All across the country we are seeing little storefronts popping up all over the place that allow those who have no real experience working with ceramics the opportunity to create beautiful works of art with the paintbrush on pottery rather than canvas. Stores such as this are often attractive to consumers who wish to have the benefits of unique pottery without going through the process of learning how to make it themselves.
One thing to remember is that what you will come home from with most of these classes are ceramics. There’s nothing at all wrong with ceramics but I wanted to make sure that expectations were accurate. All of these shops offer a little something different from the others though common items you will see in most shops of this nature include ceramic tiles, teapots, cups, saucers, plates, platters, bowls, chip and dip sets, coffee cups and other seasonal items.
A visit to a “paint your own pottery” shop is not something to be taken lightly when it comes to cost. You are essentially creating a one of a kind keepsake, unless you can manage two identical pieces and for this you should expect to pay a good deal. Not only are you paying the price for the piece but the studio time to paint the ceramic piece and the firing time to set the glaze once you’ve left. Most of these studios will either arrange for you to return to pick up your item once it has finished the firing process or will set up services to have it mailed to you upon completion. For those who will be doing this while traveling the mail service is often a blessing, as you do not have to worry about breaking your precious work of art in transit.
If you happen to live near one of these pottery painting shops you should sign up for the mailing list if this is something that interests you. Many of these sorts of shops have special offerings for repeat customers and themed parties in order to bring in a little new business along the way. Every once in a while you can get some real gems at great prices through this process and at other times you will have the opportunity to paint unique pieces that are not ordinarily carried in your local pottery shop. It’s also a great thing to do with a group of friends or for the little ones who need to find something worthwhile to give grandparents and other relatives for Christmas, birthday, or holidays.
Many shops that specialize in ceramics or pottery for painting are small, locally owned and operated businesses. This gives you as the buyer the opportunity to support your local businesses and that is almost never a bad thing. It also keeps options such as this open for the one day when perhaps one of your own children is interested in art. He or she will have a place to go to explore that interest as long as we support shops such as this in our local communities.
There are some of these shops that are franchises. This means that while they may have a presence in multiple locations, they are still owned by individuals in the community. If this type of shop is something that appeals to you for ownership you could always check into franchise opportunities that are available in your area. If your community doesn’t have a shop like this already it is definitely an untapped market that may be perfect to support an idea such as this that provides a great deal of fun as well as an artistic outlet for so many.
Regardless, if you haven’t visited one of these shops you really should take the first opportunity to do so. Plan to be there for a while however as it often takes a while to decide on what to do first and plan to bring a big wallet as you are likely to want to do more than one.
