New Pottery Shop Offers Personalized Gifts This Season

Paint a Piece, which opened in November, is offering a number of customizable pottery pieces, including menorahs and ornaments, for children and adults to paint, right in time for the holidays.

The store offers a wide variety of customizable pottery for the upcoming holidays, including a visit from Santa last weekend. 

"Santa's gonna be here?" said a young patron at the mention of the upcoming holiday event.

Paint a Piece's feel, unlike many other pottery painting workshops, is more comfortable than party-oriented. "I based the colors off my own home," said Giardina.

"It's certainly warm," said Jim Kelley, an NYSC member. "It definitely brightens up this whole area. Might make for a good date night."

The store aims to bring art to more than just children's parties; Giardina sees the place as a spot for even the most inexperienced artists to take a shot at being creative. "You don't have to be artistic to come here," said the owner. "But everyone can try to be creative, and that's what this place is about."

The owner said that though they do to kid's parties, she doesn't feel they encroach on Plaster Funcraft's territory. "Though we do parties, that's not all we want to do," she said.

Management at Plaster Funcraft was unavailable for comment.

The store has a lit bit of everything, including over 200 unique pieces of pottery for customers to detail themselves. "It's very personal," said Giardina. "And it's so easy."

Giardina also said that even if they don't have something you're looking to customize in stock, they can get it for you. "If someone wanted a kitchen sink we could find a way to do it," she said.

There are also a number of different techniques the staff has been experimenting with in order to create easy and unique methods of decorating pottery. "We can use alcohol to get this watery effect, and we've used tape and bottle caps to create new designs," she said. "If you want to be creative, we'll teach you."

There are a number of useful items as well, including items for pets, as well as holiday such as ornaments and menorahs. "We even have dog bowls," Giardina said. "You can bring in your pet and we can put paw prints on the side of a water bowl. It's perfect for pet lovers."

All the ceramics and paints used in the shop and lead-free and non-toxic, and the firing process makes every item completely safe for both people and pets to eat off of.

The inspiration for the store came after Giardina's mother passed away. "My daughter had painted a bowl for my mother and was going to give it to her for Christmas," she said. "Unfortunately she passed away in early December, and she never got to give it to her. When it was time to go to the funeral, she was sure to bring it."

The passing of her mother made Giardina re-evaluate her life. "I had my liscense to be a stock broker," she said. "That little bowl, started all this."