Visit to a Pottery Factory

Recently I was part of a group of women who went to visit a pottery factory not far from Lake Chapala (directions are end of the end of this post). The huge kiln was impressive! You don't see its top in this picture but it went up a good bit further; the steps on the left give the scale. It was totally wood-fired, and you can see the pile of wood on the right, a bit brighter because the sun was shining in on it. I asked how long the firings were for and was told about half an hour. I also asked if they burned tires in the kiln, as many of the brickyards do, but they said no, they used just wood.

They only do earthenware here, and leave it unfinished or paint it. You can also put an acrylic sealant on it (Sellacril is one brand name), though I didn't.



Much of their output is imported into the US, but we were most welcome to roam around the huge shed; what you see below is less than a fourth of the space. I asked what we could choose from to buy, and the answer was "All of it!" Prices were low... I got seven small to medium pots for just under $25 US.



Here's a turtle I bought there, now quite at home in our yard, sprouting one of the many spider plants that grow outside in this climate. He's just above our swimming pool, and when I showed him to Rosa, my cleaning lady and friend, she said (in Spanish) "Maybe one day you'll find him swimming in the pool!"


On our way home, we stopped at a brickyard. I was instantly fascinated by this small dog and asked the men there what kind it was. They were surprised by the question and basically said that it was just a dog. My theory is that it is all or mostly Xoloitzcuintli, an indigenous Mexican breed (aka Mexican hairless) that I got intrigued by in November,in Colima. I did a couple of blog entries about the Colima dogs then.

Another great outing!

If you want to go to the factory, they are very friendly and speak some English. They are there from 8 to 6 Monday till Friday and 8 to 12 on Saturdays. Depending on whether they have recently shipped out a big order or not, the amount available for sale evidently varies a lot.

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NEW! Someone else's directions: Susy gave me permission to post hers, maybe they are better than mine!

Here are my directions to the pot factory. I call it the "route of the blue buildings." :
Take highway towards Guadalajara. Pass entrance and pedestrian overpass to Ixtlahuacan. As soon as you pass under the next pedestrian overpass look for robin's egg blue Jehovah's Witnesses church on right. Be in left lane and take the retorno right after the Jehovah's Witnesses blue church and head back towards Ixtlahuacan. Get in right lane right away. Turn left onto road right before the pedestrian overpass you just passed under before retorno. You will see sign that points down road to Las Aguilillas. Continue on this road to Las Aguilillas. You will pass school on left, then preschool on right. Continue straight into "downtown" Las Aguilillas Watch for robin's egg blue building on left on corner. Turn left at this corner. Pot factory is in blue building on right almost immediately beyond corner where you turned.
To leave, continue on street to corner, turn left, continue on this street to blue building on right hand corner. Turn left. This will take you back out to main street, turn right, follow road back out to highway.

My directions reflect the fact that I was sitting in the back seat but they should get you there: If you are coming from the Lake Chapala area, take the highway from Chapala towards Guadalajara. Once we got to the Ixlahuacan area (the first town after coming over the mountains), we went under three overpasses (I think) -- one vehicular, like an on or off ramp sort of thing, and two pedestrian, so we were beyond Ixlahuacan (which I may not have spelled right) by the time we got in the left lane and made a U-turn at a retorno, that is, simply a place where we could do a U-turn. I don't know if there was a sign saying Retorno or not. I did notice that on our right at this spot was the entrance to a gated community with a painted gateway. Once we had made our U-turns (there were quite a few of us, in vans, with lots of space for bringing home our treasures!) we drove a very short way on the highway back towards Chapala and took what I believe was the first right turn, downhill from the highway. There was a sign visible from the highway, announcing the name of the little town, which was Las Aguilillas.

We stayed on that street into the town and turned left onto a street which had a small grocery store (tienda de abarrotes) with Coca Cola painted on the wall on the near right corner and a blue house on the far left corner. We drove down less than a block and the factory was on the right. I don't think it had any sign over it, but if you peered in you could see some pottery; it had a metal gate. We walked in and hollered and after a few minutes someone turned up.

UPDATE: Its name is Barro Oxidado, its street address is Zanzontle 22 in Las Aguilillas, and the phone there is 01-376-762-0439. I've been back twice. One time it was mid-afternoon after picking my sister-in-law up at the airport, and while it was open, the people who could give us prices weren't there and we had to wait for someone to negotiate with them by phone. The last time I went from Lake Chapala, we overshot the U-turn spot and I didn't realize it. We turned around near where traffic from La Barca joins the highway, so if you go that far, you have missed it!

If you aren't sure where it is once you get into the town, ask where the fabrica de macetas is. I intend to go back with Kelly and get more pots!