Get Ready to Vote!
Join us for our 6th annual Mug Madness tournament, where 64 mugs compete for a $500 top prize and the title of Mug Madness Champion!
Whether you enter your mug and fight for a team spot, or follow along on Instagram, this is your chance to be a part of our next-level mug championship. Read on for more information about Mug Madness!
Voting begins March 1st on Instagram stories @saltstoneceramics!
Entry TicketsWhat is Mug Madness?
Mug Madness is a single-elimination bracket-style tournament, where 64 mugs compete for the top prize and title of Mug Madness Champion. Entries are open to all, regardless of age, location, or skill level.
The tournament will begin on March 1st, 2025, with matches taking place every day on our Instagram and in our Instagram stories. Friends, family, and followers are encouraged to participate by voting for their favorite mug. The last mug standing at the end of the tournament wins the $500 top prize.
How to Enter
To enter your mug into the tournament, just purchase an entry ticket. Each entrant will be invited to submit a photo and information about their mug. Each entry is $10, with no limit to the number of submissions. So send one, send all!
Be sure to read the full tournament rules here. The open call for entries closes on December 15th, 2024.
How 64 Mugs are Chosen
After entries close, our incredible Team Captains, Carly Slade and Reclaim Clay Collective (Siera Matsuo and Luanne Wilson), will each choose 32 mugs out of the pool of submissions to be included on their team. In addition to being featured in the tournament, selected artists will be invited to send their mugs to Seattle, WA to be included in our Mug Madness gallery show. Each mug will be displayed at Saltstone Ceramics for the month of March and will be available for purchase. So keep an eye on your favorites!
How to Win
In each match, mugs are competing to win votes on Instagram. Matches will be posted to our Instagram stories, where followers will be able to vote for their favorite mug. To win, promote your mugs on IG and encourage your friends, family, and followers to participate! If your mug wins the match, you advance to the next round.
This year, we're shaking things up! Competitors are no longer also vying for votes from the Team Captains in each round, and each match winner will be solely determined by the Instagram poll. Instead, we're adding a Wild Card Round! When 4 mugs are left, each Team Captain will get to grant a second chance to two mugs from their team by bringing them back to compete again.
The last mug standing at the end of the tournament wins a $500 dollar grand prize and the title of Mug Madness Champion. The runner-up will win a $100 cash prize.
Do you have what it takes to be the next Mug Madness Champion? Enter your mugs today!
Entries close on December 15th, 2024.
Entry TicketsMEET THE TEAM CAPTAINS
Carly Slade
"Mug Madness is the only sport ball worth following and I look forward to it every year. I can't wait to see this year's entries and I intend to take my team to victory. Let's hit it out of the studio artists!"
Carly Slade grew up in "Big sky" Alberta, Canada. Her work is influenced by her blue-collar roots and plagued by a concern for the precarious nature of the working class. Using a mix of materials (most often including clay, embroidery, and building material), Slade creates dioramas of real places in an unreal perspective. She received her MFA from San Jose State University and her BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts. Slade is currently an Assistant Professor in Ceramics at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
Reclaim Clay Collective
Siera Matsuo and Luanne Wilson
“We’re so excited to see how you all layer your own style onto this age-old vessel, the potter’s epitome of creation, the mug! The ultimate pottery form, where functional ware meets self-expression. We can’t wait for what you’ll all bring to the table no, bring it on!”
Join team RECC! Siera Matsuo and Luanne Wilson are Seattle-based potters who co-founded Reclaim Clay Collective (RECC) in Seattle’s Chinatown-International district. RECC is a pottery and arts studio that prioritizes community building and accessibility with a commitment to centering QT and BIPOC individuals. While they both have their individual styles, Siera and Luanne both love being playful with their creative work, bringing the silly with the serious.
This year's logo/graphics designed by Sam Block
of Sam Dodie
Studio.