BIG ROCK – Walking into Rebecca Gengler’s shop is like stepping foot into Old World Europe, complete with rustic barnwood accents, decorative lace and flowers, a welcome sign in Polish – “Witamy,” and a myriad of dishes, plates and stoneware in a rainbow of colors and designs.
Gengler is the founder and owner of More Polish Pottery LLC, at 8S953 Jericho Road in Big Rock.
Gengler first learned about Polish pottery while her husband was stationed with the military in Germany in the 1990s. Loving the colors, patterns and designs, she would wake up at 3 a.m. and drive five hours to Poland to shop for the colorful stoneware. When the couple moved back to the United States, the German movers joked about the amount of pottery she had, asking, “More Polish pottery?”
Gengler was unable to find any stores in the area that sold the pottery. In 2011, she started her own business, More Polish Pottery, selling pieces out of a garage converted into a shop. As the business grew, three greenhouse hoop buildings were added to the store.
In November, Gengler built a 3,200-square-foot building to create a new showroom and distribution center. In addition to the retail shop in Big Rock, More Polish Pottery sells pottery online and distributes it to other stores and gift shops throughout the United States. Customers also can virtually shop the store twice a week during Facebook Live videos.
More Polish Pottery will celebrate its “re-grand opening” from Jan. 24 to 31 with open house-style events: presentations at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily, tours of the new building, food, special deals, open warehouse shopping and stories of the shop, the pottery and the pottery’s factories and artists in Poland.
In addition to the new retail space and adding staff, More Polish Pottery will expand its product line in 2018 to include other Polish-made products.
“We currently have tens of thousands of pieces, with 500 to 1,000 new pieces added every week,” Gengler said. “Everything is made in small batches by three factories in Bolesławiec, Poland, with our purchase orders made two years in advance.”
On average, it takes eight people to make one piece of pottery, including artists that make the molds, fire, paint and check for quality. The clay pieces are fired twice at more than 2,000 degrees to make the pottery as hard as stone.
Gengler said the pottery, which is nonstick, chip-, stain- and scratch-resistant and dishwasher, oven, freezer and microwave safe, appeals not only to people of Polish heritage, but to anyone who is interested in unique items.
“Polish pottery appeals to everyone because the pottery is good quality products that are handmade in Europe, not mass produced,” Gengler said. “It is durable, functional art that’s for everyday use.
“When people drive two to four hours to visit our shop, we want to make sure that they feel like they have the best selection, pricing and customer service they can get from a family business,” she said. “When they come back or refer others, we know we’ve done our job and that they, too, love Polish pottery.”
Karen Hopcia of Boston drove to the store from Chicago where she was visiting her sister. While shopping, she purchased a soap dish, jar and paper towel rack to add to her Polish pottery collection.
“I first became interested in Polish pottery 10 or 15 years ago because of my Polish heritage, but now I have all different patterns and love to mix and match pieces,” Hopcia said. “It’s very difficult to find this large of a selection in one place, which is why I try to visit the shop every time I come to Chicago.”
Mary Vacey of Orland Park and her daughter Hannah Riessen of Lockport visited the store for the first time and each purchased dinnerware items, including bowls and plates. Vacey loved how the pottery is painted on both sides and is sturdy and functional; Riessen appreciated the variation in patterns and colors.
“When I first saw Polish pottery at a Christkindlmarkt in Michigan, I told my husband I needed to buy myself some,” Riessen said. “I love that everything is so unique and intricate. These items will last forever and become heirloom pieces.”