Huntington’s own pottery-painting studio relocates to Pullman Square
By Diane Wellman
HQ 71 | AUTUMN 2010
In a sunny corner of The Pottery Place, a young couple on a date paint designs onto pieces of pottery. Nearby, a mother and her middle-aged son, with time to kill between dinner and a movie, stencil patterns onto coffee mugs. And at a long table, a group of children enjoy birthday cake after creating individual works of art that will double as party favors.
The Pottery Place is a paint-your-own-pottery studio, the first of its kind in Huntington, and it’s been so well received that within a year of opening it has grown into a new space at Pullman Square.
The cheery, colorful studio invites creation and fellowship, which is precisely what owner and creator Laya Hutchison envisioned when she decided to take the plunge into a creative venture.
An accountant by trade, Hutchison has worked alongside her husband Scott Hutchison, a successful developer, for 20 years.
“My husband would think of the concept and build the business, and then I would sort of run it from behind the scenes,” says Hutchison. “I had never initiated a business concept for us to be involved in. When this came along, I enjoyed the idea but thought, ‘I’m an accountant, a numbers person. I’m not artsy, not so creative.'”
But the idea persisted and was nudged along by Hutchison’s two daughters, who had set the wheels in motion three years earlier when they happened upon a paint-your-own-pottery studio while visiting family in Iowa.
“They had such a good time,” recalls Hutchison, a Huntington native, “that in our travels to other cities, we actually looked for other studios.”
The girls enjoyed the activity so much that they attended a pottery camp in Florida.
“Every day they would say, ‘Mom, we really need a paint-your-own-pottery studio in Huntington.'”
Confident in her ability to run a business but intimidated by her lack of knowledge and artistry in the realm of pottery, Hutchison started doing research.
“If someone would teach me how to glaze and how to fire a kiln, I felt I could learn what I needed to know for this business,” she remembers.
Meanwhile, as the process of creation goes, the universe was conspiring to nurture the endeavor.
Laura Evans, a native of Elkins, moved to Huntington to attend Marshall University. After obtaining a master’s degree in music, she moved to New York City to try to make a career out of opera. Her opera career did not work out, however, and two years later she returned to Huntington to become the executive director of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra.
“I did that for a couple of years but realized I was working so much and singing so little,” says Evans.
At a speaking engagement, Evans announced she was resigning her position in order to pursue music. She said she hoped to make a recording of songs with jazz pianist Bob Thompson, and while pursuing this dream she planned to piece together a living, which included teaching piano. Afterward, woman in the audience whose grandchild needed a piano teacher approached Evans. That grandchild turned out to be Laura Evans’ first piano student – as well as Laya Hutchison’s youngest daughter.
As anticipated, Hutchison’s extensive research had taught her what she needed to know about the pottery business, including how to glaze and how to fire a kiln. When Laura Evans stepped into the picture, Hutchison recognized that Evans’ sense of creativity would complement her own business acumen. She asked Evans to manage The Pottery Place part-time, allowing Evans the flexibility she needed to pursue her music, and Evans accepted the offer. They’ve worked together “from the ground up,” says Hutchison, and it’s proven a successful partnership.
“I like doing this because it’s still an artistic venue,” says Evans, “and I get to learn from somebody like Hutchison, who doesn’t leave anything out.”
Hutchison now has 10 part-time employees, including all four of her children, ranging in age from 11 to 21. Despite becoming adept at glazing and firing a kiln, she has hired a professional ceramics major at Marshall University; between the two of them, pottery is transformed into original handmade works of art.
Here’s how it works. First, choose a ceramic; from teapots to tiles to pet dishes to letters of the alphabet, there are plenty of choices. Prices range from $4 to about $95, depending on the piece, and the prices, plus tax, are all-inclusive. There are no hidden fees, and there is no charge for studio time.
Next, choose a ready-made pattern or come up with your own design, and choose your paint colors. Everything is supplied, including cleanup.
Then, all that’s left is to get comfortable and start creating. Should you need to depart before your piece is finished, leave it in “Pottery in Progress” and come back as often as you like until it’s complete.
Once painting is complete, the studio takes care of firing your piece in the kiln, and it’s ready for pickup in seven days.
The activity is a refreshing entertainment alternative that’s affordable, fun and appropriate for all ages and all types of events, from birthdays to bridal showers.
“I had one party where ladies brought in appetizers and a blender and made margaritas,” says Hutchison, who welcomes food and drink in the studio. (Alcoholic beverages require a signed release.)
Fundraising opportunities are also available, and a mobile events coordinator is on staff to cater community events and projects.
Plunging into a creative venture takes a certain amount of nerve, but the payoff can be sweet. Laura Evans’ CD with Bob Thompson, My Song to You is Love, was released in June and is now available for purchase.
And at The Pottery Place, Laya Hutchison says as she stacks ceramics into a kiln, things couldn’t be better.
“I’m blessed and thankful Huntington was receptive. I am so happy here. It’s a place where everyone makes a masterpiece.”
