City: Rapid City, SD

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (605) 341-3657, (800) 657-4366

Address: 1441 East St. Joseph St.

Description: This isn’t just a place to buy beautiful, hand-decorated pottery in muted rainbow colors. You’re also invited on a self-guided tour through the plant to ask questions and watch the craftspeople and artists at work. It’s an interesting process. Clay slip, a liquid mixture of Black Hills red and Kentucky white clays and water, is poured into molds. After the edges harden, the excess slip is poured out, leaving a perfectly formed vase or other vessel. Once dry the pieces are unmolded, trimmed, sanded, painted, hand decorated, glazed, and fired. The artists use traditional geometric designs and their own imaginations in their etching and painting, which makes each piece unique. You can buy one piece or several, as well as other Native American–crafted items in the gift shop. Sioux Pottery is open daily June through Aug and weekdays the rest of the year.