San Germán Pottery is a family owned workshop located in México. We produce the world famous Tonala-style ceramic.
Our pottery is 100% handmade using the stoneware technique, and it is hand-painted using the traditional designs and patterns. It is also completely lead free and microwave, oven and dishwasher safe.
The town of Tonala has produced some of Mexico's finest pottery, even before the Spanish conquest. The techniques were modified and improved over time, but a lot of the traditional patterns and designs are still in use today, making this type of ceramic distinctive and unique.
Then, around 1960, ceramist Jorge Wilmot came to Tonala, and introduced the stoneware technique to the traditional pottery workshop. This kind of pottery is burned at very high temperatures--about 1300 degrees Celsius. This makes the pottery extremely resistant and gives it distinctive enamel-like surface. It also makes the pottery 100% lead free.
The other workshops in Tonala quickly adopted the technique, but the production of the other lower-temperature ceramics remained, as well as glassware and many other crafts.