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Mug Madness is a bracket-style single-elimination tournament where mugs compete head-to-head to win a $500 top prize and the title of MUG MADNESS CHAMPION.

We're excited to bring Mug Madness back again in 2025! As always, the tournament has a few goals:

  1. To promote independent ceramic producers in a creative, engaging way.
  2. To provide a platform for new ceramicists to present their work.
  3. To expose ceramics fans to a wide variety of styles from a wide variety of artists.
  4. To have a ton of fun!

Timeline

(all times Pacific)

  1. Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 at 12am: Entries open at saltstoneceramics.com/mugmadness.
  2. Sunday, December 15th, 2024 at 11:59pm: Entries close, and jurying begins.
  3. Friday, January 10th, 2025: The latest that 64 Mug Madness participants and alternates are notified.
  4. Saturday, February 1st, 2025: Deadline for all participants' mugs to be delivered to Saltstone Ceramics.
  5. Saturday, March 1st, 2025 through Monday, March 31st, 2025: Mug Madness Exhibition and Tournament at Saltstone Ceramics.
  6. Friday, March 28th, 2025: Artists' Choice Award announced.
  7. Monday, March 31st, 2025 at 9pm: the Mug Madness 2025 Champion is crowned!

The Prizes

  1. The winner of the Tournament receives $500 and the title of Reigning Mug Madness Champion.
  2. The runner-up receives $100.
  3. Participants are responsible for paying any taxes on their prizes as required by their local jurisdiction.

Entering the Tournament

  1. This is a juried tournament. There is no limit to the number of entrants, but only 64 entries will be selected to participate in the tournament.
  2. Entries will be accepted starting on Tuesday, October 1st, 2024 at 12am. Entries will close on Sunday, December 15th, 2024 at 11:59pm. Any entries received outside of these dates will not be eligible for jurying.
  3. To enter the tournament, purchase an entry ticket via the link at https://saltstoneceramics.com/mugmadness. When purchasing your entry ticket you'll be invited to submit a photo and related information for your mug.
  4. Each entry costs $10. Entry fees are non-refundable.
  5. Participants may enter multiple times. A separate entry fee is required for each entry. Regardless of the number of entries received from any one entrant, at most one mug per entrant may be selected for the Tournament.

Who Can Enter

  1. The Tournament is open to anyone, regardless of age, profession, or experience.
  2. The Tournament is open to anyone, regardless of location. Note that participants are responsible for shipping costs and any local taxes.
  3. Management of Saltstone Ceramics, Team Captains, and other Tournament officials may not enter the Tournament.
  4. Note that in these rules, an Entrant is anyone who has submitted one or more mugs through the website; a Participant is anyone whose mug has been juried into the Tournament.

What Can Enter

  1. This Tournament is open to "mugs". A mug is a drinking vessel that is typically used with a hot liquid; as such it has a handle or other device to protect the user's hand from heat. 
  2. The tournament is open to loose interpretations of the definition of a "mug", at the Team Captains' sole discretion.
  3. Mugs submitted must be an original work of the entrant, must use clay as the primary material, must specify firing technique(s) and size, and must have been completed within the last 2 years.
  4. Mugs may not exceed the dimensions of 8" x 8" x 8" (l x w x h) (including handle) or weigh over 2 pounds. 
  5. All mugs must be well-designed and crafted, functional, and food safe.
  6. Submitted mugs may not feature drug paraphernalia. 
  7. All mugs must be for sale. Artists will sign a consignment agreement with Saltstone Ceramics; Saltstone Ceramics will take a 40% commission on all sales.
  8. Mugs which are participating in the tournament must be physically present at Saltstone Ceramics' gallery in Seattle, WA for the duration of the contest, or until sold by Saltstone Ceramics.
  9. Saltstone Ceramics reserves the right to exclude from the Tournament any works that arrive at the venue in unstable or damaged condition, or differ from the submitted entry images.
  10. Accepted artwork may not be withdrawn prior to the closing date of the Tournament.

Jurying

  1. Mug Madness 2025 is proud to feature two Teams: One team will be Captain'd by Carly Slade (our MM24 Champ!), and the other team will be Captain'd by Siera Matsuo and Luanne Wilson of Reclaim Clay Collective.
  2. Each Team Captain will pick a team of 32 mugs for a total of 64 tournament participants. Each Captain will also pick two alternates.
  3. Selection will be based solely on the information provided by entrants: photo, title, and description.
  4. The photo is by far the most important piece of information you'll be providing; please take the time to make sure it is a clear, well-lit, sharp photo on an uncluttered background. Only one photo per entry is permitted.
  5. Other than the qualification criteria mentioned above, Team Captains may use any aesthetic, functional, artistic, or other valuation to determine which mugs will enter the Tournament, as they see fit.
  6. We will announce selection results to the participants, via email, on or before Friday, January 10th, 2025.

Alternates

  1. Each Team Captain will choose two alternates at the end of the selection process. 
  2. Alternates may be invited to participate in the contest in the event that a previously selected mug is unable to participate in the Tournament (for example, due to breakage during shipment).
  3. No substitutions are permitted once the Tournament begins on March 1st, 2025.

