LaughinGnome to host Friday visit

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Darby Huffman of LaughinGnome Pottery, pictured at the Port Townsend Farmers Market, will welcome visitors to the new studio space he shares with partner Francie Loveall this Friday evening during the First Friday Speaker Series program. Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News
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Darby Huffman of LaughinGnome Pottery, pictured at the Port Townsend Farmers Market, will welcome visitors to the new studio space he shares with partner Francie Loveall this Friday evening during the First Friday Speaker Series program. Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News
Darby Huffman of LaughinGnome Pottery, pictured at the Port Townsend Farmers Market, will welcome visitors to the new studio space he shares with partner Francie Loveall this Friday evening during the First Friday Speaker Series program. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News)

PORT TOWNSEND — Taste-testing, explaining, laughing: Guests can plan on those during a visit to LaughinGnome Pottery’s new location this Friday evening.

In another First Friday Speaker Series program, the Jefferson County Historical Society is presenting this in-person talk by LaughinGnome’s Darby Huffman at 7 p.m. Friday.

Advance tickets are required at JCHSmuseum.org via “Education and Programs” and then the First Friday Speaker Series link. Admission is a suggested $10 donation when signing up on the museum’s portal.

“I’m going to do a demonstration and talk about why we make what we make,” said Huffman, who, with partner Francie Loveall, has been producing high-fired unglazed pottery since 2005.

A jovial presence at the Saturday Port Townsend Farmers Market, Huffman is opening their new Otto Street studio just for Friday’s one-hour program — with capacity limited to 30 guests.

Everyone will have a chance to compare the flavors of tea and coffee in a LaughinGnome cup versus a glass, he promised.

The First Friday Speaker Series’ 2021 theme is “The Art of Making,” with a focus on local people who create art and craft the furnishings of life.

The Sept. 3 program features Susan Pavel and Coast Salish wool weaving; the Oct. 1 event is titled “Placemaking” with Mackenzie Grinnell.

For more about the historical society’s museum shows and activities, visit the website, phone 360-385-1003 or visit the museum, which is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays at 540 Water St.

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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.