By: Danielle Kearns
We are so thrilled to announce that the café portion of The Firestone is now open for business. We decided to wait to announce until we were absolutely sure we were ready to serve and passed all preliminary inspections. Well, we were approved last week, got staff trained, did a tasting, and we decided to open this morning with a limited menu and a surprise Sunday special.

Many of you have probably noticed that construction continued since our opening in November both up front in the studio area, as well as behind-the-scenes in our warehouse kitchen. You read that right... warehouse kitchen. Don't forget, this location served as a furniture store just 4 months ago, so building not one but TWO kitchen areas took a lot of planning and time. We know you all were anxiously awaiting the big reveal and we're really proud of how far we've come. 

Now, we ask that you bare with us these first few weeks and months as we get in the swing of things, expand our menu options, and train staff, but we just couldn't hold off any longer. We know customers were anxious to have options in-house. It just took us some time to get there. Construction is finally over (for now) and we're ready to supply delicious and decedent treats on the side of your designs.

For now, we are starting with coffees, teas, sodas, seltzers, egg sandwiches, and a cheesy, garlicky farro salad. But more. is. coming. Remember, we are partnering up with Shady Glenn ice cream, coming soon. We have a lot of menu items we expect to roll out each week. We want to keep things fresh and in-season. Oh, and did I mention we're making all of our own syrups to spice up your espresso drinks? Come visit us soon.

By: Danielle Kearns
​Can you believe it's about to be a new year? And to top it off, a new decade? We're having trouble believing it ourselves! 

And to celebrate the new year and a new location, we are going crazy for classes with a new and improved class calendar on our website for both locations. Now, you will be able to toggle between studios or view all to see our widened selection of classes. 

We have added options for every art medium we offer, including glass fusing, pottery techniques, theme nights, canvas, board art, and more! We are even adding Wet Clay Wheel Throwing come February 2020 for "Try It Nights."

If you're not seeing something you want, send us a message! 
​
www.theclaypen.com/classes
www.thefirestonect.com/classes

By: Danielle Kearns
It's not too late to create a memory and a gift this holiday season! The last day to paint at either of our locations will be Saturday, December 21st! That means you have the next 10 days to come in and make something special with us. 

We have shelves of pottery options to help complete your mantel. We offer walk-in hand or footprint assistance for children on dinnerware, ornaments, platters and more. Custom lettering is an easy add-on to any child-painted art piece to mark their growth and development. Nothing is more special than holiday moments made here with family and friends around the table, surrounded by art, in a device-free environment.

And special this year, we have added some last minute vintage tree workshops and glass fused ornament making classes to our December calendar of events at The Firestone based on customer feedback! Check out everything we're offering here. Make sure to toggle between locations to see what's unique in the West Hartford and Manchester locations.

Gift cards are available for purchase at both studio locations and will be compatible at both The Claypen + The Firestone. We mail gift cards free of charge around the country. E-gift cards are also available online. 

By: Danielle Kearns
Hey, strangers! It's certainly been a while, but we have been crazy busy between both studios while also gearing up for the holiday season and hitting ALL the local breweries with our continuously sold out vintage tree events. But we did it! We opened our doors to the public at the new location in less than 2 months. 

We wanted to take a moment to check in and thank you for all the support we've received over these past few weeks. Both The Claypen and The Firestone have received so much love and attention, making us feel that maybe we're doing something right. Thank you to all who have come say hi and create with us so far.

You all have been so sweet and understanding of the process. And yes, there is still a lot to do! I know there's lots of questions on our progress, so here are the updates thus far. 

We opened the studio side of our new space last Saturday, November 23rd. We had a phenomenal turn out throughout the whole day, not to mention a live band in the evening, which packed the house. (Thanks Pious Mantis!) 

The cafe is greatly anticipated (by us as well, believe me), but it is coming along behind the scenes. We'll update you all when construction is done on that front and we're ready to start serving up delicious treats and frothing cappuccinos. 

We're also in the process of expanding our board art design options and will be introducing new size options soon. We are reorganizing our glass inventory, just in time for our first Glass 101 class later this week. After that point, if you've taken a Glass Class at either of our locations, you'll be approved to come do glass on a walk-in basis at The Firestone. Classes are open for enrollment now at BOTH locations. Check out both calendars here.

The wet clay room will be opening in early 2020. I encourage you to join the mailing list or follow us on social media to get all the updates in real time. 

There is plenty more to come, but let us know in the comments if there's anything in particular you're wondering about or looking for in our new space or this holiday season. 