Participating in the Tournament

  1. Participants in the Tournament will be notified on or before Friday, January 10th, 2025.
  2. All mugs that participate in the tournament must be physically present for sale at Saltstone Ceramics' Seattle, WA store from February 1st, 2025 until the end of the Tournament (or until sold by Saltstone Ceramics).
  3. Participants in the Tournament will be required to sign a consignment agreement with Saltstone Ceramics and a release of liability. Our consignment terms include a 60% (to the artist) / 40% (to Saltstone Ceramics) split on the sale of each mug.
  4. Participants are required to ship their mugs at their own expense to Saltstone Ceramics in Seattle, WA. Any unsold mugs will be returned to participating artists at the artist's expense.
  5. If you like, you can use the hashtags #mugmadness, #mugmadness25, #mm25, and #saltstoneceramics, and tag @saltstoneceramics, when you're talking about the tournament.

Shipping and Delivery

  1. Participants are responsible for all shipping, delivery and insurance costs for accepted artworks to and from Saltstone Ceramics in Seattle, WA.
  2. All accepted entries must be shipped in sturdy, reusable packaging such as boxes or crates.
  3. Saltstone Ceramics is not liable for any damage or loss incurred in transit.
  4. Any claims on shipping damage must be reported by the artist to the carrier upon receipt. Artists must retain all original packing materials for inspection by the carrier until the claim is resolved.
  5. Crated or boxed works must be able to pass through a standard 36” doorframe.
  6. Settlement for any artworks damaged in transit will be the responsibility of the artist and the carrier.
  7. All works must be received by the specified shipment deadline, or they may be excluded from the exhibition.
  8. Participants agree to coordinate hand-delivery and pick-up of artworks with Saltstone Ceramics (where appropriate).
  9. Any unsold mugs will be returned to the participating artist at their expense.

The Tournament

  1. This Tournament is a single-elimination* bracket-style contest. Mugs will be paired into individual matches; the winner of a match continues in the tournament while the loser is eliminated. A total of 67 matchups spread across seven rounds are required to determine the winner. The last mug standing at the end of the Tournament wins the top prize. (*Two eliminated mugs from each team will be selected as Wild Cards to return to the competition).
  2. Every day in March, one or more matches will be presented. Matches are run through our Instagram account, https://instagram.com/saltstoneceramics.
  3. Community polling is tabulated through Instagram stories. Each match will have an Instagram story dedicated to it. Voting is open from 9am to 9pm on the day of the match. To vote, visit Saltstone Ceramics's Instagram story on the day of the match and tap the button for your preferred mug.
  4. The winner of each match will be announced on Instagram at or around 9pm on the day of the match. Winners of each match will be determined by the Instagram vote. 

Artists' Choice Award

  1. All participants in the tournament (ie., those who have mugs competing in the tournament) will have the opportunity to vote for the Artists' Choice Award. This is an honorary award with no cash prize.
  2. The participant with the most votes will be announced on Friday, March 28th, 2025.

The Jurors and Judges

  1. Mug Madness 2025 is proud to feature two teams: one led by Carly Slade, the other by Siera Matsuo and Luanne Wilson of Reclaim Clay Collective.
    1. Each Team Captain will choose 32 mugs to form a "team", for a total of 64 mugs in the Tournament.
    2. The bracket will be designed so that the first 6 rounds funnel each team down to one mug. This will make the Final Match be Team Carly Slade vs Team RECC.
    3. This year's Mug Madness will also feature a Wild Card round, where two eliminated mugs from each team (four total), will be brought back and given a second chance.
    4. Team Captains will submit their Wild Card picks to the Tournament Director by 9pm before the Wild Card face-offs.
    5. If a Team Captain is unable to fulfill their duties in a timely fashion, then Saltstone Ceramics' Gallery Director, Samantha Schauer, will serve as alternate Team Captain.

    Other Important Rules

    1. This tournament is designed to be a fun, engaging contest to promote independent ceramicists and a general appreciation for pottery. We encourage everyone–participants and fans alike–to maintain a positive, encouraging attitude. Harassment, insults, or negative comments are not in the spirit of the contest and will not be tolerated.
    2. Saltstone Ceramics reserves the right to remove any participants who do not adhere to the spirit of the contest. This includes harassment, insults, negative comments, and attempts to "hack" the results.
    3. This Tournament is run by the owners and management of Saltstone Ceramics. All decisions made by Saltstone Ceramics and its agents are final.
    4. Saltstone Ceramics reserves the right to photograph entrants' work, and use submitted photo material of accepted pieces for the purposes of documentation, education, publicity, promotion, and future grant proposals.
    5. Saltstone Ceramics also reserves the right to disqualify submitted mugs from competing if they deem them to be in violation of competition's rules and guidelines.
    6. Any comments or questions can be sent to the tournament director, Samantha Schauer, at sam@saltstoneceramics.com.