Mug Madness FAQ

What's All This?

Mug Madness 2021 is a month-long, single-elimination, head-to-head tournament. We start accepting entries in November 2020, and entries closed in January 2021. Our jurors picked 64 mugs to be part of the tournament. The winning mug becomes Mug Madness Champion and wins $500.

How Many Entries Did You Get?

This year we received submissions for 243 mugs, from 166 artists, from Canada, the UK, and the USA.

Who Are The Jurors/Judges?

Our two jurors are Chanakarn "Punch" Semachai and Adrienne Eliades. They were chosen and invited by Saltstone Ceramics's creative director, Sarah Steininger Leroux. These two jurors also act as judges during the tournament.

Can I Buy A Mug?

Yes! I'm so glad you asked! All the mugs in the tournament are for sale (and are selling quickly). We also have a few hundred more unique, handmade mugs in stock just for Mug Madness: see them all over here. If a mug you love is sold out, definitely get in touch with us or the artist–they'll probably make a new mug just for you!

How Do I Vote?

Every day in March, from 9am to 9pm (US/Pacific Time), we'll post one or more matches to our Instagram account. If you visit our stories (go to our profile page and tap the circle logo next to our name), then you'll see a picture of the current mugs. Tap either "top" or "bottom" on the poll button and your vote will be counted!

How Do You Decide Who Wins?

Each mug is competing for 3 points: one is assigned by each of our judges, and the other is awarded by the winner of the Instagram poll. Yes, this means that our judges can overrule popular opinion.

Why Do Points Work That Way?

We designed the match format to provide a balanced approach to the competition. The point is to engage the public in deciding the winner, but we didn't want someone with a huge advantage in Instagram followers to unfairly dominate.

What's With The Teams?

Each of our two jurors picked 32 mugs, so we have Team Bugaboo versus Team Punch. Each round, the entrants are organized to maximize the number of different-team matchups. But otherwise, the teams are just there to show which juror picked a mug and to add a bit of fun to the contest.

Who Can Enter Mug Madness?

Anyone! (Except for the owners of Saltstone Ceramics and our jurors.) Our criteria is that your work has to be a "mug" (loosely interpreted) and your work has to be available for sale in our gallery (if you're juried into the show). That's pretty much it. One of our goals for Mug Madness is to lower some of the actual and perceived barriers to entry that many artists experience when they consider applying for juried shows.

How Can I Enter?

We'll be announcing the call for next year's entries in the Fall of 2020. Submissions will be due in mid-January, 2021. Subscribe to our newsletter (bottom of this page) or follow us on Instagram to stay informed.