Sheridan Haroian and Leanne Norby had much in common when they met five years ago at their children’s school: they both had boys, were stay-at-home-moms wanted to find something they could work on together.
“I was getting kind of antsy wanting to get creative,” Norby said.
During their research, they discovered Kids ‘N’ Clay, a wet clay studio for children that allows individuals and groups to work their magic with a potter’s wheel under the guidance of an instructor.
Created in 1988 by pottery artist Kevin Nierman in Berkeley, Calif., Kids ‘N’ Clay Development LLC is run by Nierman and president and CEO Dave Larson. The Lynnwood studio is the franchise’s sixth location, including ones in Virginia and Pennsylvania. Open for a year, Haroian and Norby are watching their business grow each month. They paid a franchise fee to open the studio, went for two weeks of intensive training, and now pay monthly royalty fees.
Much of Norby and Haroian’s business comes through word of mouth. All you need, they said, is one Girl Scout who had a great time creating her own pot, dish or clay animal, learning about the clay firing process and coloring her creation, and before you know it a whole troop is arriving for an afternoon of fun.
For Norby, having a business is all about balance. She’s a working mother and very thankful that she has a business partner like Haroian. With the help of eight part-time staff, Norby and Haroian job share hours and are at home two to three days a week but on call for each other.
The best pay-off is the children’s reaction to the creations they make. To watch the excitement in showing everyone, and the pride in their work is a joy to Norby and Haroian. But while children enjoy creating with wet clay on a potter’s wheel, Norby and Haroian have found that adults have just as much fun at family nights and ladies nights out, both popular events at the studio. People who come to the studio to paint pottery, another offering at the Lynnwood studio, end up wishing they had worked with the wet clay instead.
“It’s definitely an experience for them,” Haroian said.
SCBJ: How do you both feel about what you do at your Kids ‘N’ Clay studio?
Norby and Haroian: We feel proud of the environment that we have created. Kids have a place where they are free to express themselves in a creative manner. We feel privileged when parents bring their children to us for enriching their lives though clay. We love bringing a unique experience to the community.
SCBJ: Even with the ups and downs of a new business do you feel as though this is what you thought opening a franchise and running a business would be?
Norby and Haroian: Finding the work-life balance has been more difficult than we initially anticipated. Being stay-at-home moms before the business added an additional layer of challenge for balance. The difference between the ideas in your head of running a business versus actually doing it every day was very large. We could never have imagined both the challenges and joys discovered after actually starting. The best part of running Kids ‘N’ Clay is the feelings of gratitude and excitement you see, feel, and hear from the children during their experience.
All children are different, but one thing is constant: they all love showing their work to their parents. You can feel the complete satisfaction and pride they have gained from their work.
SCBJ: Is there anything that you would like to do with Kids ‘N’ Clay that you might incorporate in the future?
Norby and Haroian: We have found that parents will travel a great distance for a unique experience one time. They will not commit to that same distance weekly. Based on this we are looking at ways to expand the business into the eastside so we can have more kids experience growth through our weekly classes. There are many ceramic techniques that we are looking to integrate into the camps and classes. One of the more dramatic techniques is raku firing. We are researching ways to bring this exciting technique into our classes; possibly for fall.
SCBJ: Describe to me what it’s like to be in Kids ‘N’ Clay at the height of an afternoon with a store full of children?
Norby and Haroian: When the children are on the wheel, a staff member is there to guide them in making bowls, vases, plates, bottles, and mugs. We have seen everything from characters to castles to Lego boxes to fairies, bee hives and dog houses. The scene is as diverse as the number of students and projects. The energy created by a studio full of children is nothing short of incredible. Our studio is a happy and positive space and a fun environment for creative exploration. For more information, visit www.kidsnclay.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
