Avery Sisk
The late Avery Sisk was always a cup-half-full kind of guy. Or, in his case, mug-half-full.
Sisk, who died last March at the age of 81, was the architect behind Collettsville’s famous House of Mugs, an otherwise ordinary mountain cabin that Sisk inexplicably — some would say ingeniously — shingled with coffee mugs. We’re talking ground-to-gable coffee mugs, thousands upon thousands of mostly ceramic vessels covering all of the cabin’s exterior walls, the front porch, the porch ceiling, a second small building, and even a split-rail fence with an archway. Each mug dangles from its own nail. You might even find mugs hanging in the trees.
“The last time my dad counted, about five years ago, it was right at 30,000 coffee cups,” says Sisk’s son Kyle. “I’m sure it’s more than that now.”
The House of Mugs got its start in the summer of 2000, when Sisk — who lived in Lincolnton, about an hour south of Caldwell County’s Collettsville community — went to a flea market to buy an antique oil lamp. While he was there, he and his sister, Ruby Shook, found a bargain they couldn’t resist: 750 coffee mugs for $15.
Avery Sisk — the mastermind behind the House of Mugs — died last March. His son, Kyle, and wife, Doris, (left) will honor his memory by continuing to add cups to the cabin in Caldwell County. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
What was Sisk going to do with that many coffee mugs? After all, the man — this is no lie — wasn’t a big coffee drinker.
Nonetheless, Sisk started hanging mugs in a corner of the cabin’s porch, beginning with a boring “I ❤ New Jersey” mug. (For the record, we’re sure the classy North Carolina mugs far outnumber the New Jersey mugs by now.)
Sisk began frequenting flea markets, thrift stores, antiques shops, yard sales — anywhere he might find inexpensive mugs for his collection. Some days, he’d bring home as many as a thousand mugs in the back of his pickup truck. Eventually, visitors who came to see the House of Mugs for themselves — some from as far away as Germany, France, and Iceland — began bringing Sisk mugs, too, further emboldening his habit.
“Just a hobby that got out of hand,” he’d tell visitors with a sheepish grin.
The mugs were spreading like kudzu, and Sisk couldn’t stop them from growing because, well, he didn’t want to. “Just a hobby that got out of hand,” he’d tell visitors with a sheepish grin.
A tour of Sisk’s menagerie reveals mugs printed with almost everything imaginable: Flowers, rainbows, and hearts. Santa Clauses, snowmen, and reindeer. Dogs, cats, and cows. Sports team logos. Universities. Businesses. Even — Sisk’s personal favorite — a picture of Ronald Reagan.
When Sisk died, family members never debated whether they should dismantle the cabin that had given visitors, and Sisk, so much joy. “My dad loved the coffee cups, and he loved showing them to people,” Kyle says. “We’re not gonna take them down — we’re gonna add to them. That’s what my dad would’ve wanted.”
House of Mugs
2490 Old Johns River Road
Collettsville, NC 28611
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