Pottery's personal. Everyone has their own style. So giving pottery as a holiday gift can be a bit risky. Like buying your mother-in-law lingerie, or buying a Right Said Fred album for anyone on the planet except the members of Right Said Fred.

But how about pottery made by a zookeeper? Pottery with exotic and North American animal foot prints molded into each mug, bowl, vase or magnet.

Now we're talking special. Risk averted.

Introducing Kirsten's Clay. Pottery created by Metro Richmond Zoo zookeeper, Kirsten Holmes, using molded footprints from animals to add a unique element to each creation. In other words, no way in hell are you going to find these in Pottery Barn.

One place you will them is in my home. Someone in my family is getting two mugs with a footprint of a squirrel monkey this Christmas. And it's honestly the gift I'm most excited to give. (Even more so than my homemade Fluffernutter Loaf.)

Now here's the deal. If you fall in love with one of these pieces (that's a peppered blue vase with lion cub paw prints to the right) and there's not one currently in-stock, you're going to need to wait 4-6 weeks to receive it. In other words, after the holidays. This ain't Pottery-R-Us, kids. We're talking one zookeeper making each amazing piece of pottery individually in her free time when she's not feeding rhinos or keeping parrots safe from mischievious little boys with slingshots. But hey, the wait is all part of the charm. Think of it as extending the holidays just a bit.

(Full disclosure: While I haven't seen her in many years, Kirsten and I were part of the same symphonic band in high school. She played the French Horn, I played Right Said Fred albums.)