ARTGARDEN Pottery evolves with economy

MOSES LAKE - Laura Mayer is proud to be an artist who weathered and survived the recession.

Mayer, the owner of ARTGARDEN Pottery in Moses Lake, once owned an Ephrata pottery store for five years.

The recession started and sales decreased.

She adapted by selling her pottery at art shows. This summer, she attended shows in Everett and Bellevue.

"It's a great way to be there with the public," she said. "You get feedback."

She also closed her Ephrata store and moved to a Moses Lake location at 104 W. Third Ave., in April.

She's been busy attending summer craft shows, making product and getting her Moses Lake store ready.

The opening is set for Sept. 22.

"I'm really excited to be here in Moses Lake," she said. "I've waited the last year and a half for this building to open up. It's been great."

Her Ephrata store was 1,000 square-feet. The Moses Lake location is more than double her old store, at 2,800 square-feet.

"It's good," she said. "It opens things up. I have room to work and a lot of things going on."

Her goal for the new store is to reduce her travel time for shows. She brought her work to 15 shows this year and plans to scale down to five shows annually.

Once open, she offers art-themed birthday parties and private classes for groups of eight.

In October, she starts teaching art classes for 3- to 5-year-olds, 6- to 12-year-olds, and adults. In addition to pottery, her classes also include painting, jewelry, soldering, collages and scrapbooking.

The first half of her store is used as a gift shop to feature her work and other local artists' creations.

Her big sellers have been garden art birds and bugs placed on long, skinny rebar.

The main part of the store is set aside for customers to paint their own pottery. The areas holds 30 people. Appointments aren't required.

Mayer has a bachelor's degree in fine arts and a bachelor's degree in art education.

She taught high school art for several years, but left teaching because she didn't like doing progress reports and grading.

Her parents, Bob and Karen Mayer of Ephrata, have helped her "immensely" with her business, Laura said.

Karen spent "hours and hours helping me glaze and going to craft shows," Laura said.

Bob helped build shelves, other items and weld.

Laura hopes to hire a few part-time employees and have themes for customers, like midnight margaritas, family Sunday and student days.

She wants many people to be able to afford a mug or a plate in a lower price range, but also offer higher end items.

Pottery novices are welcome. She has plenty of idea books to guide people new to the craft.

"They don't have to know anything to paint something," she said.

For more information, visit artgardenlaura.blogspot.com, the business's Facebook page, or call 509-765-1333.