Muddy Fingers Pottery on Etsy

Edited to add: In late 2013 Etsy changed their sellers policy allowing goods not made solely by a shop owner/designer to flood its marketplace. What was once unique, handmade, (usually) high quality merchandise is now harder to find amongst the multiple listings for products that are, at least in part, mass produced, often overseas. The individual designers are still there, they're just harder to find. 

For quite some time (years actually) I have kept my eye open for a cooking utensil holder for some of my baking utensils that I like to keep on my countertop for easy use. I had purchased the two gorgeous ceramic pieces years ago on the right side of this image and hadn't been able to find a matching holder to place alongside them so I've been using the clear container to the left of them...

If I turn it around you can see it's an empty dog treat container. LOL. I have looked at malls, independent shops, thrift stores, yard sales and online. I've looked in the States and in Canada and had never located just the right size, shape and colors in a holder so I'd stuck with recycling this "Chicken  Nibbles" container because it was working out ok even if it looked ugly.

Last week I went on Etsy.com (again) and took a peek at the ceramics page to see if anything new had been added. Etsy is a website where designers, artists and crafters can set up virtual store fronts and list the products they have for sale using both photos and text descriptions. The cool thing is you're supporting small business owners when you shop on Etsy and though there can be a wide range of prices, they are usually really reasonable because there is no middle man mark up. It's a win-win for sellers and consumers.

Oh My Gosh! This would be perfect! I quickly ordered this "Sky Blue Utensil Holder" from Barbara Rog at Muddy Fingers Pottery and waited for my package to arrive. I was shocked when shortly after ordering I received a credit back on the excess shipping I had paid for when I placed the order. Very cool that Muddy Fingers charges actual shipping costs and refunded the rest to me. Definitely noticed that and will be more likely to order from them again.

So, today the box arrived. There was plenty of packing to keep the piece safe during transit.

I couldn't wait to unwrap it and put it to use!

And here it is. Ooooooooh it looks so much prettier than the plastic dog treat container!

Love it! It's a perfect finishing touch and was worth the long wait. If you would like to visit Muddy Fingers Pottery on Etsy just CLICK HERE. Thank you so much to Barbara for creating this gorgeous piece! It will have a very happy home here and I'll enjoy it each day when I walk into my kitchen.