New Planteray Rums and Catching up with Mitchell Spain

We’re back after a long holiday break catching some beach (and snow). Hope everyone had a fun festive period and New Years celebration.

This week’s dispatch starts with an update from The Distillery Formerly Known As Plantation Rum.

Last week, Plantation Rum finally announced their long awaited rebrand to…. drumroll… Planteray Rum. Four years in the making.

According to the announcement, the new name “pays homage to sugarcane, the plant that gives birth to the rum, and the sun’s rays that are essential for sugarcane growth and ripening.” Makes sense, I guess. Given its a whole new word (my phone wants to autocorrect to it Planetary) it’ll take some getting used to.

What we’re really excited for is their wider release of their Cut & Dry Coconut Rum. Difficult to get ahold of if you’re not local to Barbados, they’ll start distributing worldwide soon. While we’re weary of sugary and artificial flavorings in our rum, Cut & Dry Coconut is by all accounts a fantastic rum. We can’t wait to try it.

Next in our series of artist features is Mitchell of Mitchell Spain Ceramics. Mitchell has a wide array of work, but we’ve been obsessed with his tumblers and cruets. Upon first discovering one of his tumblers, you’d think you stumbled on a rusty 60 year old tin can from a junkyard, including worn label and corroded metal. His tumblers, flasks, mugs and bolts elicit nostalgia of an era long passed.

Our particular favorite pieces include any piece with the Dole, Hula, Tiki Bob’s or Tiki Torch Fuel artwork. We have it on good authority that Mitchell is opening his store for preorders on February 15th, so be sure check out his work here: https://mitchellspainceramics.shop/

Without further ado, our catch up with Mitchell:

JBT: Where are you located/Where do you make your work?

MSS: I am located in Norwalk, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. I have a small studio attached to my home. We have been here 8 years, and we recently purchased the house from my family. The land has been in my family for over 150 years and the original part of the house is about 120 years old.

JBT: How long have you created your work?

MSS: I did some ceramics in high school, back in early 2000s, but didn’t pursue it further until I was at the end of an art-education degree in 2009, at which point I switched majors to a BFA in ceramics. I went on to get an MFA in 2015 from the University of Kansas.

JBT: What/who are your inspirations?

MSS: My earliest influence is my dad and my family. My dad makes furniture and other items out of recycled materials like old barn wood, wagon wheels, farm machinery etc…I loved the idea of seeing what an object could be repurposed as and that is still a huge passion within my work. Some of my other artistic influences are Ah Leon and Richard Notkin.

JBT: What’s your creative process?

MSS: Typically I just go with what I am interested in. If an idea stays for a while and I am excited about it I experiment and see if it’s something I want to pursue further. I love to create new stuff, new textures, new functions for objects but make them out of clay.

JBT: Do you design and make everything yourself? Or work with others?

MSS: I typically do it all myself. I have done some collaborations in the past, and on occasion still do, but mostly it’s a one-man-show in my studio. I pull label designs from the internet or cans I find interesting and alter them to work with my ceramic forms. These are printed on a ceramic decal printer and applied to the work and fired.

JBT: Do you have any new pieces you're excited about?

MSS: I am currently experimenting with a new texture which could open up a whole new body of work for me. I hope it works how I am envisioning it, but if not could just be a fun experiment. I will say I just got back from Maui and took a lot of picture of this particular texture.

JBT: What does tiki mean to you?

MSS: I am pretty new to the “Tiki” world. I was introduced to it through following Henrik @Vantiki and fell in love with the idea of this fantasy escapism. I am not much of a fantasy, science fiction type guy though so I was more interested in the realism of it. I love making my clay objects look like other things so the idea of a whole new genre to explore this in is really exciting to me. Plus I am in love with polynesian culture and have so much respect for them. Their reverence for the earth is truly inspiring and whenever I go to Hawaii I am so in awe of that.

JBT: Lastly, anything else you'd want to add?

I am just excited to be welcomed into this world of Tiki! It really is a great feeling to be accepted and have so many great things said about my work and hope to continue to create work that excites this community. Thanks!

Big thanks to Mitchell for taking the time to speak with us! You can find Mitchell’s work here: https://www.mitchellspainceramics.com/

Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/mitchellspainceramics/ 

Webstore (remember, pre-orders coming soon): https://mitchellspainceramics.shop/

That’s all for this week. We’re dusting off the workshop, unpacking some Christmas presents and ordering some clay of our own. Updates coming soon!