Dish it out.

We vegans love to eat! And with all the celebrating of food that we do, it's no surprise that we also like to do it in style.

Teamie Jeanette Zeis creates and sells beautiful "vegan" dishware in her shop Vegan Dish. Got non-vegan roommates? Here's an easy way to say, this bowl is mine. And around the office, you can proudly proclaim that your coffee is creamed with soy!

Interview-Vegan Dish

Todays interview is with Jeanette of Vegan Dish, Vessels and Wares, and Quiet Animals

Hi. My name is Jeanette. I am vegan. I make pottery.

I don't have a car. I wish I was a farmer's market regular. I love the lemon bar from my local vegetarian food co-op. I have one cup of coffee everyday. The heat of summer makes me cranky. I can't wait for autumn. I have a collection of miniature ceramic animals. My kitchen floor needs to be mopped. I have stinky feet. My apartment in tiny, but my studio is huge (I have studio-mates.) I really really really want to go on vacation. I've never been to Portland, OR but believe it to be a vegan's version of heaven. I have lived in Atlanta for 8 years, but it still doesn't feel like home. I think I'm going to buy a new bicycle very soon.

I think that is all there is to know, but since you asked.....

How did you choose the name of your shop and how long have you been a member of
Etsy?
I joined etsy in March 2007 and opened my first shop, vesselsandwares. I opened VeganDish in May 2007.

I just opened another shop, QuietAnimals, this month, for my lino-print desktop animals.

What kinds of items do you sell in your shop and what inspired you to start
creating them?
I sell handmade pottery that says "vegan." Coffee mugs. Cereal bowls. Platters. That sort of thing.

I started to make them in 2006 for Cosmos Vegan Shoppe. I was just a weekend/hobby potter at the time and made a few bowls for myself. My boyfriend (who is friends with Ken and Leigh at Cosmo's) thought Cosmo's might be interested in carrying them. And they were. They have been super supportive and encouraging since the very beginning.

Have you been featured anywhere?

I was lucky to be interview early on by kittee for Herbivore Magazine (back when they had an online magazine.) And Sarah Kramer has been absolutely amazing and has taken some great pictures of my pottery that she has shared with the world.
I'm also very thankful to the many bloggers that have written about my pottery. That has been so unexpected and great!

Do you have any animal companions?
Yes. Syd is an orange tabby cat. 14 years old and going strong.

How long have you been vegan and what made you go vegan?

I've been vegan for 15 years. The idea of handling raw chicken to cook for myself was just too much. It was the first time I had lived by myself and didn't have a roommate or mom to cook for me.
I went out and bought a couple of vegetarian cookbooks. Turns out they were vegan cookbooks, and they made too much sense for me to ignore. That was it. I was vegan.

I want to say it has been a real pleasure to make pottery for other vegans. I just love me some vegans!

Truly, when I joined etsy, I had no intention of introducing VeganDish to a larger audience. But because of the vegans that I met on etsy and the encouragement I was given, I gave it a go. And it has been a life-changing couple of years. Really. Thank you!