Peters Township business adjusts to life during COVID-19
The abrupt changes to everyday life caused by the potential spread of novel coronavirus COVID-19 put the owner of Fired Up Pottery Studio and her staff members on high alert.
“We were trying to brainstorm on what we could do to basically keep in business, because if we’re only walk-in and walk-ins are shut down, then the business is shut down,” Debra Bracco said. “So we thought, what about pottery to go? And then we took it to the extra step and said, curbside pottery to go.”
Typically, customers of the Peters Township business pick out items they’d like to paint, stay on the premises to do so, and then pick up the finished products after they’ve been fired in a kiln.
“We came up with the idea that you can pick whatever it is you want – we’re not going to relegate you to just this dragon or just that princess – and we will pull it from the shelf with you on the phone. We’ll go over all of the color. We’ll pack it up. We’ll call you when it’s done,” Bracco explained.
Customers then can call to notify the studio that they’ve arrived.
“Hopefully, your trunk will have been popped so that we don’t even have to come close to you. Put it in your trunk, and on you go. And whenever you’re done, you do it in reverse,” Bracco said. “And that’s pretty much it, nice and simple and easy.”
With schools closed throughout Pennsylvania at least through March 27, the pottery-to-go concept is receiving a warm reception.
“The parents are loving it. They are so thankful that there are things to do,” Bracco reported. “It’s really going to help us, and at the same time, it helps them.”
Along with items for painting and firing, she also plans to have canvases for painting available by Wednesday or Thursday.
“Do it when you want. You’re up at midnight and feeling like painting? Have at it,” she said. “Kids are driving you nuts at 11 a.m.? Pull out the paint.”
In addition to offering a drive-up service, the studio remains open with some modifications.
“We’re practicing social distancing. Normally, we seat 64 people. We have 16 tables, and I’ve blocked off every other table to give people a six-foot radius,” Bracco explained. “And we tell them, ‘Leave everything on your table. Whatever it is you touch, leave it there. It’s the only way we can disinfect it to put it back.
“As long as we can do that, we will,” she continued. “If I wake up one day and say, ‘You know what? This isn’t healthy,’ we’re going to close to the public and just pickup only. Then that’s the model we’ll move to until this passes. And it will pass.”
In the meantime, it’s business not quite as usual at Fired Up Pottery Studio.
“We’re trying to make sure that not only are we following the rules that are being set forth, but that we’re still here for our customer base,” Bracco said. “We see a tremendous amount of traffic. The love that the community has for us – and in return, our love for them – is strong. They want to do what they can to help support us, and we want to do what we can to make their lives easier and more fun.”