Hi again :)

I wanted to tell you first, because you’re a lovely letter subscriber.

I’ll cut right to the chase: I’m starting a new business!

This summer (shooting for June), I’m opening a paint-your-own-pottery studio in The Forum called Polka Dot Pottery Studio.

This new adventure may seem unexpected, as pottery isn't the business or art form I’ve been showing my audience for the past 7 years. But if you’ve known me for a while, you know that my mom, Alicia, started her own paint-your-own-pottery studio in Charlotte in 1998 called Dish It Out.

P.S.: If you don’t know what a PYOP studio is: this is a place where customers choose a ceramic shape, paint it, then pick it up after we fire it (~5 days!). I often get asked if this involves spinning clay on the wheel, and the answer is no. There are several places around town that do an amazing job at leading those classes!

Dish It Out was among the first of its kind in Charlotte—a seamless, contemporary pottery painting studio. My siblings and I spent our afternoons there after school, watching people paint and Mom work, and picking up the ins and outs of the PYOP world. We’d paint, draw, work on homework, get in the way, ask for snacks… all the things little kids do.

In 1999, when I was just 1 year old, my dad, DJ, shut down his industrial equipment company and decided to enter the pottery world too. His reason: to help Dish It Out. My mom kept telling him: “I don’t have enough shapes… there’s not enough to pick from. I need more variety!"

He started by selling one ceramic plate out of our barn. While it was risky at the time, with three little kids and a lot riding on these ceramic plates, he built Bisque Imports from the barn up.

Tag-teaming this new endeavor, my mom and dad grew their businesses, learning together along the way. The pottery world was (and still is) our life as a family. I’ve never known anything different. It’s always special to hear when someone says, “I had my birthday party at Dish It Out”, or “I loved painting at that studio growing up!”

We all started working at Dish It Out at 14 (it’s legal in NC to start working two years early if it’s your parents’ business, lol). This is where we learned customer service, behind-the-scenes operations, how to work kids’ birthday parties and large events, and the importance of having a hands-on space free of technology. I loved putting on my Dish It Out apron and clocking in for my shift. I felt at home being around creativity. Most of all, I loved my coworkers and learning from the older women on the team.

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Please note:

When I was 14, I was a shaky, shy little girl, stuck in the weird puberty years where my nose was a little too big for my face. I had really bad acne and low self-confidence. I had to hype myself up to go up to a table and ask them for their name and phone number. We’d get busy on the weekends and sometimes would have angry customers - to which I would run back to my mom’s office and have a short meltdown. She’d reassure me, “you got this, G!”, and shove me back out there. My public speaking skills grew massively at that time.

At 17 or 18, we all left Dish It Out one by one and began working at Bisque Imports.

From the warehouse to marketing to bisque production, we learned the other side of the PYOP world—ceramic production & distribution. I stayed on at Bisque Imports on the marketing team until grad school. Next came teaching in the UNCW English department, then my two years full-time with my little GERB ART LLC.

When I look back at all the steps, I see a through-line: creating a life surrounded by creativity and people, and teaching adults and children how to tap into their creativity.

I’ve learned so much as a professor and as a full-time artist. I’ve built something I’m very proud of. And I see Polka Dot Pottery Studio as a place where all the things I love and feel skilled at come together.

Ever since I was 16, I’ve had an interest in owning my own pottery painting studio. When I first moved to Wilmington in 2017, I saw the potential for how a PYOP studio structured like Dish It Out could thrive here. It’s always been in the back of my mind, but I think I needed to grow on my own first.

I’m so excited to lead a team… I’ve really missed being part of one. Doing art full-time has shown me how much my cup is filled by teamwork and communicating with others.

I know I will feel fulfilled offering a space where hands-on art is at the forefront. And not only that, but a place where every single person can have fun doing it: no booking reservation required, no skills required, no age restrictions.

Now, as a Wilmington local for about 10 years, I understand how important places like these are. We can’t have enough creative spaces for adults and kids: places where we can disconnect from technology and connect with friends and family.

I will, of course, continue to paint. My GERB ART is only just beginning and will carry on as usual.

I started painting pottery at 3 years old, continued to paint professionally at Bisque Imports, and still do it for fun in my mom’s makeshift basement studio.

I love painting pottery. There’s something so meditative about it. I also love the functionality of the pieces—half of the plates, vases, and cups in my house have been painted throughout my life.

So while this may seem like a new direction, it feels like everything is coming full circle.

Polka Dot Pottery Studio is a culmination of so many parts of my life: family, teaching, art, and community. All in one place.

I can’t wait to open the doors this summer and welcome you in!!!!!!!!!!

I’ll be sharing more updates as things come together. Stay tuned. I will announce it on Instagram shortly. But if you want to follow along early, Polka Dot’s profile is @polkadotpotterystudio

More fairy wings to come…

All my love,

GERB

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