After reading the Governor’s latest COVID-19 Guidance, we will have to make some adjustments in our store operations. We will stay open for in-store purchases, pick-up and drop-off (curbside or in-store), and online pottery-to-go. However, we will have to cancel all socially-distanced parties and events that have been scheduled and all in-store painting reservations. Also, in-store painting will not be allowed until the mandate lifts on December 14th.
With the COVID numbers accelerating in such a rapid rate, I think this is the responsible thing to do for our employees and community. We’ve always said that we want to be part of the solution in flattening the curve and not part of the problem.
We regret having to take these measures, particularly because in recent weeks, our sales were increasing and we were seeing more people painting inside our studio to the point that there have been times that we have reached our limited allowable capacity and have had a short waiting list. We loved seeing so many of you again!
We love what we do! It gives us such great happiness to be able to provide creativity to all our customers. We also know how badly needed it is for many people who find comfort and fleeting relief from worries and stress to be able to be creative. And we know how much fun it is for kids and adults alike to create personalized gifts or items for themselves. We are determined to beat COVID and be here when it’s all over. That’s our hope. But we cannot continue without this community supporting us.
If you were planning on coming-in to the store to paint, we hope you consider buying pottery-to-go or make in-store purchases and still paint in your home. And we hope you support our local eateries too. We are feeling the impact of COVID in so many ways. Let’s all do our part to buoy each other during this time.
We are wishing you, your family, and all your neighbors good health. Stay safe and Happy Thanksgiving!
Grace, Peace, Love, and Paint Away!
I will leave you with this poem by James Crews, from the column American Life in Poetry, curated by Ted Kooser, a Pulitzer-Prize winning Poet.
Winter Morning
When I can no longer say thank you
for this new day and the waking into it,
for the cold scrape of the kitchen chair
and the ticking of the space heater glowing
orange as it warms the floor near my feet,
I know it’s because I’ve been fooled again
by the selfish, unruly man who lives in me
and believes he deserves only safety
and comfort. But if I pause as I do now,
and watch the streetlights outside flashing
off one by one like old men blinking their
cloudy eyes, if I listen to my tired neighbors
slamming car doors hard against the morning
and see the steaming coffee in their mugs
kissing chapped lips as they sip and
exhale each of their worries white into
the icy air around their faces—then I can
remember this one life is a gift each of us
was handed and told to open: Untie the bow
and tear off the paper, look inside
and be grateful for whatever you find
even if it is only the scent of a tangerine
that lingers on the fingers long after
you’ve finished peeling it.
