Joining Forces

Potters Form New Collective

Community over competition. This is a sentiment that is inextricably linked to the Thunder Bay artisan community and continually put into practice by those involved. It is vital to create an environment to allow this mentality to resonate—something that Crystal Sohlman of P0Ts2G0 is fostering with her newest project, The Clay Collective.

“I started pottery out in Alberta after I had my second child as something to do to get out of the house,” she says. “I’ve always been crafty and did sewing and other artistic ventures, so when I began pottery it was an instant fell-in-love moment. It spoke to my soul.” Born out of her love of pottery, Sohlman realized that this collective would be a unique opportunity for potters to come together to sell their work. Partnering with fellow local potters Melesa Hane (The Clay Pottery) and Sara Peters (Sara Peters Ceramics), Sohlman was able to realize this vision, and together they purchased a space at the Goods & Co. Market. Sohlman says that this collaboration came about in December 2019 when Maelyn Hurley, the founder of Goods & Co., put out a call for vendor applications.

“As of right now we are hoping to have it start out exclusively at the market and we will set up an online system at some point,” she says.

“We aren’t going to start out that way [online] unless we have to because of COVID reasons.” Sohlman says that, as of right now, The Clay Collective is going to function as a sales outlet. In their location at Goods & Co., the collective founders currently have six other potters who are committed to selling alongside them, including Peyton Harris of Blooming Tulip Ceramics, Karen Long of Phire Pottery, Lisa Makela of The Calm Creative, May Naimian, Kasia Piech of Three Legged Girl, and Donna Stecky.

“The goal of our collective is to provide a location, year-round, for people who want to sell their pottery as a business to be able to have an environment to prosper in,” Sohlman says. “We are all going to share working the store so there will always be one of the artists running the store when it’s open and I think that will give a nice feel. So when you are asking questions about ceramics or pottery, you’ll get an answer from someone who does this art form.” When asked about potential pottery workshops, Sohlman says that within the Goods & Co. Market there is a space for workshops and she anticipates that individual potters in the collective will most likely choose to host and teach a workshop when COVID regulations permit.

If you happen to be a local potter who is looking for an outlet to sell ceramics, you appear to be in luck. “We [The Clay Collective] have the capacity for 12 potters and we currently have six, so we are always looking for more to join our collective if they are interested,” Sohlman says.