By: Danielle Kearns + Cait Pomales
We are so thankful to you, our customer, and would love to fill your November calendar with so many goodies to close out the Harvest season and get prepped and ready for the Holidays. Here is a preview of what's coming to the studio this month. Our events calendar can be found online. Sign up for any of these events there.

Toddler Time: Wednesday, Nov. 6th, Saturday, Nov. 30th
Theme: a frozen princess engagement 
Age Group: perfect for 5 years old and younger
All of our Toddler Times include a read aloud story, take home craft project, pottery craft project, and nut-free snack. Your child can choose between a princess or a snowman. We'll be providing hot chocolate. We welcome and encourage your child to dress up!

Kid's Drop Off Event: Wednesday, Nov. 27th 4:30-7pm
Theme: Donuts x3
Age Group: 7+ [Drop off event]
Donuts + pizza + painting, oh my!  Drop the kids off so you can go get all your last minute Thanksgiving prep done.  We will even feed them dinner for you! The plan is to paint donut themed pottery + complete a step-by-step donut painting on canvas all while snacking on REAL donuts with a side of pizza. That's something to be thankful for.  

Vintage Trees Workshops: All month long
Many of our events have already sold out, but keep an eye peeled as we add more, both in studio and held at other local businesses. Create a personal family heirloom, just like Grandma had.  

By: Danielle Kearns
It may not be Halloween yet, but we are already look ahead to the holidays, that way we can ensure your personalized custom carved snowmen are here for you to create and paint. This is following our custom jack o'lantern sale that was hugely popular this year.

These cute little guys can be made uniquely your own. All you do is go to our online shop and pick which style of snowman you like best and what you want carved into them. (Orders are due by November 10th.) Then, allow a few weeks for these to come in as the process takes time. These will be delivered to our studio by December 10th unpainted, so you'll have to carve (ha!) out the time to come in and paint your snow-friend. Allow one week for your piece to be fired in our kiln. 

Once ready, each snowman will come with a light kit that can be used to illuminate the snowman from within and highlight your personalized name or message. These are perfect well beyond December, especially here in Connecticut, so consider these your new best friend through March... or maybe even April. 

Snowmen can be purchased right on our website in our online shop. More details and specifications can be found there, including character limitations and sizes|dimensions. 

Comment below with your favorite! 

By: Danielle Kearns 
As our opening is approaching in Manchester, we are trying to meet our neighbors, and what better method than another brewery paint night!?

Urban Lodge Brewing Co. opened just a couple of months ago, and they are already hugely popular among the locals. So popular, in fact, that they've had to limit their hours to weekends to keep enough beer in stock.

By: Danielle Kearns

​With construction underway at The Firestone, we are looking ahead to the fine details of everything we'll need to make the our opening amazing. So often, people come in to paint and create and are forced to leave early to grab a bite or a drink. We took that into consideration when planning out the new space and decided to add the cafe to make our customers that much more comfortable.

That being said, a lot goes into creating a commercial kitchen and crafting a menu. If you've ever worked in a place that involves food, you might know that it's required that there always be a ServSafe certified staff member present during food prep. But what is ServSafe and why is it key to the operation? 

We believe that food should be sourced locally and seasonally as much as possible, but it is also imperative that regulations are following during the entirety of the food cycle. That means from ordering, to delivery, to cooking, to storing, and to serving you - or customer. For that reason, we have chosen to start out open day with 3 full-time staff members trained and certified with ServSafe at the Manager's level.  

We are thrilled to fire up the oven and start serving you! Stay tuned for future updates. 

By: Danielle Kearns
We are OFFICIALLY under construction at 1115 Main Street in Manchester, also known as our new sister studio - The Firestone. We have been asked since our announcement when our new space would be open, but understandably, construction is an unpredictable endeavor and we are just getting started. That being said, we wanted to give you all a sneak peak into the construction zone.

Although early in the process, we are already seeing major changes in a short amount of time. Many of you know this historic building as Pinewood Furniture, but it has already had such a transformation since we got the keys October 1st. We have pulled up the carpeting and hope to restore the wooden floors beneath. The walls have been knocked down that were used to create make-shift rooms. Old inventory has been put into storage. And we are now looking at an open-concept space bringing in tons of light and an awesome view of the leaves changing on Main Street.

The architect has been in throughout the week assessing the blueprints and getting the plan set for our week to week goals. We are hoping to make this renovation as quick as possible to get our studio doors open for you before the holiday season. Follow along on all of our social platforms to see day-to-day updates as this space completely transforms. Our website is currently being updated, so check out its makeover as well here.

​Check out this epic video below of us literally tearing the walls down getting the space ready for you! Let us know what you are most excited to see in this renovated space and if you'll be visiting us come opening day. ​