"You're Fired!" Pottery Studio Shows Guests a Great Time

Most people don’t associate the words “you’re fired” with positivity and joy but for Rebecca Frank, that’s exactly what she does. “You’re Fired!” is her contemporary pottery studio.

Slightly hidden and nestled in a strip mall off Howdershell Road, the “paint a piece” studio offers customers the opportunity to channel their inner artists and only be hindered by their own imaginations.

Katie Doering has lost count of how many times she’s been to “You’re Fired!.” Her favorite project thus far was making Christmas mugs for her family members. She asked members to pick their three favorite colors and chose a theme. Then she got pictures off the internet that matched the theme and traced them onto the mugs.

“Everyone loved the mugs,” Doering said. “Making gifts means more to people and it’s something that they’ll never tire of.

"Plus I love being able to use my own creativity and the friendly staff is fun to be around.”

Open four years and inspired by , “You’re Fired” is the product of the owner and her step-daughter Molly’s longing for a family-oriented activity close to home.

The premise of the business is basically that anyone can be an artist. The great thing about it is the skilled part of physically making the pottery pieces is already done for you and you still get the freedom to choose what template you want to design. The favored choices are mugs and plates.

“That’s why I do it,” said manager, Frank Krehmeyer, of how all the projects come to life. “I enjoy watching the people do their artistic thing and helping them to do it...”

All of the pieces are already in the “bisque” phase and ready to be glazed with paint and decorated. Once the project is completed to the patron’s satisfaction, it gets sealed and dipped in a clear glaze and re-fired, which then in turn, makes the piece become ceramic.

There is a $5 studio fee which allows access to all paints, brushes, utensils, stamps, eight types of sponges, stick-on letters and stencils. The only other expense is for the chosen pottery piece itself, which ranges in price from $1 to $50. The studio fee is waived Monday - Thursday from noon to 2 p.m.

Although the shop’s most common demographic is families with children, there are also a lot of Girl Scout troops, ladies’ nights out, bachelorette parties, and wedding showers. There is a party room upstairs for large groups of ten or more and reservations are required to reserve it.

The room can hold between 30-40 people and rents for $50 for two hours and $75 for three hours to work on projects or $75 per hour to use the room alone without any projects. Guests can bring food and drinks if they would like.

“It’s not a matter of being a good artist," Krechmeyer said. "It’s a matter of sitting down and enjoying yourself.”