Profile: Pottery Pub
Craft night meets craft beer– check out Pottery Pub, a pop-up bringing the art of ceramics to a brewery near you.
Photos by Anna Petrow
We sat down with Amy Leadingham, the owner and artist behind Pottery Pub, to learn all about the inspiration behind their traveling pop-up pottery classes. After all, nothing goes better with a night of crafting than a craft beer!
How was the idea for Pottery Pub born?
In 2016, I started making and selling my pottery at local KC beer festivals while I worked at KC Bier Co. Fast forward to 2019 when I commissioned a few mugs for a friend. When we met up, we started talking about another friend of hers that owns a paint-on-canvas business. She said, "I bet you could do that with your pottery!". So, like most things in life, I took it as an opportunity to challenge myself and expand my business into the realm of services. I sat down and figured out what I'd need to make it happen and reached out to my fellow Girl Scout Leaders and had a test run at it. We had so much fun and learned what worked and what needed to be changed. We should've earned a badge!
Tell us a bit about what your events are like.
Pottery Pub are ticketed events and guests must register and pay online ahead of time. This is how I manage the pottery inventory on hand. It's been quite a challenge the last few years with supply chain issues, but the biggest thing I learned from my MBA is to always have a backup plan. Luckily as a potter, I can make my own items when needed and I've definitely had to do that lately.
Back to your question... when guests arrive, they're greeted, checked in, and given instructions to find a seat. There they'll find a clipboard with a guest card (for their contact info and glaze colors) and a drink ticket, redeemable for their complimentary drink at the bar. Once they're settled in, we have them rotate through our test tile board that displays all the available colors and some combinations. We don't display all the combos there are simply too many, and our board would be too big to transport– plus, we want our guests to be creative!
We guide them through the designing process and make sure they've written down their choices correctly. After they complete their selection, our event assistant will come around to distribute their glazes and give application instructions. Once they finish their piece, we have them dry in front of a fan before we take them to the studio to be fired. All finished pots are returned the following week to the taproom for pickup.
What’s it like teaching folks a new creative skill in a social setting?
It's a lot of fun! Most guests have little to no experience with pottery, painting, or anything art-related, so it's exciting to teach them a new skill. We love to talk about how the chemical makeup of the glazes changes color from the time you brush them on your piece to when it's fired. Unlike acrylic paint, most medium-high fire glazes will not look the same when dry &/or fired. The best part is seeing their face when they're done! They're always so amazed at how different they started and always pleased with the results.
What sorts of techniques are you teaching?
We teach very basic application techniques where you simply brush in opposite directions for each layer you apply. We have several example pieces where we drip a second color from the rim and that technique is also very simple. Load the brush with glaze, wipe it off at the top, and watch it drip down the side. Our guests love this process. There's something so satisfying about watching it!
You’ve partnered with breweries like Casual Animal, KC Bier Co, City Barrel, and beyond- what’s your favorite part of integrating the arts with our local food/beverage and hospitality scene?
As a former brewery employee, I know what it's like to work on a slow night, and that was before the pandemic. I very much enjoyed my time in the hospitality industry and want to be able to give back because KC's brewery and hospitality community are beyond amazing! Pottery Pub is one way I can offer my love for art and teaching to other local small business owners like myself.
What are your hopes for Pottery Pub in the coming year?
Our goal this year is to expand into more Kansas breweries, more wineries, and to reach new clients for private events (ie: birthdays, bachelorette parties, team building, corporate, etc). We're also looking into trademarking as we plan future long-term goals.
To find information on upcoming Pottery Pub events, be sure to follow their Instagram at @potterypubkc!
