6 left![Clay cup with white glaze and a bare foot]()
Olaria Martins · Barcelos
Clay cup
White glaze · 30 cl
€18
Guimarães · Minho earthenware
From clay
to your table.
We only sell clay, thrown by hand by potters less than an hour from the shop. Scroll slowly and watch a cup being made at Olaria Martins, in Barcelos.
1 kgof Barcelos
red clay
red clay
Scroll to begin or skip to the pieces
01 · Centre
First, the clay has to sit dead centre.
Mr Martins wets his hands, pushes the clay up and back down until it stops wobbling. If it stays crooked now, it cracks in the kiln.
0turns
per minute
per minute
02 · Raise
The fingers open the base and pull up the walls.
The ridges you see are finger marks. They stay in the piece, under the glaze — that's how you know it was made by hand.
1/3pulls
to the right height
to the right height
03 · Dry
Three days in the shade.
Off the wheel, it dries slowly, away from sun and draughts. The clay turns pale and, when you tap it, it sounds hollow.
Dia 1of 3,
on the workshop shelf
on the workshop shelf
04 · Fire
A night in the kiln.
Nine hours heating up, a night cooling down. Clay stops being clay: it no longer melts in water and turns the colour of roof tiles.
20 °Cin the pottery's
wood-fired kiln
wood-fired kiln
05 · Glaze
One dip in white glaze.
Held by the foot and dipped mouth-down. The foot stays bare, as it always has in Barcelos, and the piece goes back in the kiln.
2ndfiring,
and it's done
and it's done
06 · To your table
This week's pieces.
Made in Barcelos and Vila Verde. Shipped in 48 hours, or picked up at the shop in the old town of Guimarães.
See all the pieces ↓Vila Verde · Barros do Prado
Clay jug
Honey glaze · 1 litre
€34
Barcelos · Olaria Martins
Clay cup
White glaze · 30 cl
€18
Barcelos · Olaria Martins
Serving bowl
Brown glaze · 24 cm
€22
The pieces
Each one is the only one like it.
3 left![Round-bellied clay jug with honey glaze]()
Barros do Prado · Vila Verde
Clay jug
Honey glaze · 1 litre
€34
4 left![Wide serving bowl with dark brown glaze]()
Olaria Martins · Barcelos
Serving bowl
Brown glaze · 24 cm
€22
One of a kind![Unglazed clay water jar]()
Barros do Prado · Vila Verde
Water jar
Unglazed · 1.5 l · keeps water cool
€29
In the next kiln![Wide clay alguidar basin with honey glaze]()
Barros do Prado · Vila Verde
Alguidar basin
Honey glaze · 32 cm · for mixing and marinating
€38
8 left![Small clay pot (púcaro) with brown glaze]()
Olaria Martins · Barcelos
Púcaro pot
Brown glaze · 50 cl
€15
12 left![Clay dinner plate with white glaze]()
Olaria Martins · Barcelos
Dinner plate
White glaze · 27 cm
€16
2 left![Low clay casserole dish (caçoila) with brown glaze]()
Olaria Martins · Barcelos
Caçoila dish
Brown glaze · 26 cm · oven-safe
€27
9 left![Clay bowl with honey glaze]()
Barros do Prado · Vila Verde
Soup bowl
Honey glaze · 14 cm · for caldo verde
€12
Every piece is thrown by hand: yours may be a millimetre taller, have a different ridge or a glaze that ran its own way. That's how you can tell.
The potters
Turn it over: the mark on the foot says who made it.
We work with just two potteries, and we know them by name. They fire with wood every fortnight, and whatever comes out of the kiln reaches the shop two days later.
Olaria Martins
Galegos, Barcelos · 38 km from the shop
Three generations at the wheel. Mr Martins makes the cups, plates and casseroles; his daughter Ana mixes the glazes with ash from their own kiln.
Next kiln firing—In the shop two days later.
Barros do Prado
Prado, Vila Verde · 33 km from the shop
The village of water jars and basins. The clay comes from the river Cávado, two kilometres from the workshop, and the big pieces take a whole day on the wheel.
Next kiln firing—In the shop two days later.
Under an hour's drive, either way.
Cup · white glaze
Made to order
A whole set, thrown for you.
For the restaurant, the wedding or the new house. Choose the piece, the glaze and how many — Mr Martins makes them all in the same week, so they come out of the same kiln.
Good to know
- Dishwasher-safeEvery glazed piece. Unglazed clay is washed with water only.
- And oven-safeCasseroles and basins up to 220 °C. Always put them in a cold oven.
- Free gift wrapBrown paper and cotton string, with a handwritten card.
- Broken in transit?Send us a photo and we'll ship another, no questions asked.
Visit
On Rua de Santa Maria, on the way up to the castle.
Opening hours
- MondayClosed
- Tuesday10:00–19:00
- Wednesday10:00–19:00
- Thursday10:00–19:00
- Friday10:00–19:00
- Saturday10:00–19:00
- Sunday10:00–13:00
Open now