Lavonne's final firing • In 4 active carts right now • Only 216 left
Lavonne's Ceramic Oil Dispenser
Lavonne's Ceramic Oil Dispenser
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90-day money-back guarantee
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Lavonne's Ceramic Oil Dispenser
Thrown & glazed by hand in Seagrove, North Carolina · Final firing
The oil dispenser that keeps the sun off your olive oil.
A small, heavy clay oil dispenser with a pinched pouring lip, a one-finger loop handle and a real cork, dipped by hand in one of four glazes that run down the sides in the kiln. No two are the same.
Last 216 oil dispensers · Special price until Nov. 30“It was never the oil that went bad. It was the bottle.”
37
years of oil dispensers in Lavonne’s barn
4
glazes, never a fifth
216
dispensers left, then the barn closes
“For 37 years I sold these from one table at our pottery festival. I made the first one for my husband after his oil went stale on the windowsill. These are the very last ones I’ll make, and I want every one of them standing next to somebody’s stove.”
Lavonne Hartsell, 72, Seagrove, North Carolina
What arrives at your door
- ✓1 hand-made clay oil dispenser in the glaze you choose: Uwharrie Blue, Sandhill Peach, Wood Ash or Muscadine
- ✓A natural cork stopper, already fitted in the neck
- ✓Room for about 13.5 fl oz (400 ml) of olive oil
- ✓Wrapped in plenty of paper and packed in a sturdy box
- ✓Lavonne’s 90-day money-back guarantee
The four glazes
Lavonne dips only the top of each dispenser. In the kiln the glaze melts and runs down on its own, so every dispenser has its own drips. The color matches the photos, the drips never match exactly.
Uwharrie Blue
Bright turquoise-blue with fine white crackle, running down over the cream clay. The river at the bottom of the hill on a clear day.
Sandhill Peach
Olive-gold at the neck, warming into coral-peach on the shoulder. For the orchards down toward Candor where her mother picked every June.
Wood Ash
A soft, warm stone-grey with milky mottling. The quietest of the four, mixed with ash from their own woodstove.
Muscadine
Misty lilac at the neck, deepening into a rich berry-purple. The wild grapes along the fence behind the barn.
Why it works better than a bottle
No. 01
No light gets in
Thick clay, glazed all the way around. Daylight never reaches the oil, so the dispenser can stay out on the counter right where you cook.
No. 02
Short and steady
About 6 inches tall with a flat, heavy base. Bump it with an elbow and it rocks and sits back down instead of going over.
No. 03
A lip pinched by hand
Lavonne shapes the lip while the clay is still soft, and tests every dispenser with water over the sink. It pours a thin, steady stream instead of a glug.
No. 04
A real cork
A natural cork closes the neck after every use, so dust, kitchen grease and summer gnats stay out of your oil.
No. 05
Pressed by her thumbs
The soft dimples around the body are pressed into the wet clay by hand. They catch the light and give your fingers something to hold.
No. 06
Every drip is its own
The glaze runs where the fire takes it. Your dispenser will be the only one in the world with exactly those drips.
How to use it
Fill it. Pull the cork and pour in your olive oil. A small kitchen funnel makes it easy.
Put it by the stove. Not on the windowsill. The clay keeps the light out, so it can live right where you cook.
Pour and cork. One finger through the loop, tip it, and the oil comes off the lip in a thin stream. Cork back in when you’re done.
A clear glass bottle vs. Lavonne’s dispenser
| Clear glass bottle | Lavonne’s dispenser | |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Goes straight through to the oil | Kept out by thick, glazed clay |
| Stability | Tall, thin and top-heavy | Short, with a flat, heavy base |
| Closing | Open spout, dust and gnats get in | Natural cork stopper |
| Pouring | Glugs, then runs down the side | Thin pour from a hand-pinched lip |
| On the counter | Hidden away in the pantry | Something you want to look at |
| How many | Millions | 216 left, then never again |
Made by hand in Seagrove
Lavonne Hartsell grew up three miles from Seagrove, a North Carolina town of barely 250 people and close to a hundred potteries. At seventeen she started wedging clay and loading kilns for one of the old pottery families. In 1985 she moved a used wheel and a small kiln into the tobacco barn behind her farmhouse.
