Bybee Pottery

My name is Gwen and I'm a Bybee Pottery addict. It started about 20 years ago. I had just graduated from college and I needed a few things for my new apartment. My sister suggested that we take a trip to Berea (I'll get to that in another post) and why not stop at Bybee Pottery on the way there. And so we did, and that's where my troubles began. A few coffee mugs, a butter dish, a pie plate or two from the seconds shelf. Today, we dine off Bybee plates, eat cereal from Bybee bowls and if you ever get a plate of cookies or a pie from me you can bet it's on Bybee!

Bybee Pottery, in Waco Kentucky, has been in business since 1809. Their distinctive primitive style is familiar to most Kentuckians in Bybee blue as well as their very attractive speckled finishes. While you can find Bybee at various gift shops around the South and at the occasional quality garage sale, the best way to get Bybee is to get it yourself. A worthwhile visit to Bybee means being out the door by 7:10 a.m. from Lexington to make certain you are in line for the sale room's door opening at exactly 8 a.m. Pictured above we stand with our recent Bybee purchases in mid-December. When shopping's completed you can give yourself a tour of the pottery (also pictured above). We always like to see what's being made, talk to the craftspeople AND as we discovered on our recent chilly morning -- stay warm from the fiery kiln. Little has changed in the way the pottery is made in the last 200 years. The clay still comes from a short distance away and rumours are always in circulation that the pottery is soon to run out of clay and will close its doors forever. I no longer believe those rumours but I like to use them as an excuse to stock up whenever I'm there. Did I mention my addiction?

Important to remember for shopping at Bybee: doors open at 8 a.m., what's there is what's there and that's it for the day. They don't take credit cards but they do take cash and checks. You can order things but don't ask when you can pick the order up, it's worth the wait anyway. Don't touch anything on the floor -- that's somebody else's stuff so make your own pile on the floor when your hands get full. You will get dusty. If you like something just take it and put it on the floor -- things go quickly and she who hesitates will lose that piece of pottery. So, keep in mind that some of your fellow shoppers are dealers on buying trips. Grab quick, because if you don't, they will. Oh and have fun, it's one of those things that make living in the Bluegrass special!