Paint-Your Own Pottery Studio in Hackettstown
I am interested in opening a BYOB Pottery Painting studio in Hackettstown and looking for any feedback on whether or not it would be something people are interested in supporting. It would be primarily a pottery painting studio, but would also host a few canvas painting classes per month. Of course it would be a great place to host a childrens party during the day and a bachelorette or Girl's Night Out type party at night! Please let me know any feedback you may have!
Curiouspottery Would that be like A.R.T. but for adults? Or like Studio 6 but with pottery? (since we just went over Studio 6 on another thread)
GC Are you thinking of something like "Brushes & Bisque" in Denville? I'm not sure how successful they are, but I have seen their ads on my cable network (though not withing the last 6 months or so).
Phil D. It would be similar to A.R.T., but geared primarily towards adults. It would be full time pottery painting, like Brushes & Bisque in Denville! My understanding is that Studio 6 hosts wine & paint nights, but that this is not their primary business. My idea is to open a pottery painting business with a kiln, where you can make your own serving pieces, home decor, etc while enjoying some wine & socializing. It would also be available for families, or children's parties, during the day on the weekends (without the wine of course). It would be a fun place for adults to go on a weeknight for a date or on a weekend with friends. Also- it would host canvas painting classes maybe once a month, similar to Studio 6. It would be a place to have fun doing something a little different in Hackettstown
I remember going to a place like that in Hastings square a long time ago. I think it was called plaster fun house
Booster90 
Firstworldproblems Plaster Fun House was a great place and I went to or held a few birthday parties there. But, they did go out of business fairly quickly, so I would look into why that business failed before you invest in opening up yours here.
Rich I grew up going to the Plaster FunHouse, and I have always been sad that it did not survive. While I'm not sure why it went out of business, and also not sure how to find out why it went out of business, my idea would be different in a few ways. The Plaster FunHouse was based on a different type of pottery. It was basically decorative plaster pieces, painted and then sprayed. The type I would offer would be ceramic- and they get fired in a kiln and become food safe! These pieces are longer lasting and more versatile. Also- while the Plaster FunHouse was great for children's parties, the era of BYOB painting parties was not as popular for adults as it is today. This is why I believe it would be successful.
Natalie Plaster funhouse was there for many, many years I believe. When I last spoke with the owner she told me that she was just retiring. In saying that, I do not know how well a business like that would do now. I think there was one in Flanders and Chester some time ago and that they both have since closed.
JRT Wine, pottery painting and girl's night out sounds pretty great to me! I think there might be interest in making pottery as well. I wonder if you would consider having a few pottery wheels and offering classes?
Independence Farmer I know I am definitely interested and I can think of about 7 or 8 friends that would def want to do this. Would you be able to also have a few pottery wheels, so people can make their own creations? Now that would be really cool. My sister goes someplace in San Francisco where they have a wheel, kiln and pieces pre-made to just glaze and fire. They also do painting classes - wine and cheese nights like "wine and cheese watercolor night," or "wine and cheese oil painting,' She took a follow-along type painting class there where she made a beautiful oil copy of a Van Gogh. They also had seasonal crafts like making cool silver contemporary wreaths for Christmas and had a pumpkin carver teach people how to make these amazing pumpkins that were works of art. I know its California but they always have a waiting list for their classes and pottery making.
Heidi I think it's a great idea! Alot of the fun places are far away. How about a mother/daughter class?
Good Luck on your new venture.
Anna 
Ollie 
HF456 I have seen two kinds of places. One where you spray a clear overcoat on the work and its finished and then the traditional ceramic that you fire.............which would you be doing?
waterslideguy 
mish 
meow 
inverrary Waterslideguy- I would do the traditional ceramic pieces and fire them in a kiln.
Roywhite If it doesn't involve a computer or smart phone, I not so sure kids would be interested in something like this. Adults however , myself included, would love a place like that. Reminds of the "old days ", riding our bikes 5 miles each way, once a week, to ceramics classes.... it was so fun!
sparksjbc1964 Yes! Sounds wonderful. I've always been interested in doing pottery and learning to paint on canvas.
America Kids would like this. I brought mine to brushes and bisque in denville. He had a blast and so proud of the plate he painted. A place like that in hackettstown would be great. Like the idea of adult byob as well.
gm momSounds like a good idea and fun! Just keep in mind that there was the same type of business in Hastings Square about 10 years ago......My daughter had a Bday Party there and was fun. For whatever reason it closed down......Good Luck !!
maxsky I'd be interested in painting, but not a wine and cheese thing where everybody paints the same thing. They used to have something a little like that in Clinton, but for abstract painting.
Denis 
Dede Sounds good but I think the chances of it succeeding would be greater if it has lots of diversified activities, like Heidi said. It would keep people coming back for new things to try.
Because how many times would someone return to do the same thing over and over.
