Five years ago, if you had walked down Main St. of Farmville and stopped at the two hundredth block, across the street from where Uptown Coffee Café now sits, you would have seen an old, unused building that had burned from the inside out. Now, the building has been renovated and is almost comparatively unrecognizably lively as people stream in and out of stores such as Amish Originals and Strutz. Nestled in the center of the block, breathing life into the middle of Main St., is Pam Butler’s unexpected dream: Mainly Clay.
Mainly Clay is a pottery studio that holds a diverse range of pottery classes and sells local artwork, and is one of Butler’s more recent creations. It began as a hobby as Butler drove through the Prince Edward countryside on a weekly basis for pottery lessons, a hobby which grew to become something she wanted to share.
“I was doing wheel classes,” Butler said as she sat surrounded by an array of plates waiting to be fired, “And after about a year – you know, it took about 30 minutes to get out there and 30 minutes to get back – so, I’m like ‘God, we need a place in town.’ ”
Originally her plan was to rent from a building near Main St. and start from there, but after losing out on getting a lease for two different buildings, Butler said she turned to her current location, which happened to be for sale and in desperate need of renovation after the devastating indoor fire, damage from which can still be seen on brochures inside Mainly Clay.
“It all just kind of happened,” Butler stated, “I didn’t really plan on buying a building. I didn’t really plan on renovating a building.”
Since then Mainly Clay has fully recovered from its fire-worn days. The storefront has a welcoming atmosphere, livened up by outdoor plants and pieces of individuals’ artwork lining the large front windows between the brick outer wall. Once inside, one is immediately surrounded by shelves of artwork and warm colors toward the front of the studio where Butler displays works that are on sale, and moving past that are work benches and pottery wheels leading up to a kiln in the back.
Four years have passed since Mainly Clay opened its doors, and it has become a staple to fellow Farmvillian potters. The studio has many regulars, who can get memberships and come use the studio at any time during business hours, according to Butler, and the shop also frequently sees new faces.
For many of the new people interested in creating pottery, Butler cautions against starting out with a six-week pottery wheel class.
“The wheel is way cool - and it is kind of like the movie ‘Ghost’ - but it’s way hard.” Butler said.
Instead, she encourages beginners, especially students, to come for a one-day class, which is unique to Mainly Clay. Much like a “Paint and Play” open studio, Mainly Clay combines the novelty of a one-time art session with creating pottery.
“It’s an easy way for people to come in and experience pottery plus it’s a good segue in.” Butler said, “Come see if you like it in here before you take a six week class and then you don’t have much invested.”
Mainly Clay also offers special deals for students including toolboxes and t-shirts for art majors and 15 percent off of a class when a student brings their student ID.
In addition to student deals, Butler recalled that the studio also has special events like date nights where a couple can come to a one-time session together for a romantic evening, and she also rents out the upstairs floor for parties.
Lately, Butler has been collaborating on projects in Farmville to increase the amount of artwork downtown, including working on the Hampden Sydney, Longwood and farmer’s market murals. She also stated that Mainly Clay was involved in the Main St. preparations for the vice presidential debate.
She is currently working on a collaborative project with the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) to increase the number of sculptures found downtown, which should be set in motion within a couple of weeks, according to Butler.
When looking back on her choice to have a pottery studio in Farmville, she remembered a conversation between her and her mother and her appreciation for the student community, which is an intricate part of the Farmville community.
“My mom asked when things weren’t working out with these other places, ‘Well, where do you want to be?’ ” Butler reminisced, “ ‘Well, I know exactly where I want to be. I want to be in the middle of downtown.’ I love people coming in and out, and again, it’s students coming in and out. That’s one of things that makes this community actually pretty exciting because as you know it’s a very small town. Having the students come and go, I’m thrilled.”
The sign for Mainly Clay in Farmville.
