RED WING, MN – Hundreds of stoneware and pottery collectors are gearing up for the annual Red Wing Collectors Society (RWCS) MidWinter GetTogether, which will be held at the Isle Resort and Casino in Bettendorf, IA Feb. 22-23. This will be first time a club event will be held in the Quad Cities in the organization’s 42-year history.

Founded in 1977, the RWCS is composed of than 3,000 members worldwide who collect stoneware crocks, jugs, churns, dinnerware and art pottery manufactured in Red Wing from the 1880s to 1960s.

The event, which is focused around on buying, selling, education and fun with old and new friends alike, will kick off with a Friday night social for attendees in the hotel’s Salon B ballroom from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 22. But many attendees will start selling stoneware and pottery from their hotel rooms in the north tower well before that – some starting as early as Tuesday, Feb. 19. A formal Show & Sale will run from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 followed by an auction at 4:30 p.m. – both of which are open to the public. More information about the auction can be found at www.houghtonauctions.com. Whether you’re new to collecting Red Wing or an experienced collector, anyone and everyone is invited to attend this fun event and find a new piece for their collection.

Education is also a major focus of the event. Starting at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, collector Danae Quirk Dorr will give a keynote presentation on “Red Wing Clay Industries & Marketing – From Salt and Albany to the Dawn of Zinc”. Danae will cover products produced and sold by Red Wing Stoneware Co., Minnesota Stoneware Co., North Star Stoneware Co., and Union Stoneware Co. through the 1800s. A highly informative and enthusiastic speaker, Danae is vice president of the RWCS Facebook Chapter and a member of the RWCS Foundation Board.

After that, the following hour-long education sessions will begin at 9:30 a.m. and 10:40 a.m., separated by a 10-minute break:

• “Pouring and Glazing Pottery” by Glenn Beall. In addition to being the former RWCS Education Manager, Glenn has been pouring and glazing his own pottery for the past nine years and he’s excited to share the ‘ins and outs’ of pottery production.
• “Salt Glaze Stoneware” by Rick Natynski. Best known for the high quality RWCS Newsletter that he’s produced for the past 12 years, Rick has collected Red Wing salt glaze for nearly 20 years. He’ll share more than 200 photos – many featuring the best pieces Red Wing ever turned out.
• “Auction Grading: Identifying Stoneware Damage, Restorations and Fakes” by Larry Birks. A stoneware collector since the late 1970s, Larry served as RWCS President from 2014 to 2016. In addition to grading items for the RWCS Thursday Night Convention Auction for several years, he has presented seminars on “faked advertising” stoneware to the RWCS, Collectors of Illinois Pottery & Stoneware (COIPS) and the Blue and White Collectors Club. “Knowing what to look for when buying a piece of stoneware will help everyone know whether the ‘value asked is the value bought!’” Larry says.
• “Red Wing Dinnerware” by Terry Moe & Larry Roschen. Experts in the field of Red Wing dinnerware, both Terry and Larry are RWCS Hall of Famers. They have presented countless seminars on the many dinnerware lines produced by the Red Wing Potteries. Their sessions have a loyal following at every RWCS event, which will surely be the case again in 2019.

All activities will be held at the Isle Casino Hotel at 1800 Isle Parkway in Bettendorf, IA. Visit www.erwcs.org to register or learn more about the MidWinter GetTogether.

This event will help tie collectors over until the 42^nd annual Red Wing Collectors Society Summer Convention, which slated for July 12-14 in Red Wing, MN. Annual membership in the RWCS costs only $35 and includes five 16-page full-color newsletters mailed to your home throughout the year. For more information or to become a member, call the RWCS business office at 651-388-4004, e-mail membership@redwingcollectors.org or log on to www.erwcs.org. You can also join the RWCS on Facebook and follow it on Twitter at @RWCollectors

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