Last fall, Colectivo Coffee Roasters reached a milestone: 20 years in business. To celebrate their success, the coffee joint commissioned Milwaukee potter, Jean Wells from Jean’s Clay Studio to make 500 mugs of the company’s signature “Sugar Skull.” Now, the artist is back again with a spring edition and a new floral design.
“The Latin culture with Day of the Dead is so much about flowers and new life, and that’s how I came up with the new design,” Wells says.
Available in stores now (and just in time for your hump-day eye-opener), the mugs feature a more elaborate version of the skull’s eye in Colectivo’s signature colors: black, red, blue and white. Every mug is hand-made in Well’s studio. It takes around 30 minutes to make each mug, Wells says. A video on Well’s website details the process from start to finish.
“I think it looks great. I’m pleased with how it turned out,” Wells says. “It’s different, but it has a great Colectivo feel with the boldness and colors.”
Known for her graphic imagery, Wells has been a potter in Milwaukee for about as long as Colectivo has been around town. She creates functional pottery decorated with images of animals, flowers and other “odd, quirky things,” she says. Using an ancient technique called “sgraffito,” Wells draws the image through a layer of colored clay.
“I was really excited to get asked. Colectivo is really fun to work with,” Wells says. “They were looking for exactly what I do and I didn’t have to conform to fit someone else’s ideas.”
And if the original signature skulls are still your favorite, don’t fret. The artist says that she is about to start a new batch of mugs with the Sugar Skull design that will be available in stores in late October, just in time for Day of the Dead.
