After Fire, St. Pete Ceramics Finds Temporary Home As Rebuilding Begins

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — For Beth Miranda, co-founder of St. Pete Ceramics, life is divided into two periods: before the fire and after the fire.

At the end of January, a devastating fire destroyed the pottery studio. Processing the loss, including three bunnies that called the studio home, was overwhelming in the days and weeks that followed the blaze, she told Patch.

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But now, things are looking up, as St. Pete Ceramics is in the process of rebuilding. Their community also moved into temporary digs in March, and is operating out of a smaller, temporary space while the work is being completed, Miranda said.

“We are mostly past the grief stage and the ‘oh my gosh, what just happened?’ stage,” she said.

Demolition is expected to begin any day at their studio at 593 22nd Street S.

“Then, they’ll rehab the space,” she said.

There’s no timeline in place for the work to be completed, and at the moment St. Pete Ceramics is operating out of two small studios, totaling less than 400 square feet, at Five Deuces Galleria at 2135 3rd Ave. S., just down the road from their space.

“That’s nothing compared to the space we normally would have,” Miranda said, noting that their permanent ceramics studio is about 1,800 square feet. “But we love our tiny space in the Five Deuces. It’s tiny and so cute.”

• Also Read: Fire Destroys St. Pete Ceramics Studio, Owners Vow To Rebuild

These small studios provide a space for workshops and classes, and are open to St. Pete Ceramics members on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

In the meantime, the kiln is set up in the backyard of Miranda’s St. Pete home. So, all completed work is fired there. She’s also handling business operations for the studio from her house, which “is basically just a giant pottery studio, now,” she said.

After the initial shock of the fire, Miranda, staff and members are finding silver linings as they move forward.

She’s amazed by the community's outpouring of support in the wake of their loss. Nearly $30,000 has been donated to the ceramic studio’s GoFundMe fundraiser and donations keep coming in. She hopes to raise about $50,000 as the studio is rebuilt.

This is also an opportunity to make some changes to the space, Miranda said. This includes the removal of a wall dividing the space into two rooms to create a larger open space.

Reflecting on life, and what’s really important to her, in the months following the fire, she has also launched a nonprofit organization, Clay Collective of Pinellas.

While she started the concept last year as more of an informal “community hang” bringing together the St. Petersburg area’s clay artists, now it’s more official, she said.

“What I realized during the mental breakdown of the fire - really, I was in bed for a week thinking, ‘What am I doing with my life?’ - was that what I really cared about, above my pottery brand, above the studio, was the community,” Miranda said. “I care about the clay community. It’s super important to me.”

There are hundreds of clay artists in St. Petersburg and surrounding towns, and she’s surprised “by the fact that we are not super well known in the world of clay for having such a large clay community,” she said. “And I want to help them in both mental health and fiscal health.”

Once the St. Pete Ceramics space is rebuilt, she plans to run the Clay Collective from there.

If not for the fire, Miranda likely wouldn’t have stopped to explore her vision for the organization.

“I was always, go, go, go,” she said. “It’s a real blessing to have the time to examine what I’m doing. A terrible blessing.”

And while she’s still saddened by the loss of the studio’s bunnies, she’s taken in a new rabbit, Benjamin, who was being rehomed. He joins her whenever she’s there, including for the citywide monthly second Saturday artwalk.

While donations are still accepted via GoFundMe, Miranda encourages people to support St. Pete Ceramics in other ways, namely taking a workshop or purchasing pottery.

“Any money painting pottery is going to the rebuild,” she said. “It’s a great way for people to come out and support us and a way to actually do something. Have a fun date night and still support us, not just giving us money.”