Kristin’s Story
In spring of 2002, went to a paint-your-own pottery studio in Orlando called All Fired Up with a date…and fell in love. (Not with the date) When we walked in, the first thing i noticed was all the relationships, all the interaction. A mom with her son, a dad with his daughters, several more people painting, and there were were, a couple on a date. Well how cool was that! Laughter, music, chatting…we were pretty quiet concentrating on our masterpieces for our kids, but 3 hours later, I had my next business venture! After months of research, Polk County’s first paint-your-own pottery studio opened in October 2002. 3 months later, I met my husband. 4 months later we were married. 1 month later I expecting with the “ours” of the yours, mine & ours.
Lakeland did not have a vibrant mall, at that point. I had 3 different landlords tell me about a mixed-use plaza being built in the middle of town but it was still being planned. Once Casto Lifestyle Properties began signing leases for Lakeside Village, I was first in line. My husband & I were the first local tenants to sign our lease and got a pretty sweet location in the mall. We struggled with amazing construction delays (the 2005 bubble-they were fat & happy then), but once we opened we were a hot spot in town, that’s for sure. We had a hard time giving good service we were so packed with new people. It really wasnt a good problem to have, let me tell you. But things settled down and we figured out how to manage high payroll, high rent, & corrected store hours. It just takes time, and I am blessed to have a patient husband who believed in the nature of the community-oriented, family-friendly business and was willing to carry me through those first couple years in our new location.
So here we are. A successful studio to me means we have the respect of our community, and since we are right beside “the” movie theater in town, EVERYONE who hasnt painted pottery yet, has atleast walked by our studio. Ok, now how to take it to the next level. This online community has been a dream of mine for many years. I always was trying to figure out how to harness the power of the internet in some way or another, but in our industry, its a challenge. Its an experience, and we fire your pieces, and then you return days later to pick them up. Hmmm.
Well, we’ve got it figured out. Oh we dont have it all completed, but we have it figured out. This whole magazine, blogazine, online community will evolve, so please be patient. We are taking an entire industry and uploading it…but it is all for you, our creative, fun-loving audience, and for you, my sister studio owners.
Thank you so so so much for visiting.
Sincerely,
Kristin
