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ESCARPMENT
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FEATURE
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FROMTHEHANDSOFJOZO
At this time,Collingwoodcouncil alsoadded to the finan-
cial woes of the companywhen changesweremade to
the town’s official plan. The location of themall where
BMPwas locatedchanged indesignation from industrial
to commercial in February 2004. The result of this in-
creasedannual taxes substantially soonDecember 31,
2004, Blair finally closed the door on BMP. Thirty-five
jobs, vital to the local economywere terminated.
Although it has been almost adecade since the kilns at
BMPgavebirth tosomeof themost iconicpotteryevercre-
ated inCanada, interest in theproduct thatmaynowseem
kitschycontinues.
LesleyHiscoe,who resides inSt.Catherines,Ontario first
got involvedwithBMP in2004whileshewasonvacation
inCollingwood.Prior to that shehadno interest in thepot-
terybut shewas surprisedat the varietyof colours of the
pieces.
Onher tripshedecided topickuponesmall itemasasou-
venir and she said, “I started picking up further pieces
once Iknew that itwasno longeravailableandbecoming
valuable.”
ThevalueofBMPpeakedprior to the2008 recessionand
it is starting to slowly recover. E-Bay currently lists 868
pieces and artefacts for sale from owners located in
Canada, theU.S. andU.K. A “BlueGlazeMini-Dog,” is
selling for $3.60 and an “Anniversary 1
st
edition dish
plate set,”will cost abuyer $222.00. Themost valuable
pieces include the one-of-a-kind creations of Domic
Stanzione that sell forhundredsofdollars.Hiscoeownsa
vase sheestimates valuedat $800.00. Limitededitions,
such as the 50
th
anniversary SUNOCO platewill fetch
$400 - $500.
But it isnot speculation invalue that encourages themore
than100members of LesleyHiscoe’s club, who live not
only in this countrybut Australia,NewZealand, and the
UnitedStates. She says, “Whenvisitorscame toCanada
they picked up a pottery souvenir. If you came to visit
here, youwantedapieceof BMP.”
The tasteofmodernpop-art collectorsmayhavechanged
since JozoWeider first inspired the pottery that talented
Europeanand later,Canadianartistscreated. The flowing
curvesandnature-inspiredcoloursofBMP representeda
gentler, more naïve time. They havebeen shuntedaside
bystark,minimalist linesofart that ispartofourdirect,cyn-
ical culture. But the hands of Jozo are still alive in the
hearts and minds of those who continue to love Blue
MountainPottery.
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BlueMountainPotterywasCanada's
largestmanufacturerof qualitygiftware
pottery from its introduction in1947until theplantclosed
forgoodDecember2004endinga57yearbusiness.
TheuniquenessofBlueMountainPottery isacombinationof the rich redclay, used in themoulding
of the items, and thespecial glazingused tocreate thevariousshadesof colourcalled"Reflowing
Decorating". ThemostpopularcolouringofBlueMountainPotteryhasalwaysbeen thegreen
toned items, butover theyears, particularlyduring the1960s, othercolourswere introducedsuch
asHarvestGold,Mocca, CobaltBlue, Pewter, Red, Brown, etc. Theproduct linealsoexpandedover
theyears fromdecor vasesand figurines to includekitchencannistersandservers tocomplete tea
andcoffeesets. BlueMountainPotterywassold throughqualifiedDistributorsandSpecialtyGift
StoresacrossCanada. Itwasshippedaround theworld includingGreatBritian, GermanyNew
Zealandand theU.S.A.
~
CollectingBlueMountainPottery isstill popularbymanyand, as
timegoeson,will becomemuchmoredifficult to find inperfect
condition. It is important tobeable to identifyBlueMountainPot-
tery from other look-a-likes. All pieces that had a closed base
alsohadoneofavarietyofBMPmouldmarks. For items thathad
no base includingmost of the bird and animal items, theywere
sold with stickers or tags, many long since lost. However, a
trainedeyecanalways identifythequalityworkmanship, thespe-
cial glazingand thespecificmouldsofBlueMountainPottery.
~
WINTER
2015
