Authentic Mexican pottery now available in Hillsboro

Most people know that they can get authentic Mexican food in Hillsboro, but they don’t know that they can now find authentic Mexican pottery.

“Usually people have to go to Cancun on vacation to find these pieces, but now they can get them here,” said Trini Torres who owns the Mexican restaurant Pueblo Viejo in Hillsboro with her husband Erik.

The couple is originally from Guanajuato, Mexico which is where the pottery pieces are from and the couple brings them here to their restaurant to make them available to the Marion County community.

“I have been wanting to bring these here for years and it has finally worked out,” said Torres.

The pieces are made from Talavera which is a tin-enameled earthenware, a Majolica pottery made and shipped only from Guanajuato and the nearby communities of Atlixco, Cholula and Tecali.

Torres came up with some specific pieces such as planters, dishes and holiday-specific pieces to get started, but the sky is the limit on what the artisans can make. And many of them can be personalized.

All of the pieces are one-of-a-kind and are handmade.

“They aren’t made in a factory or warehouse. They are hand-painted and put in really high heat,” said Torres.

She currently has a bunch of pumpkins for Halloween and she did have a large number of Day of the Dead pieces, but she sold out of those.

“I will be getting some Christmas ones like snowmen, Santas and Christmas trees,” Torres said.

She has a lot of pieces all over the restaurant, but can also get something in a different color or personalized if customers do not see exactly what they want. She carries various seasonal items like birdbaths, planters, flamingos, frogs, owls and more. She will also be getting in gnomes, raccoons and other new pieces, but first the artists have to make the molds and then the pieces so it can take a bit of time.

The pieces can then ship straight to Hillsboro or to the customer’s house.

There are even dishes that are dishwasher and oven safe.

Torres has already sold many of the pieces to customers who have come for food but found the perfect item for their collection.

She said, “One man came by my house after he and his wife were having dinner at the restaurant and he kept seeing her looking at something. He knew she really wanted it so he came by and got it for her to surprise her. It was so heart-touching.”

Torres plans to continue to carry the pottery and get different pieces in and is open to ideas. She has a Facebook page for the pottery if you are interested in seeing what all is available. You can check it all out at Torres Talavera or head into Pueblo Viejo to see what she has or call 620-947-0260. Hurry in now to check out the Halloween items before they are all gone.

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