Polish Pottery Shopping Trip

Transportation: Drove my Car
Lodging: Hotel Garden, Boleslaweic, Poland

I remember the first time I laid eyes on Polish Pottery at the Pike's Place Market in Seattle.  I wanted all of it and then checked the price and quickly realized that buying "lots" of this pottery was out of the question.   Once we moved to Germany, a Polish Pottery Trip was immediately on the list.  Thankfully, many of my friends were in the same boat and eager to make the trip and stock up on the gorgeous dishes.  While Germany has Polish Pottery shops and we have one in the BX on the base, the prices are still much higher than what you pay in Poland.  You could argue that it takes time and money to make the trip to Poland and shop, but really this trip is pretty economical and our money goes quite far in Poland.  To give you some perspective, our hotel and gas split by 3 people was $80.  Thats a pretty darn good deal, not to mention, you get ample shopping time and really get the full experience while you are there.

Some people may wonder what the heck all the fuss is about.  Well Polish Pottery (in the right quality) is microwaveable, dishwasher safe, and able to be used in the oven.  Not to mention it brightens any table scape, acts as a conversational piece, and makes everything look pretty! I love drinking tea from my new Mugs, it probably doesn't taste any better, but it does in my mind.

Two of my great friends here, Courtney and Rebekah joined me over Halloween weekend to take on Poland and the pottery scene head on!

Making The Trip:
We drove my Jetta, which was the prefect size for 3 ladies and had enough room to bring back lots of loot.  Friday afternoon we picked up Rebekah from work and set out to cross the border into Poland.  Unfortunately, we hit lots of construction, accidents, and traffic causing us to arrive about 2 hours behind schedule.  Our hotel was generous and stayed open until we arrived.  When traffic isn't an issue, the drive from Kaiserslautern is super easy and doesn't involve any tolls or vignettes.

Lodging:
Hotel Garden was the perfect hotel for us.  Not only was the location central and close to all of the shop, but it included a lovely breakfast, had rooms for 3 people, and you couldn't beat the value.  I highly recommend staying here, but many people also opt to stay at The Blue Beetroot Hotel as well.

Time to Shop!
On Saturday it was time to shop shop shop! Before we hit the stores, we made sure we did our homework and knew what kinds of things to look for in a pottery piece, what stores we were interested in seeing, and had our list of items we were interested in buying.

The Polish Pottery is graded by quality and this is something you should keep in mind while shopping.  You can find the quality of the item on the bottom of the piece or sometimes on the sticker.  If you are unsure or don't see a number, just ask the shop owner and they are more than happy to let you know.  In general here are the quality ratings you should keep in mind:

Gat1: Highest Quality, no imperfections, safe for microwave, oven and dishwasher

Gat2: Safe for microwave, dishwasher, and oven, but may have imperfections in the paint

Gat3: May have a crack in the glaze.

Gat4: May have a chip.

Gat5: Not safe for the oven, but is ok for decorative items 

Store Game Plan: 

There are SO many stores in this itty bitty town, so it's important to have a game plan before you set out shopping.  We went to all the stores once, then with time to spare, looped back around to stores for a second time to get things we had our eye on.  We used this amazing Guide to Pottery Shopping that the Blue Beet Root Hotel already put together for us!!! You SHOULD print this or download it ahead of time to reference addresses and store hours.  

1. ANDYS- small shop with high quality items and great patterns. More expensive, had traditional and modern patterns. Great place for casserole dishes and serving bowls regarding price and quality/patterns.  Small shelf of discounted items.  We made a second trip to the store.

2. Manufaktura Factory Store- Larger store with modern and traditional patterns, high quality items.  Large selection of discounted items. We made a second trip to the store

3. Manufaktura Outlet- Small, small room with selection of discounted items but primarily hodge podge pieces, broken items, etc.   We made a second trip to the store

4. Henrys- Big store with a 30% discount section.  High quality items and higher prices of both traditional and modern patterns.  Wifi was available.  We made a second trip to the store

5. Wiza- Walking distance from Henry's.  Highly discounted items, good quality, smaller shop, with both traditional and modern patterns.  

6. ZakLady- Larger store with lots of traditional patterns.  High quality items but higher prices.  They did have a tent outside with clearance items.  

7. Artystyczna- Small shop with lots of inventory.  Had a large selection of smaller casserole dishes, serving bowls, mugs, teapots, serving dishes, etc.  Had some good prices and discounted items in both traditional and fun modern patterns. 

8. 8 Shops across from Artystyczna- Several smaller boutique stores across the street so you can park once and shop at all of the shops.  Some of these shops had discounted sections and good deals. 

13. Cer-far- Larger store with good selection of patterns. Slightly more expensive, but does have average prices for casserole dishes.  Boxes are available inside the door and WIFI is available.

14. Milena-  Small shop with beautiful patterns, they did not have many casserole dishes or large serving dishes. 

16. Ceramika: Small Shop in a Garage with a small selection. Good prices.

Purchasing your Pottery:

It is ok to take out Zloty from an ATM and use this to shop, but I found it easier to shop with my credit card (no foreign transaction fees), and charge each purchase in zloty. 

What Should You Buy:

That is completely up to you! But I do recommend making a list of what you want before you make the trip to Poland.  The fact is you will be super overwhelmed with gorgeous pottery staring at you and when you have a list, it helps you focus on the things you are actually looking for without getting distracted by other beautiful things. 

My list: Serving bowls, casserole dishes, mugs, dessert plates, cream and sugar set, tea pot, pitcher, gifts for family