10/06/2025
Not gonna lie, this is probably going to be a long, personal post.
As we come up on our birthday/anniversary, I wanted to share a couple of pictures from over the years that mean a lot to me. Well, I found more than just a couple. Many of you have been with us from the day we opened in 2017 and we appreciate each and every one of you. For those new to us, we are so glad to meet you and hope to get to know you along the way also. Here’s just a snippet of the past 8 years of The Pottery Lounge.
January 2015: Brad and I were in a car accident that broke my neck. I had subsequent neck surgery and Brad had multiple back surgeries as a result. I lost my job due to the injury, surgeries and inability to go back soon enough. Brad and I thought long and hard about what to do. I had worked at HA, International, DuPont Biosciences, Quanex/factory work, but with the issues from my surgeries and neck fusion, I wanted a job where I could help people in some way and not sure about physically demanding work after the accident. While I was healing and doing the physical therapy, I went back to school and continued studying Psychology, earned my Master’s Degree, but still wanted to do something to bring happiness to people. Brad and I sat down with my kids and we tried to think of what we could bring to Rockford. What could we offer? We are factory workers, and I was now unemployed. My daughters, Lexi and Evelyn (if you’ve been in, you’ve likely met them ;) ) said Rockford needs more things to do on the weekend. They like bowling and the movies, but not EVERY weekend. Brad and I thought back to when the kids were younger, what did we do for fun? Paint and Fun in the mall! Paint and Fun moved to Virginia and we missed them. My background is in the sciences, not art, could we do this?
April 2017: Lexi and I signed up to go to Texas to learn from one of the best, Connie at American Ceramics. We spent three days learning the ins and outs of glaze paints, dipping, how to fire a kiln, learning techniques. We came back and spent the next few months preparing. The business plans, visiting other studios as customers and trying it out. My daughters, my son, parents all helped build, set up and continue to help run TPL.
October 30th, 2017 we opened! The picture of the woman in the pink hoodie (C.B.) with the boy painting was our first customer. He painted a shark. We still see them from time to time and they will always be special to us.
I’ll let the photo dump tell most of the rest of the story.
You all have been with us through the ups and downs and learning curves.
You were there with us when Brad was diagnosed with late stage cancer. Brad lost his job of 35 years due to his chemo and radiation. We didn’t know if we could even keep going on. We had pieces done late, we failed to order things on time and you all were so gracious during our struggle. We had words of encouragement and prayers from customers we hardly knew at the time. You’ll never know how hearing a simple “we’re praying for you” kept us going some days.
As Brad started to heal and things were looking up, covid hit. It hit small businesses hard. The mall wanted their full rent, the utilities, internet, insurance, the bills kept coming in no breaks, yet we were shut down and unable to work. Four months and the most we made was $226 one month with togo baskets. We emptied our retirement and had the help of family who believed in us to get us though.
There was one night I was struggling hard with “what are we doing? Why are we doing this?” I was hungry, broke, not a customer all day. As we were getting ready to lock up for the night, a customer came in one minute before closing and purchased $128 in pieces to go. I tried not to cry as I wrapped their order up. They literally fed us that night. THIS is what shopping local feels like. It felt like God sent them in and gave us that reassurance.
We have since added glaze paints, lots of workshops and events. Roosevelt students came out several times and they are amazing artist! Rock House Kids event was one of our favorite along with Rockford Park District and several other organizations (they both come in regularly as well). RHK is an amazing organization if you’d like somewhere to donate resources or to volunteer. Stateline Kids introduced us to Characters 2 Life and we have had some amazing events with them as well. We try to donate to every student fundraiser, non-profit and love helping in the community. You all were there for us when my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer linked to his 20 years of service in the Marine Corps/Vietnam. The love and support, the prayers and messages, you all truly are amazing. My parents are my biggest cheerleaders. My dad would send me ideas and suggestions, letters (the real kind that come in the mail ;) ). He would tell me how proud of me he was for how hard we worked. Our first time being on the news, my parents made sure to download the news app and watch. There was another night in particular when I doubted myself and my abilities to run a business. I mean, my background is in science and factory and my degree is in Psychology. What am I doing running an art studio-am I even qualified to do this? Again, we faced hardship and days on end of an empty studio. Lo and behold, people came in. I’ll attach their note in the pics. Yes, I cried. For every time I had doubt and wondered if we should just cut our losses and close, every time there was a clear sign (this one even written out for us). The note said:
“Hello! I LOVE this place and have come for years! Through relationships, pain, joy and more, you have always been an enjoyable hangout/relax spot. Thank you So MUCH for existing! You bring joy to me and my friends. May your days be bright”.
This was right after I got off the phone with my parents, asking if we are helping anyone, if it’s even making a difference and after working in an empty studio for days straight-not a customer in sight, not making any money. I cried as I washed their brushes. You all really never know how simply visiting a local small business and saying some reassuring words helps us.
All of that to say we love and appreciate each and every one of you.
The past 8 years has had it’s struggles, but it’s also had so many rewards. We’ve battled cancer and come out cancer free (one scan at a time). My dad was given months to live, he lived over 2 years and by the grace of God, he never had any pain. We’ve welcomed grandkids, had kids get married, and also heard many struggles and wins from you all as well. As with all small businesses, it’s a year at a time, so here’s hoping we are blessed with knowing and seeing all of you for the years to come!
If you made it this far, THANK YOU!
The best way to help small businesses is to frequent them, comment on their posts and share their posts.
