Opening in the heart of downtown Papillion, the Rosy Clay Co. has offered the community an artistic outlet for the whole family since opening its studio in September.
"We offer a little bit of everything pottery," says Ana Klein, owner of the Rosy Clay Co. This includes pottery wheel classes, workshops, kids' birthday parties and walk-in paint-your-own-pottery sessions, all of which have found a lot of popularity.
"The drop-in classes are very popular. These give you some time on the wheel where we teach you how to throw," says Klein. To throw, she explains, is the term for forming clay items on the wheel. For those wanting a more in-depth experience, there is the four-week class. "It takes you from a ball of clay to your final pieces—a bowl, a plate, a mug, there’s lots of things you can create.”
Wanting to cater to everyone, Rosy Clay Co. offers a variety of one-time workshops for all ages. Klein recently offered a kids' workshop, during which attendees made items based on the popular cartoon, Bluey. Meanwhile, an adult workshop was offered to create travel mugs or charcuterie boards.
Those with experience, or who have taken the four-week class, can also become studio members. They can create using the wheel during regular office hours.
"We try to cater to everybody,” Klein says, even across ages. Creatives as young as three through twelve can attend workshops geared for their age. Ages 8+ can join a drop-in class with a parent, while those thirteen and older can learn on their own wheel. With the parent-and-me wheel classes, which is offered once a month, the parent and child will share a wheel for an hour. The Rosy Clay Co. will even trim and glaze creations afterward to help ensure families will not only have a memory, but a beautiful keepsake as well.
Klein explains that this approach to including everyone, and the studio's location stems from a desire to do art with the family.
"I had been in pottery for a few years, and I was going to a location about 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back. We have three kiddos, 8, 6, and 4, so the commute and time away was tough for me." Wanting more time with her children and to expose them to art, the downtown Papillion location was created. Now, not only does the Klein family benefit, but the whole Papillion community as well.
"From a ball of clay to your final piece—there’s lots of things you can create."