Clayvana pottery painting studio in Ridgefield has created a place for people to practice and refine their art skills in a low-judgement environment.
Owned by Steven and Emily Busenbarrick, Clayvana opened on Aug. 21, roughly a year after the couple had the idea.
“Emily frequently has some good ideas for businesses, but this one, as soon as I heard it, I was just, ‘that’s the perfect fit here,’” said Steven Busenbarrick, co-owner of Clayvana.
The business offers a wide selection of ready-made pieces of pottery, ranging from plain looking pots to things as complex as a dragon guarding a tower.
“I usually tell people, ‘pick the first one that kind of draws your attention’,” said Emily Busenbarrick, co-owner of Clayvana. “We kept the pricing inclusive and included tax and everything. That makes it pretty simple for the customer.”
When customers enter the store, they’re greeted with a three-tiered shelf of pottery that runs along the entire wall.
After making a selection to paint, they can go grab their glaze colors from in back then sit down and begin painting.
“Little kids usually tap out about half an hour, but some people we’ve had come in in the morning when we open and they’re here when we close at 7,” Emily said.
Once the painting is done, the pottery goes into the kiln, and about a week later, customers can come back to pick up their work of art.
Since opening day, Steven and Emily have seen a wide variety of artistic ability among their customers.
“The customers have produced some stunning artwork, like our first week we had somebody come in and freehand a peregrine falcon on the side of a small planter,” Steven said. “It’s been really impressive to see the creative abilities and talents of the people here.”
Customers coming into the store and applying any level of artistic ability matches with the original vision and inspiration the couple had for the business.
“Eighteen years ago we got invited by some friends to go paint pottery. We went to a place called Picasso’s in Florida,” Steven said. “It was something we really enjoyed doing, we would go once a month and hang out with friends.”
Behind the drive to open an artistic business was the artistic education that Emily pursued in college and in her career beforehand.
She studied graphic design and digital photography, allowing her to practice graphic design with several corporations over the years.
Steven likewise worked in corporate business, being employed by Amazon for a number of years.
Eventually both of them opted to leave the corporate world in favor of starting Clayvana.
“We just wanted to share something we really enjoy and to build something that the community would appreciate somewhere to take your 11-year-old,” Steven said.
It’s a sentiment that the couple could relate to, as they have an 11-year-old son of their own.
“There aren’t a lot of entertainment options right here in Ridgefield,” Steven said.
Aside from a movie theater, they said that most of the things people can find for entertainment are found in Battle Ground or Vancouver.
“We really wanted to bring something artistic, fun and creative that families can do,” Emily said. “You don’t have to have any experience.”
