yel-
lowand redhigh-impact designs. Manyof thear-
tisans under hisdirectionwere treated todisplays
of themasterpotter’sartistryasheworkedonnon-
mouldedpieces from start to end. He remained
with BMP until the early 1970’s when he also
startedhisownbusinesses,ArtisticPotteryandThe
Pottery Studio. Stanzione died in2003, before
the final demiseof BMP.
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PhotocourtesyofBlueMountainResort
ESCARPMENT
®
FEATURE
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FROMTHEHANDSOFJOZO
Theoriginal studiowhere thepotterywascreatedwas
located inasmall barnatWeider’sproperty.
WINTER
2015
