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Help Keep Our Pottery Studio Open!

Help Us Reopen Our Pottery Studio!

 Since Jill Hinckley first opened Hinckley Pottery in 1968, we have offered classes and community to many thousands of adults and children. But now, our future is uncertain. The landlord of our new Washington DC studio has embroiled us in a battle that is costing us funds we do not have. We need your help to reopen so that our more than 200 students a week can once again have a space to create pottery. They may be aspiring or accomplished potters and come to us from all over the United States, Latin America, Europe and as far away as Asia, Africa, New Zealand and Australia. And some have gone on to become professional artists.  Many consider Hinckley Pottery their personal clay studio and an unparalleled resource — a place to get hands dirty, meet interesting people and share the magic of turning mud into functional objects. 

What happened?

 In late 2012, we learned that our lease would not be extended beyond 2015.  Our former landlord, a health care nonprofit, had plans to expand. After 25 years in our thriving studio space, we were forced to move. Two and a half years later we found a large, unused former stable that would be perfect. Though it would take a great deal of work, there was enough room to add a second classroom plus individual workspaces and it was just a short walk from our first pottery studio. We felt we had come full circle in a very good way.

We did our part, but our landlord didn’t do his, and now he’s gone even further and taken legal action against us. 

On July 1, 2015, we signed a 10-year lease with a January 1, 2016, start date and launched plans to transform the space into a functioning pottery studio. The intention was to transition from our old location with no significant down time, move in over a short holiday closure in December 2015, and reopen early in January 2016. 

We refinanced our home and liquidated personal retirement savings to pay for our share of the build out – over $200,000.

On September 2, 2015, a day after we were to take “possession of the premises” to begin work, the property manager called to say there was a delay in installing utilities. There was still no water, gas or electricity. But he assured us things would be ready when our contractors were scheduled to begin in mid October. That did not happen. And now, over a year later, our landlord has still not completed the work. The sprinkler water line is not functional, meaning the space is not legally habitable. 

In the fall of 2015, our contractors discovered that the water line to the sprinkler system did not have enough pressure. A custom-made pump would be required. The landlord ordered one in mid December 2015, but we discovered in June when electricity was finally connected, that it was the wrong voltage and would not work in the building. To fix it requires a $46,600 retrofit that the landlord now claims is our responsibility. We have tried in vain to find a resolution. Instead our landlord is taking us to court! 

We have put virtually all our resources into this move.  Our lost revenue already exceeds $300,000 and continues to climb.  

All we want is to open our pottery studio, start teaching again and get our hands back into the clay — but to do this we need your help! 

Your gift of $25, $100, $1000 or more will go a long way toward saving our studio.

To find out more about us, please check our website: www.hinckleypottery.com

Organiser

Susan Weber
Organiser
Washington D.C., DC

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