When Fable Mauss, freshman, lived in Colorado, she visited a local pottery place to bond with her family. She painted a small mermaid figurine, and to this day keeps it on a desk in her bedroom as a keepsake.
After she moved to Missouri in 2015, she missed the old pottery place she had visited, so her grandma took her to visit new pottery places in Missouri. Now, it’s a tradition for Mauss’ family to go pottery painting every time her grandma visits.
“Pottery places are the perfect thing to go out and do with someone that you love if you just wanna hang out and talk because you can talk with each other while you’re painting and while you’re making these cute things that you’re going to love forever,” Mauss said.
Mauss said her mom, grandma and sister specifically like to make gnomes, fairies, tiny pots and any little figurines.
She visited Pottery Hollow in Ellisville because she was intrigued when the business opened up near her house in 2023.
“I think that the decorations are a lot better than most other places,” Mauss said. “They have more options of different animals or figurines you can make, and I like the big space.”
Mauss plans to apply to work at Pottery Hollow this summer to work with the children who go there to make their experience the best it can be.
“I have such a good memory with all of those places and I want to help other kids experience what I did,” Mauss said.
She highly recommends Pottery Hollow to others, even those who don’t consider themselves artistic because she finds the experience much more valuable than the product.
“It doesn’t even have to be a hobby of yours that you regularly paint or you’re into crafts, I think that it’s just really nice to go and hangout,” Mauss said.
Reservations are not needed for Pottery Hollow and customers can walk in at any time that the business is open and start painting. The price you pay is determined by the piece that you decide to paint. This can be anywhere from $9-$60, plus a small additional supply fee. After painting, customers can pick up their finished product in a week after it has been glazed and fired.
Madi Night, Pottery Hollow employee, has been noticing more high school students come to Pottery Hollow after school with their friends. Night said that the students often chat about school as they paint.
“I like the regulars that we have because they’re the really artistic ones and they come up with really fun things,” Night said.
Specifically, she recalled a Scooby Doo themed butter dish, painted by a high school student.
“I think seeing what they create is the fun part,” Night said.
Abigail Rosales, senior, is a regular who visits Pottery Hollow to have fun in her free time.
“It’s something simple and fun to do when there’s nothing to do around here, especially when it’s cold and you can’t really go outside,” Rosales said.
Rosales said she appreciates all the paint color options Pottery Hollow offers and likes to take blank pieces of pottery and make it into a creative piece of art.
“The pottery is already made, so the hard part is done, and then you just go and paint and I find painting really relaxing,” Rosales said.
During a recent visit, she made a vase for her mother and kitchenware for her house.
“When I go, I usually try to make something that I’m going to use rather than have on display, because I find that it’s just more useful,” Rosales said.
