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Date: 4/2/2020
ENFIELD, CT – A local business owner is finding a creative way for people to stay busy and support her business while stuck at home.
Wendy Markham opened the Tipsy Paintbrush and Kil'n It Pottery Studio with her daughter Melanie in November of 2019. Markham said the walk-in studio began after working for Tipsy Paintbrush for seven years, traveling around the area hosting sip and paint parties.
When the country was impacted by the coronavirus, Markham, like many business owners, was forced to cancel scheduled events and limit staff interactions with customers.
To help customers stay entertained during their time home and supplement their business during the difficult time the studio began offering take home pottery painting kits. The painting kits include six different color paints, a single paintbrush, a sticker and whatever ceramic item the customer chooses.
Markham said there are ceramic choices for all ages including “dragons, gnomes, gargoyles, trinket dish[es], box[es], banks [and] figurines.” Kits range from $12 to $20, with the price depending on which ceramic figure the customer chooses.
However, Markham said while the painting kits are fun, “nothing is food safe.” She added that if a customer wanted to seal their paint for no additional charge, “they can return their pieces to spray a glossy seal, we can do it curbside.” Markham explained in addition to giving the piece a glossy finish, the seal would protect the paint from chipping and damage as well. Customers can also purchase a can of the spray if they wish to seal the paint themselves.
Markham said that despite normally offering pottery glaze as a paint option in the studio, they would not be offering the glaze in the kits. This, she said, was “because so many things can happen after they take the piece home and we don’t want to contaminate our kilns.”
In addition to the ceramic painting kits, Markham said she’s also “working on canvas kits.” The canvas kits would include an 11x14 canvas, an instruction sheet and a set of three to four paints. Customers could choose from two children’s paint kits or two adult kits for $25.
Markham said she was going to have four kits to begin, but “may add on to that.” She said, “I’ll have to see how they sell first, I’m open to expansion.”
Despite the governor’s order that all non-essential businesses close throughout Connecticut, she said they will be able to continue to sell the kits as they’re providing a curbside service.
She said the kits have “turned into a stressful blessing” and that they were “making more money now” than before. In fact, she said they’ve “had such a great response” to the kits, they’re considering continuing to offer them after they’re allowed to reopen.
Those who had purchased tickets for events, should “hang on to admission confirmation” so they can use it at a later date when events are rescheduled, she added. Those who had previously attended workshops and have items to be picked up can do so via the studio’s curbside service.
Painting and ceramic kits can be ordered online at https://www.kilnitpotterystudio.com/kiln-it-kits and https://www.tipsypaintbrushparties.com/canvas-kits. Kits can be picked up at the studio at 610 Enfield St. or Enfield residents who order $30 or more worth of kits can have them delivered to their home for free.