Seguin – There are all sorts of stops on The Texas Bucket List in Seguin, including Burnt Bean BBQ, Son’s Island and the Pape Pecan House Nutcracker Museum. But the newest addition to the list of Seguin favorites is a shop that doesn’t sell anything native to Texas, but is loved by Texans, nonetheless.
Polmedia Polish Pottery is the largest distributor of Polish pottery in the world. Since 2006, Polish native Monika Papiez has been working for Polmedia in Seguin, and she hasn’t lost any love for the fine stoneware she helps provide to the American people. “It’s my passion,” said Papiez. “So, when we get shipments from Poland, it’s like Christmas. Every day is Christmas. When we’re unpacking, they create new patterns and new shapes every year. So, the best is when you receive shipment of new stuff.”
Papiez says that there are two main reasons why Polmedia landed in Seguin all the way from Poland. “Weather,” said Papiez. “No winter here, so it’s nicer. And another thing, there is no tax, state tax, so it’s cheaper.”
From painted pigs, vibrant vases, to beautiful butterdishes, there are all sorts of ceramics here, and Papiez says that no two pieces are ever alike. “It’s impossible because machine is not doing the work,” explains Papiez. “This is the human work, and they use little stamps that are cut in a soft sponge and they going to just press the sponge to the paint, and then on the clay.”
Every single one of these fragile painted pieces comes from the same place in Poland. “Everything is made in a little town called Bolesławiec,” said Papiez. “Every single person that lives around Bolesławiec and in Bolesławiec itself, they either work with the clay, or they are glazing, or they are the painters and they are painting. They all work for all the workshops that make, well, the Polish stoneware.”
Papiez says that the popularity of Polish pottery is largely due to the influence of Army wives, and they’ve done such a good job at popularizing the stoneware that it’s now more popular here than it is where it comes from. “Polish pottery is so popular with the Army wives,” said Papiez. “You have no idea. All of them, they know what is Polish pottery from Bolesławiec. They retire, they come back, they bring all the Polish pottery with them to United States, and now this is spreading. Polish pottery from Bolesławiec is more known in United States and right now in the whole world, than in Poland itself.”
The beautiful and intricate patterns that cover Polish pottery are what catch most people’s eye, but it’s the functionality that keeps people coming back for more. “You can freeze it, you can put it into oven up to 480 degrees, microwave, dishwasher safe, and easy to clean,” said Papiez. Before adding a caveat. “Sudden temperature changes, no bueno.”
The prices of the pottery can vary drastically from piece to piece, and the cost of each piece comes down to the patterns it displays, and ultimately, how much work went into producing the piece. “Here we have high unikat level, from Ceramika Artystyczna, especially,” said Papiez. “This is one of the biggest and the most known factories in Poland. They have eight levels of unikat patterns. Each pattern level is going to translate to the price of the piece.”
Polmedia Polish Pottery has also worked with the suppliers back home to create some Lone Star-inspired pottery. “We have few patterns that we just made, especially for Texas, with Lone Star and the longhorns,” said Papiez. “I have to tell you, we are working hard with all the workshops to make it more homelike here in Texas.”
At the end of the day, Papiez and Polmedia Polish Pottery have stuck around because they provide a product that is unique in both quality and aesthetics. “You cannot find anything else as beautiful, colorful, cheerful, and functional as Polish pottery from Bolesławiec,” said Papiez.