Paint-your-own pottery studios enable would-be artists to be creative

Are you feeling that creative urge, but loath to express it? Do you wonder whether or not the limits of your artistic talents will be worth it?

Have no fear. Two separate businesses in the downtown Conway area have all the materials you'll need in order to produce your own masterpiece.

Owners of Doodles For You and Let's Get Personal say responses have been good since their respective businesses opened this year, although both cater to separate groups.

Jennifer Seifert of Doodles For You said she mainly gets people wanting to paint their own pottery, while Allison Weaver of Let's Get Personal said people also call her for specially designed canvas paintings.

Doodles for You

This Locust Street business, in its seventh week, is the brainchild of Seifert, a lifetime Conway resident.

The idea actually began in 2005, when she and her sister began making hand-painted pottery for their parents.

When Not So Artsy closed down in February, Seifert purchased the store's left-over inventory. "This spot became available and we opened down here," she said.

Seifert originally taught kindergarten in Mayflower, but became a stay-at-home mom following the birth of her oldest son. The store goes along with her family's lifestyle, as two sons are still too young to attend school.

"It's some adult interaction besides just the kids," she said.

Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Seifert plans to extend hours during the school year.

To prove the good response she's been getting, Seifert pointed to her kiln. "We were running it once a week, and now I'm running it every two to three days," she said. "We've been doing pretty steady so far."

For kids, the selections are numerous, from figures of robots to sharks to pandas. "We also have picture frames for kids that they can paint," she said.

She listed Sunshine Academy as one of her school customers, but said places from as far away as Little Rock have been patrons of her store.

Seifert said there are plenty of things for adults to put their artistic sense to use, such as coffee mugs or margarita glasses.

Adults are in fact taking advantage of her interactive shop, Seifert said.

One such group is the Delta Zeta sorority at the University of Central Arkansas, whose members plan to do a sisterhood event.

Another memorable event that recently took place in Seifert's store was a wedding proposal.

She said the couple's first date had been at a pottery store, and the boyfriend thought it would be romantic to recreate the event.

"Probably six weeks before he was going to do it, he came in and bought a box" which he then decorated, she said. He entrusted Seifert with the engagement ring, and to keep his plan in motion, she posted a sign advertising Monday hours.

Seifert said the couple came in and painted individual items, while she took photos, acting like it was for her store's brochure. When it came time for the two to pay, she brought up the box containing the ring. "He got down on one knee and proposed to her, and she was just thrilled," she said.

As for future business, Seifert suspects the Christmas rush to begin around October, and already has holiday items on display.

And her family will continue the hand-painted pottery as well.

"Each year we're just going to add another piece until eventually we can eat Christmas dinner off of our dinnerware stuff that our kids have designed," she said.

Let's Get Personal

Open since March, this Chestnut Street store is co-owned by Allison Weaver and Tonya Mabry, who formerly worked together at Acxiom Corporation in Conway.

"I quit working at Acxiom about six years ago, and I started doing the canvas paintings," she said. "I really got into the pottery and I started doing shows."

Mabry encouraged her to go into her own business with her artwork, she said.

The store is open Monday through Saturday, although Weaver acknowledged that she can make special hours by appointment, as well as book parties for events such as birthdays or Ladies Night Out.

She welcomes people to venture in on their own. "I would love to get a real big paint-your-own business going, but most of the time I get orders for me to paint stuff," she said.

She has also traveled to various schools around central Arkansas, from Conway's Kidco Early Learning Center to elementary schools as far away as Vilonia and Cabot.

"The kids really like it," she said. She said she normally lets the children paint their own tiles, normally around Mother's Day, but plans to do Christmas visits with the schools to do ornaments.

Weaver's background contrasts with her current line of work, as she was a computer science major in college.

But she's always retained a love for art, and recently received a pottery certification. "I wanted to be sure I was able to understand and talk intelligently about pottery to people when they came in," she said.

Her passion for what she does is evident just by listening to her. "I never get bored with going in and opening up the kiln," she said. "What I love about going in and opening it is that it's always a surprise. Like Christmas."

Besides pottery and canvas paintings, Weaver offers a wide selection, including barettes and T-shirts. Her biggest seller, she said, are personalized serving platters.

Go Forth and Paint

To anyone still apprehensive about producing their own pieces, have no fear. This reporter, not gifted with any artistic talent of her own, went out and painted a coffee mug Wednesday.

If she can do it, anyone can.

Seifert can be reached at 514-1647, and Weaver at 269-0927.

(Staff writer Jerrica Ryan can be reached by e-mail at jerrica.ryan@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1266. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)