Ceramic dragons, mugs, bowls and gnomes line the shelves as customers contemplate what piece to choose. With around 300 different products and over 100 paint colors to choose from, Made in Muncie Pottery offers the Muncie community a creative workspace for those of all skill levels wanting to delve into ceramics.
Located in Downtown Muncie, Made in Muncie provides a variety of workshops and lessons. Rachel Kline, the shop manager at the store, said walk-ins are the most common business that they receive.
Kline described the typical process: Customers walk in and pick any piece from the shelves to work with. Then, a “pottery waitress” will help pick colors and brushes. After they’re given art supplies, customers will start to work on their selected pottery pieces.
Once the painting and decorating process is finished, the Made in Muncie staff handles it from there. The piece is dried, then a staff member will gloss the piece with a clear coat and another will load it into the kiln and fire it.
The whole process takes around a week, so customers can expect their pieces back in a few days.
“We have an opportunity not only for people to do something different, but there’s so many choices here ... that there’s something in everybody’s budget,” Kline said.
Kline said ceramics require expensive, specific materials that are not easily accessible, allowing the store to give Muncie an introduction to the world of ceramics without community members having to purchase their own equipment.
Many products at Made in Muncie are made in-house and shop owner Toren Scott throws on a pottery wheel to create pieces.
Underneath Made in Muncie is a wet clay studio where Made in Muncie houses molds to pour clay into to create items. In order to keep up with demand and desire for variety, they also have suppliers from different companies.
Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Ball State University Lindsey Speer said she had worked with Made in Muncie for over 20 years. She said their partnership started when Made in Muncie was originally opened under the name “Artist Within.”
Every school year, Speers would help organize visits to Made in Muncie for around 30 orientation leaders during leader training in May.
“We worked with them to have a piece everyone could paint, and they let us take over the store for an evening, painting our creations,” Speer said.
Speer said she loved how everything the store used was homemade and that the staff was always helpful, flexible and easy-going. After each pottery painting session, they said they would take their group out to the street and capture a photo of them with their creations in front of the store.
“There is more to Muncie than McGalliard,” Speer said.
“They are a great local business to work with [that makes] local things that allow anyone to be creative,” Speer said. “It shows hidden talents of members of our community and allows you to have fun, be you, do you and have something to show for it.”
Speer added that Made in Muncie truly embodies what Muncie is all about and said the staff is welcoming, artistic, local and involved.
Pottery waitress Anna Mittchel said her advice for new customers is to not be afraid and trust the process. Mittchel also said the business tries to have pottery available for every budget.
Mitchell began working at Made in Muncie in 2022 and added that her job has allowed her to experience a customer base she’d never seen before.
“I have worked at an expensive coffee shop. I’ve worked at bars,” Mittchel said. “It’s nice to see a place where I actually see everybody in Muncie … old or young.”
Mitchell also works behind the scenes, as she helps with production at the store. She dips pieces in the glaze, helps with kiln management and loads pieces in and out of the kiln.
“I really wanted a space where I could be creative and also be entrusted with that creativity … here, they give us the reins to run the ship,” Mitchell said.
Fellow pottery waitress Mary Arnett-Delaney said her favorite part of working at Made in Muncie is packaging orders. She attributed this to loving how different the pieces can look before and after the kiln process.
Kline added that she loves how people continue to surprise her, even after working there for eight years.
“There are things I’ll pull out of the kiln that legitimately impress me — either in the creativity or the quality of how it turned out,” Kline said. “I’ll see people use some of our tools or come up with different ideas that I’ve never seen before.”
“Frequent fliers” are what Kline calls their regular customers she knows by name.
“That’s the really nice thing about this kind of cozy, fun environment … people getting to know us is really nice,” Kline said.
Kline said she has seen families who came to Made in Muncie on a whim and have grown to love it.
Kline said her favorite group was an older woman, sister and daughter who would come in almost every weekend. She said they started off nervous, getting only a blank mug to paint with two shades of green. Yet, over time, they brought more family and branched out of their comfort zone to try new techniques and mediums.
“You get that ‘I’m so proud of you [feeling],’” Kline said. “You watch people who do return, branch out and get used to the medium.”
Made in Muncie is open with varying hours throughout the week, but is closed on Monday and Tuesday. They also do off-site events and workshops throughout the year.
Contact Jessica Bergfors via email at jessica.bergfors@bsu.edu.
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