Check Out Lori Theriault’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Theriault.

Hi Lori, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
Thanks so much! My name is Lori Theriault, and my company is Crazy Green Studios. I am a potter in Asheville, NC, and I make mostly functional pottery for home and professional kitchens, plus I make a decorative line of carved vessels. I began my pottery journey in Washington, DC at Hinckley Pottery, although some might say the first seed was planted in the second grade in Vermont when we dug clay in a nearby stream to make pendants. After that first class, I knew I wanted to spend more time in the studio, partially because I was in love with the idea of making things by hand and also because I love to cook and entertain, and I could see endless things to make for my kitchen. Soon after seeing my first mentor make pieces for a local restaurant, that also became a goal. I studied in DC for four years, taking advantage of every opportunity to learn about the business of running a studio, including working with the studio assistant program, assisting the owners, taking part in a Teaching Apprenticeship, and ultimately creating the position of Studio Manager at the studio and working at it for a year before I moved to Asheville, NC in 2006 to officially launch Crazy Green Studios (named after my favorite glaze). I wanted to be in a community not only where I had a fair shot of finding my market but where I could continue to learn, find mentors, collaborators, and opportunities. That has been true since I’ve arrived in Asheville, and I found a wonderful community. I took part in a Residency at Odyssey Studios, where I also assisted multiple teaching artists and worked full-time in my private studio. Consistent time in the studio and exposure to so many skilled and generous artists gave me the confidence to open my own teaching and working studio in 2008. In 2010, I joined The Village Potters Clay Center as a founding Resident Potter, Marketing Director, Instructor, and since 2016 a Mentor in our Advanced Program. When the Pandemic hit and everything shut down, Sarah Wells Rolland, the owner of The Village Potters created a fundraiser by making and selling 500 pots to keep our facility and the individual businesses of each resident potter open. As my business at the time was mostly with restaurants and food professionals, I was deeply grateful to have a studio to go back to when things opened up, and in that time since, I have been able to rebuild to a part-time staff of five working with me in my main studio and in an additional, off-site production studio. I still work with restaurants, creating service ware for restaurants in Asheville, Carrboro, and Los Angeles, and accessories (like the adorable three-legged “lucky” pig toothpick holders at Curate Restaurant) as well as creating work for The Village Potters gallery and fulfilling private commissions. My latest decorative work consists of vase forms that have carved surface designs inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night Skies. To say I’m grateful for this journey, ups, and downs included, is a big understatement!

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say my biggest and first struggle was the recession of 2008. Coinciding as it did with me opening my first studio, taking out loans, buying equipment, securing leases, etc., only to find orders canceled and a general panic in my marketplace, I was somewhat blindsided. As much as I had prepared myself to run my small business, I did not realize the impact this would have, and rebuilding from that was slow and challenging. Being introduced to the women building The Village Potters in 2010 was a huge blessing that allowed me to maintain and rebuild from the recession. I’m not alone in saying that, of course, the Pandemic also put many bumps in the road – not the least of which came from not only having my business shut down but because so much of my business was associated with the restaurant industry, it did not come back immediately. I do think that because Asheville has such a strong local economy, and with thorough research and many hours pursuing grants and general assistance, along with the herculean efforts of my studio mate in keeping The Village Potters afloat, which afforded me a studio home to rebuild, it never seemed insurmountable. In the years since the pandemic, my biggest challenges have come in the form of finding the skilled labor I need to help expand my business (so grateful for the stellar team I have now!), and being able to keep up with paying living wages in a city where the cost of living is completely out of balance with the actual Cost of Living, as well as the incredible increases in my materials and resources that I count on to run my business. Still, coming through the other challenges still gives me a perspective that all things are possible!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I make mostly ‘functional’ pottery – service ware pieces for home and professional kitchens. I also have a decorative line that I call the “Vincent Series,” which includes a surface decoration inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night Skies.

In my functional service ware, I’m known for my work having an organic quality. While pieces are weighed and measured in their production, each is handmade, so while sets are clearly sets, there will be subtle signs of handmade, whether it’s in the form or the glaze. I’m also known for my namesake glaze, Crazy Green, and the variations I achieve in using it with different clays, slips, and underglazes. Trees are also a mainstay of my decorative work, some in a wax-resist design, which has been very popular in dinnerware or in carved work on decorative pieces. When I work with restaurants and food professionals, I collaborate to create pieces that become canvases for their creations. In recent years, I’ve also been developing work in Flameware clay in the form of a Comal, which allows the user to put it into a preheated oven or on a stovetop or grill.

I am most proud of the collaborations I have and have had with all my clients, whether professional kitchens or newlyweds and never cease being delighted into giddiness when clients tell me how much they enjoy using my work (even better when they send pictures!). And because of my role as a mentor at The Village Potters Clay Center, I also take great pride and delight in working with emerging artists and seeing them make their own great strides in their journeys. It is a great privilege to work at what I love and to be a part of a craft and profession that still embraces a mentor/apprentice approach to training.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Nobody does it alone. Ask for the help you need, invite in collaboration, give help as you can when you see it needed, and never forget we’re all in this together.

Pricing:

• Mugs: $48-$60
• Vincent Series: $240 and up
• Dinnerware Place Settings: $225 and up
• Oil Bottles: $77
• Wholesale pricing on request

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crazygreenstudios.com
• Instagram: @crazygreenstudios
• Facebook: @crazygreenstudios

Image Credits
Tim Barnwell
Lori Theriault
Margaret Ellis