As a longtime Milford resident and dedicated Wanda's Sugar Shack kid, I was honored to take over her space in Harborwalk and breathe new life into it. Sunshine Ceramics officially opened on the summer solstice of 2023 in that same downtown location where so many wonderful memories live. On any given day you can still come in and find plenty of chocolate, but you'll also see smiling faces and friends covered in clay, laughing, loving, and making one huge mess.
The decision to open a pottery studio was easy; art has saved me many times over throughout my life, but clay always drew me in the most. There is something so inexplicable about the material, the way it grounds, centers, humbles, teaches, and nurtures your spirit. The way you can take a handful of mud, our most primal material, and create something beautiful, useful, and lasting — something to long outlive our mere existence, something that in no way resembles its former self. That is exactly what pottery does — it creates an inner experience that will long outlast ourselves, creates a version of us that in no way resembles what we were before we dove headfirst into the most immersive and captivating art form available. I was desperate to share this feeling — to make this experience accessible to as many people as possible. I was confident that opening a pottery studio would be good for the community; what I never thought to imagine was the beautiful community that would grow within it.
Now entering year four of our journey, we have done and seen so many wonderful things. We have watched friendships form and grow; we have witnessed people finding passion for something, finding themselves and each other. The most important part of what we do at Sunshine is create space for community to flourish and connections to form. Over the years we have started to expand our reach beyond the shop walls, into the wilds of Milford and surrounding areas through collaborations and off-site events — the most recent and exciting of which is our partnership with Café Melba.
When Chef Dan and I began discussing what our collaboration would look like, I was overcome with excitement. As a culinary school graduate myself, I understand deeply how important a dish is for plating; it serves as the chef's canvas, a vessel for their art, to be enjoyed as a part of the dining experience. As a potter, my greatest wish is that my pieces are seen and used as a part of daily living — fully functional art, just as it's meant to be. This project embodies all of my passions, and I hold it very close to my heart. Being given creative freedom is what an artist craves most deeply, and knowing that Chef Dan let me breathe fully into this with no restrictions is what made it so special; I have never been more proud of a final result. Bringing friends and family to Café Melba for an incredible meal, seeing my dinnerware in use, is the culmination of many years of practice, patience, and perseverance through countless failures, of trusting the process, and of believing that passion and relentless pursuit of what you believe in most deeply will always materialize.
Though our mediums might be a bit different, Chef and I share a very common mission: rejoice in our communities, bring together all the corners of what makes us special and unique, and craft with care.
As Sunshine continues to grow, my aim is simple: continue to do exactly what we've been doing. Create space for people to exist and grow in. Create space for your wildest desires to breathe, for your passions to come to life. Create space for all to live in, to the fullest extent. We need community and love now more than ever. We are here for exactly that. Come see us for a class, a workshop, an experience, and I promise you'll leave with more than you imagined.
Come Clay with Us
Sunshine Ceramics is located at 22 Broad Street in Downtown Milford. The studio is open Tuesday through Friday, 2 to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. (closed Mondays).
Classes run for eight weeks, two hours a night, and include wheel throwing, hand-building, and private lessons, with clay, glazes, and firing all included in the fee. Basic tool kits are available in-studio for $15. Open studio access is available through membership.
To book a class, browse upcoming workshops, or purchase a gift card, visit sunshineceramicstudios.com. For private lessons or general questions, call (203) 892-4468 or email sunshineceramics22@gmail.com. You can also follow along on Instagram @sunshine.ceramics.studio.