&mortar: Brooklyn-based ceramics studio & store!
&mortar is an innovative new ceramics studio, providing workspaces, kilns, wheels, and an on-site store.
Project Description
Ceramics in Brooklyn is booming!
&mortar is an innovative new ceramics studio providing established ceramic artists with studio space as well as on-site retail space.
Through this combination of maker-space plus retail, &mortar solves three related but distinct issues:
- The scarcity of artist-friendly brick-and-mortar retail outlets for ceramicists.
- The need for ceramic studios in New York City that provide adequate personal workspaces for professional ceramicists.
- The lack of ceramics markets for customers–whether individuals or commercial buyers like interior designers–offering high quality works from a consistent set of established artists.
Founder Meg Metzger has been making ceramics since the mid 1990s, and she has been a member of several amazing studios. She brings her operational know-how and desire to promote the work of fellow ceramic artists to &mortar.
&mortar will launch in Fall 2024 in a space in the storied Brooklyn Army Terminal. The Brooklyn Army Terminal, which is owned and operated by the NYC Economic Development Corporation, is located in Sunset Park, on the the New York Harbor, and is serviced by a ferry stop. It will represent the southernmost outpost of communal ceramics studios in Brooklyn, in an area with a great many artists and design destinations like Industry City.
Updates
The Campaign FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What will the funds be used for?
- Start-up costs include:
- equipment purchases (2 Electric Skutt kilns, kiln venting and furniture, 3 communal wheels, 1 wedging table, 1 slop sink)
- build-out of the space (workspaces, shelving, retail displays)
- insurance and legal costs
- Start-up costs include:
- Will classes be offered?
- Classes will not be offered by &mortar. While there are many studios in Brooklyn that offer classes, we have decided to focus on the professional ceramic artist, as there are many established folks who do not have adequate space and resources to make and sell their works.
- How will the retail component work?
- We are carving out approximately 1/4 of our studio space to be a retail store, where members will be able to offer their works, alongside other handmade items such as jewelry and textiles. We will be open to the public several days per month. Our location on the fourth floor means does not lend itself to organic foot traffic, but we will advertise, set up a sandwich board outside, and will hold events regularly. We plan to expand our retail operation to a retail corridor within a couple of years. Members will be charged a fee well below market-rate on sales of items sold at the store.
- How many members will there be?
- The studio will have ten members.
Just Because I Care
Rewards
Just Because I Care