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Picture yourself on an early morning stroll in the Cascades, gazing at a distant mountain peak in all its glory. Alex Apland adds one more element to the majestic scene, a ceramic coffee mug with hand-painted artwork that mimics the view. The 22-year-old entrepreneur dutifully captures the moment and shares it with Instagram followers worldwide, reminding them the mug is available online. Apland, a potter, has melded artistic craftsmanship and outdoor spirit with digital-age marketing skills into a full-time pursuit, selling adventure-themed and customized mugs and pottery in virtually every state and Canada. Her interactive fan/client base posts pictures of her mugs in their favorite haunts and overlooks. "I've always been outdoorsy," Apland said. "But when I came up with the mountain-mug style, it was actually a period in my life when I wasn't spending that much time outdoors hiking and climbing. It inspired me to be outside more and do the things I wanted to do." She began developing her pottery skills for a Reaching Our Community Food Pantry fundraising event five years ago. Since then, Apland's pottery creations have morphed into an all-consuming effort that has warmed the hearts of coffee, tea and cocoa drinkers everywhere. Her trademark designs came to fruition a year and a half ago as she experimented with stylized painting. "I posted it online and got a lot of responses," she said. "I started making more, and it really caught on." With countless pottery makers selling their wares on hundreds of websites, Apland had to set herself apart. The mountain scenes met the desire. "I had to find a niche and not be lost in the Internet jumble," she said. "I wanted something to inspire, a mug that's not boring." "When someone sees a picture of my pottery, they go, 'Oh, it's that girl,' " Apland said. "It's working well for me." Her array of ‪hashtags — #‎pnw‬ ‪#‎pnwonderland‬ ‪#‎southernoregon‬ ‪#‎siskiyous‬ ‪#‎rogueriver‬ ‪#‎roguevalley‬ ‪#‎oregonmade‬ ‪#‎oregonlife‬ ‪#‎oregonnw‬ ‪#‎oregonexplored‬ ‪#‎cascadiaexplored‬ ‪#‎cascadia‬ ‪#‎pottery‬ ‪#‎clay‬ ‪#‎ceramics‬ ‪#‎ceramicsstudio‬ ‪#‎ceramicsclass‬ — cover the scope of her endeavors, drawing hundreds of responses. As an encouragement to get followers on trails and byways, she has hidden 10 mugs in places such as Pilot Rock, Castle Crags, Rogue Gorge, the coast — and for variety's sake, downtown Portland. "I think they've all been found, but one on Mount Thielsen," she said. It was in Portland that she caught up with the touring band From Indian Lakes, for whom she had fashioned mugs with the group's logo. Her mugs are now available on the indie band's website. "It's kind of a break-even deal for me," she said. "But I love the exposure." Every gift shop, dollar store and chain retailer crams mugs on the shelves, but artists don't compete on price. "I'll make a hundred in a week, and whether they look identical or not, they're all going to be unique," Apland said. "They'll all be the same size, and I'll try to be pretty consistent, but I never made the same mug twice." Two of the highest-demand mugs bear the phrase: "The mountains are calling and I must go" and "I love you to the mountains and back." The latter kept her cranking her wheel to great lengths in November. Mugs are typically 6 to 24 ounces and sell from $15 to $30. Plain mountain 16-ounce mugs are the most popular. A large "The PNW stole my heart" mug goes for $28, and a pair of "I love you to the mountains and back" mugs are $57. Special orders can be turned around in two weeks, she said. "I know people can buy a mug for $5 at Fred Meyer or Walmart," Apland said. "But I'm thankful they see the value in one that's handmade." To learn more, see AlexApland.com Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness , on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31