In 1989 her husband Royce tasted his Sunday tomato salad and said the oil tasted like a cardboard box. The bottle had been standing in the sun on the windowsill. The next morning Lavonne made him an oil dispenser out of clay. Since then she has made about 5,200, and sold them only from her table at the pottery festival every November.
Every dispenser is hers alone: thrown on the wheel, pressed with her thumbs, handle pulled, lip pinched, fired twice and corked by hand. Now, at 72, her right shoulder won’t let her center clay anymore. She fired her kiln for the last time in October. These 216 oil dispensers are the last she will ever make.
Lavonne
What a chef says
“Light and heat are what wear olive oil out. Most people keep it in a clear bottle right next to the stove, which is about the worst spot in the house. In restaurant kitchens we kept it in something dark and heavy, stoppered, within arm’s reach.”
Dwight Masterson, retired chef, ran restaurant kitchens in Charleston for 28 years
Perfect for
Questions people ask at her table
Will my dispenser look exactly like the photo?
The glaze color will. The drips won’t, because the glaze runs differently on every dispenser in the kiln. That’s what makes yours one of a kind.
How much does it hold?
About 13.5 fl oz (400 ml), most of a regular store bottle. It’s about 6 inches tall and just over 3 inches wide, so it doesn’t take up much room by the stove.
Can I order different glazes?
Yes. Choose 2, 3 or 4 dispensers and pick a glaze for each one. Many people keep one and give one away.
How do I clean it?
When it’s empty, rinse it with warm water and a drop of dish soap, then let it dry upside down before you refill it. Lavonne washes hers by hand.
How fast does it ship?
Every order ships within 1–2 days, wrapped in plenty of paper.
Lavonne’s promise
90-day money-back guarantee
Fill it, put it by the stove and use it every day. If it doesn’t earn its spot, send it back within 90 days and you’ll get your money back. No questions asked.
Ships within 1–2 days · Only 216 left · Special price until November 30
Care & use
Wash by hand with warm water and a little dish soap, and let it dry completely before refilling. Keep it next to the stove, not on top of a hot burner or over an open flame. Each dispenser is hand-made, so small variations in shape, dimples and glaze are part of it, not a flaw.
Product details
| Size | About 5.9 in tall incl. cork × 3.1 in wide (15 × 8 cm) |
| Opening | About 1.7 in (4.3 cm) |
| Holds | About 13.5 fl oz (400 ml) |
| Material | Glazed ceramic with natural cork stopper |
| Glazes | Uwharrie Blue · Sandhill Peach · Wood Ash · Muscadine |
| Made by | Lavonne Hartsell, Seagrove, North Carolina |
| Shipping | Ships within 1–2 days |
| Guarantee | 90-day money-back guarantee |
The Final Series
The Final Series
A message from Lavonne:
For 37 years I’ve thrown these oil dispensers in the old tobacco barn behind our house in Seagrove, every one centered, dimpled, handled and glazed by my own two hands, and sold them only at my table at the pottery festival. My right shoulder has started telling me it’s time. This October I fired my kiln for the last time. These 216 oil dispensers, 54 in each glaze, are the last I will ever make.
The special price runs until November 30. They will keep shipping after that, until the very last one is gone.
When they're gone, they're gone.
Free Shipping
Free Shipping
Free shipping across the US
- Ships within 1–2 business days (UPS / USPS)
- Insured: every package is fully insured
- Wrapped in plenty of paper and packed so the clay arrives safely
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Got a question? Here’s how to reach us.
Kenley personally replies to every single email – as fast as she possibly can. Whether you have a question about your order or just want to say hi to Lavonne, we're here.
You can reach us:
- Mon – Fri: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (ET)
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (ET)
Email: info@backroad-goods.com
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Can I return it if it’s not for me?
Of course. We stand behind everything in our shop 100%. If the oil dispenser doesn't win you over, just shoot us an email within 90 days and we'll make it right – no hassle, no headaches.