Fern Street Pottery Studio

Even the Fern Street Pottery Studio itself is handmade. The studio was built entirely by my capable husband Darren. We built the studio into the top floor of our garage. The detached garage was originally built tall, to house an RV, but when we purchased our house, we saw the potential to turn it into studio space.

 To begin, Darren had to add a floor and structural support where there was only open space (those years of construction work in college surely paid off!). He plumbed water to the studio from the house, sheet rocked, and painted. Many up-cycled pieces were used in the process: I found a beautiful vintage 1940's enameled sink and cabinet at a rummage sale, while wood from an old boat shed lines the studio ceiling. We had an aging Big Leaf Maple in the yard, which we had removed and slabbed to dry a few years prior. Darren used the slabs of live edge maple to make display shelving and a 10 foot long work table for the studio, and even deck furniture for the studio deck. The slab furniture pieces are about 20 feet from where they grew- you can't get any more locally harvested than that!
The studio faces south, lined with windows overlooking deck into our forested neighborhood. Our amazing friends came to work parties to help him build a second story cedar deck, stairs, and entrance to the studio, which really gives the feeling of a tree-house studio.

 

I feel so fortunate to have a bright, light studio in the trees. Since the space was a blank slate I was able to design freely to suit my needs. The studio is primarily used for personal studio use, but also efficient for workshops, and with some clean-up it transforms into an airy showroom for studio tour sales. Fern Street Pottery is located in Indianola, a quiet little beach town on the Puget Sound, a ferry ride away from Seattle. Outside I hear eagles call out as they circle above, riding the thermals, while inside my rescued pugs snore and sleep in front of the wood stove.