Keeping things fresh is always a good idea and offer parties to corporations for team building events. Several small businesses have gone to Homebrew U for the same reason.
My advice stays the same - see Dolores or Mary at the Small Business Development Center - their services are FREE provided by the SBA, so you might as well use them.
And once you open, see Jim at the BID office.
Good Luck, it sounds like fun!
trekster3- I think this is a wonderful idea - I had looked all over for something like this last year and found nothing quite nearby - love the idea of adult "night out" times, as well as things for the kids. Plaster fun house was there for a long time and my son loved it - I would definitely be a patron!
pmnsk I remember going to Plaster Fun House for birthday parties 25-30 years ago! Such a fun time. I would love for my children to experience something similar.
Snow I think having the classes is a great idea. I know my daughter and I would love something like that. Plaster Fun House was good for kids but we need something for adults. I wish you luck if you choose to move forward with it.
Those place are fun but the novelty could wear off. I did paint & wine 2 months in a row & I'm so over it now. Definitely do your homework; might be best to contact similar businesses to get a feel for anticipated income, busy times, etc.
buffy 
just saying is all Definitely give a call over to Brushes & Bisque. Your description of the business is almost exactly what it says on their web site. Studio 6 might not have parties as a primary business, but that still potentially competes. You might talk to them about why they only do classes every other month or so - maybe like buffy says, that's just folks capacity for something like that.
I can definitely see concentrating on adult parties, kids parties today have such competition from existing businesses, far more than just art or similar activities. It will probably lead you towards certain business decisions given the hours, etc. The SBDC is a great place to explore those SWOT/etc, analysis.
My recollection is this was popular some number of years ago. I can remember my cousins do that in the mid 80's or so. They made a fair number of items. I think the one thing they ran into was sometimes getting an item they didn't realize was so complicated to paint and they lost interest in finishing it.
Good luck one way or the other.
H-town Mama H-town Mama - That's the A R T that was mentioned. It's kid oriented, not adult, and does other kinds of craft & art, not decorating pottery.
Toni 
ChiliB 
Kim We used to live in Flemington, and Art Attack is amazing down there! I've been there with girlfriends as well as my young daughter. They seem to do very well. Location is key though. Finding a location with easily accessible parking is important too. We love A.R.T. in Hackettstown, but parking on Main Street is sometimes a hassle. Having something that is specifically pottery would be awesome though! Good luck, I hope this works out!
luvmyrescue I would also be interested. I have friends that have done the painting parties and they look fun, but don't know how often people would want to do. It would be nice to have adult parties with different items besides just the paintings, (how many paintings does one person want). For example a party that everyone makes coffee mugs or bowls etc. Around the Holidays they could be themed. Have a big center piece bowl that we are shown how to paint, Santa or a winter wonderland on. Just my thoughts :)
Sunshine Count me as a client for painting bisque, pottery classes, and individual instruction although not the parties.
MsMary We used to have something like this, but it morphed into A R T on Main Street.
Htown Resident Dear family, if you enjoy making ceramic pieces, great. Please don't give any to me ;)
maja Hahaha! Maja yeah I kinda was thinking the same:)
I think this would be fun do do once, maybe twice... but do people really go back several times?? Just curious. It reminds me of those house parties that everybody you know has had. Party lite, Mary Kay, Jewlery, etc... Once you've done a couple it's not so exciting amy more.
JRT - back in the 60's my mom and aunt went someplace for like a year straight and they both made their own (very beautiful) service for 12. They made plates, bowls, mugs, and matching serving dishes of all shapes and sizes - even a large handled soup tourine with a lid. You just have to make sure both the clay and glazes are food grade and lead free. My older sister also went with them a few times and made some beautiful very large (mine's 4 feet tall) handled urns, one of which I have in my living room next to my fireplace to this day. She under-glazed it, fired it and then over-glazed it so it has a dimensional sheen and looks more like glass than ceramics. People always go crazy over it and ask me where I found it! It looks like something that should be in a museum and she made them when she was 14 or so!
Maja - Not sure why you would not want a beautiful piece of hand-made art!!
Hello,
Back in the 1970's I remember plaster items that could be purchased in plain white and they could be painted with available colored wax or acrylic paint. I had a lion and a baby giraffe and they were twenty inches tall. Does anyone remember these? They were hollow. This would be an idea to consider.
Robert J. Rowe I think many people on here might be confusing actual ceramics with plaster pieces. Totally different. For instance Lenox pieces are ceramics as are many place settings (they can be either porcelain or ceramic).
The stuff at plaster fun house was NOT ceramics.
Pottery or ceramics? this difference being pottery is clay that is molded or thrown, fired as bisque, fired again with a glaze
ceramics are poured liquid clay in a mold and many molded items can be made multiple times - these pieces are fired and become bisque, then painted either with an acrylic (not food safe) or an underglaze with a food safe glaze on top.
so I am not sure if you mean a ceramic molded piece or something we would create with a lump of clay
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