Studio Build
Jenny Dowd
It happened! This open side-lot was the feature that made our house that much more appealing, we could easily imagine our very own pottery studio in this spot. The short commute from home to studio is a dream come true.
This is the before and after photo, scroll down for a full slideshow of the build, and more of the story…
If you’ve followed us for awhile you know we began building our pottery business in Alpine, WY. Dowd House Studios became an official LLC in 2011 and I left my day job in 2012 to work as a full-time potter. After 15 years at the Art Association of Jackson Hole Sam was ready to join me in the studio.
We’d always talked about “someday when we have our own studio” (technically we had a little studio in our 1-car garage in Alpine, but I outgrew it pretty quick.) We realized that “someday” needed to be now and made the tough decision to relocate ourselves and our business.
After moving into our new home in NW Arkansas last summer we started the process of building the studio (this is actually a long and winding story, so I’ll cut to the good stuff.) We worked with Ozark Metal Buildings, a local business that specializes in custom metal buildings. It was November before we arrived at the point of figuring out what we wanted and putting everything on paper, I’m pretty sure we were telling ourselves it would be at least a year before we had a building.
Having lived in the mountains for so many years with very short summers and building seasons we were amazed to see things start as early as the end of January. With supply shortages in mind, Ozark Metal Buildings waited until they had all the materials before they started, so once it started the build went quick!
In this case, photos are much better than words, so check it all out…
Now an even more exciting part starts…. figuring out where everything will go in the studio. The electric and plumbing work will happen soon and we will start moving everything in (we’ve been living with our studio materials and equipment in the house.) Plus building shelves and tables… so much work, but so very exciting.
Follow us on Facebook to see more as we progress with these next steps!