WHY BUY FANCY pottery when you can make your own and give it a personal touch?
That’s the appeal of one of downtown Gilroy’s newest businesses, Green Glaze Pottery Studio, where people can create original ceramic artwork on their own or learn from trained teachers or have a pottery party with friends and family.
It’s the only make-your-own studio in the whole South Valley and attracts adult and children’s parties and artists from Hollister and Morgan Hill. That’s what owner Katerina Taylor was banking on when she chose to open here and compete with a national chain of pottery studios as a one-woman business.
It had a soft launch in August, quietly gaining customers and a handful of regulars. With interest in making gifts during the holiday season, the studio hosted lots of events that involved painting ornaments.
“My customers are so excited about the homemade. You are having a great time doing it plus achieving the result,” said Taylor, 48, a native of Chile. “Your money goes a long way. It’s a win all around.”
Taylor was trained as a fashion designer and artist in Denver, but dedicated most of her life to raising her three children, now 17,15 and 13, with her husband of 21 years. After a visit to a studio in Santa Cruz, she developed an interest for everything pottery. She learned about manufacturers, the right business licenses, and with support from her family she began hosting events.
When she emigrated 28 years ago, she worked as a babysitter for an Adobe executive who moved her with the family from Denver to Silicon Valley. She met her husband at a Gordon Biersch in San Francisco and they were married three months later.
She and her husband, who is an executive at Stanford University, chose Gilroy after two years of searching for the perfect place to raise kids. It was also great, she found, for a family-oriented business.
“I think it’s a great community, a small town,” she said. “It’s family-oriented, but there’s nothing like this to entertain the kids and families and grandparents and have a healthy time.”
It was a big risk, given that the national chain Petroglyph has shops in San Jose and Santa Cruz. But Taylor saved $200,000 over five years for supplies, kilns and rent and is thrilled that the business is taking off, filling with people from Hollister, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and even Salinas.
She spent the previous six years hauling her bisque products, glazes and paints around the Bay Area doing workshops and selling art, before setting up shop 7477 Monterey St. She loves downtown Gilroy because it reminds her of a small town 100 years ago, with a pharmacy and small shops.
“It’s all very local,” she said. It’s also helped that she’s bilingual and her studio can
be a melting pot of children from different cultures.
“They are so excited. Every single person. They hug me, tell me they need me and they’re so glad I’m here,” Taylor said. “They really love me.”
Green Glaze offers a variety of bisque products that can be painted and by anyone who’s feeling creative. An average studio visit lasts two hours. Bisque items can be purchased ranging from $3 to $60. Boxes and piggy banks are popular. All products are microwave and dishwasher safe. She said she is fighting off big-chain competition by keeping her prices significantly lower than theirs—like $20 less for many pieces.
The studio offers four wheels for those wishing to work with wet clay. There are two instructors available by appointment. They also work with the slab roller, so students have the opportunity to create a variety of objects.
She will have workshops and summer camps for kids over the summer for around $40 a day.
Artists are encouraged to display and sell their work in the studio. Taylor has several of her pieces hanging on the walls.
“My favorite part of my job is to interact with the little ones,” said Taylor. “It’s very rewarding to see when they come and pick up their items and how amazed they are at how shiny and pretty
they look.”
Taylor wants her shop to be known as a place where quality time is spent among friends and family.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, Green Glaze will offer a promotional discount during the first two weeks of February. There will be lots of items to choose from for that special someone. They will also be gearing up for Easter and will have dozens of eggs and bunny bisque items available in the weeks ahead.
Taylor’s vision for the studio is to expand the clay area. She wants to make the most of the space she has and would like to accommodate more and more people. She is optimistic for the future of her affair with clay.
“I just love the bisque,” said Taylor.
7477 Monterey St., Gilroy
(408) 767-2727
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m. to
6 p.m.
Closed Monday
$9 Studio fee, $7 for children under 12
