Industrial Park Shopping: Creativity Unleashed Ceramics

Benicia Patch periodically profiles businesses located in the Industrial Park. These are businesses where Benicians can shop. Helen Haroutinian, owner of , spoke with us about her ceramics studio located in the Historic Benicia Arsenal. The studio entrance is in the same building as , just next door at 946 Tyler St., Studio B.  

How long has Creativity Unleashed been in the Historic Benicia Arsenal?
We have just celebrated our 10^th anniversary at this location.

Can you tell me about your business?
We are a paint-your-own-pottery studio. Customers come in, choose from a wide variety of available pottery and paint the piece. We then glaze and fire it.

We also stock a huge selection of reasonably priced pottery, greenware and bisque, and a large selection of ceramic supplies. Our studio fee is very reasonable, only $3.95.  

What kind of group activities are available?
Our group activities include birthday packages, parties, ceramics classes, ladies' nights, school auction projects and Scouting requirements.

How do you get the word out that you are in the Industrial Park?
We are on the Internet. Some customers find us in online searches and in the yellow pages. We do find there are still Benicia residents who don’t know our business is here.

What are the benefits of your Industrial Park location?
We enjoy the quiet, the company of other artists and the fact that we area part of the artists’ community. This location has given us space to expand, which translates into less expense for our customers.

Anything else you would like to share with your Benicia neighbors?
In April, one of our originally-designed pieces raised $5,000 at auction for .  Each child in my daughter Tamar’s class painted a small clay gecko. We fired and glazed them, then used the ceramics to design a one-of-a-kind framed mirror.

I’d also like to thank you for bringing attention to the business community in the Arsenal.  A number of new businesses have opened here recently.