Following your passion can lead you to many places and that’s exactly what has taken Jessica Cowan to cities across the Deep South. Originally from Alabama, Cowan has relished every stop on her journey leading her to where she is today as the owner of The Pottery Place in Chattanooga.
“I grew up bouncing around the deeper south,” says the Mobile native, who also grew up in East Texas. When she landed in Tennessee 15 years ago, she jumped right into one of her biggest passions–entrepreurship. Cowan worked as a partner with a frozen yogurt franchise at the peak of its popularity. “And whenever we closed, I had the opportunity to come and help grow a hot chicken franchise.”
In her work, she dedicates herself to making a difference by leading with heart and a drive for continuous learning–the latter, Cowan credits, to being an avid reader. Her book collection is near library status, which "technically" requires 1,000 books for the designation, she shares. “Last count I think I had [about] 600, so I’m getting pretty close.”
When a call came to pursue her lifelong love of art at a creative studio, Cowan, who lived in Murfreesboro at the time and was ready for something new, answered without hesitation. “I met Teresa Johnson, and she owned both small businesses and franchises under the Painting with a Twist concept," she says. “At the time I came on board, she had three studio locations and had just opened one in Chattanooga.”
The studio in Chattanooga was Johnson’s first under The Pottery Place concept, one where anyone from infant to infinity is invited to embrace creativity with a paint brush and a ceramic piece. Cowan’s partnership with Johnson provided her the canvas for eventually taking the helm. “After a couple years of learning to manage it, Teresa said to me, ‘I think I’m going to get out of the pottery game. Do you want to buy this one?’” For Cowan, it was an easy ‘yes.’
Cowan, who divided her time between managing the three studios, developed a soft spot for The Pottery Place location. On her off days, she wasn’t home or in Nashville, she was in Chattanooga. “I fell in love with it, and I fell in love with the people,” Cowan fondly says.
What she quickly learned to love even more about the area is its commitment to community. The Pottery Place under Cowan’s leadership officially opened on March 1, 2020. As a first-time business owner at 28 and amidst a global pandemic, what initially seemed like a recipe for disaster blossomed into something more beautiful than she imagined. “The best thing about Chattanooga is that they are the most supportive people you’ve ever met,” Cowan muses.
“It’s a place full of hopes and dreamers and people who will support your hopes and dreams,” and that became even clearer during those early days. Now, with a second new location on Lee Highway, Cowan is seizing every opportunity to live out her dreams to the fullest and give back to the community who has rallied for her from the start, partnering with nonprofits and donating a portion of The Pottery Place’s sales. She also teaches classes and co-hosts a podcast with their trade organization, the Contemporary Ceramic Studio.
“I have to do it all now while I can. One day I’ll be old and want to just watch the sun.” But for now, Cowan is perfectly content finding any way she can to make an impact.