Hello, friends!

I’m Lori Theriault, potter and owner of Crazy Green Studios in Asheville, NC. In September 2024, Hurricane Helene destroyed my studios — wiping out equipment, materials, and years of work. Thanks to incredible friends, fellow artists, and grants, I’ve kept creating in temporary spaces and begun rebuilding over the past 20 months. I have been able to fulfill some orders for existing and new clients, and I have a full production schedule of orders written, waiting to be fulfilled.

I opened this fundraiser when I thought we were about to sign a lease on a space we'd been working on for over six months. That space did not pan out, but what was in one moment truly devastating almost as quickly turned to hopeful optimism again when a friend recommended their landlords, and just one month later we have signed a lease and are now planning the upfits for a July 1 move in date! I am over the moon and trying not to be overwhelmed, because after seeming to move so slowly for so long, things are happening!

Our new studio will be located at The Mill at Riverside, in Woodfin, NC. It's a bright, open space that will allow us to design the work flow and storage to our needs, and a small office is perfectly suited to become the kiln room.

This fundraiser will help ensure a smooth transition and help us cover the initial costs: the electrical and plumbing upfits, building and/or procuring key equipment and studio furniture so we can begin work as soon as we move in, as well as help to move equipment, tools, furniture, and materials from the multiple temporary work spaces and storage locations. I have continued to work in a small capacity on wholesale orders in two locations, and I am so eager to have everything under one roof so I can not only fulfill existing orders, but finally expand operations, hire staff, and be able to pour back into the community that has sustained me for over a year and a half.

Crazy Green Studios has never been just about pottery – it’s about community. Each piece made here supports local artists who work in our studio, restaurants who collaborate with us on designs, and other small business suppliers and vendors. Our work brings handmade, functional art into daily life and makes strong contributions to our local economy.

Your support will help me complete this rebuild and get Crazy Green Studios back into production — stronger, safer, and ready to share more work and creativity with this amazing community.

Every contribution counts. If you would like to discuss how to make tax-deductible donations via our fiscal sponsor, please reach out via crazygreenstudios-dot-com.

Thank you for helping turn loss into renewal and for believing in the power of handmade.

– Lori Theriault

Crazy Green Studios, Asheville NC

PS - I will add updates here as we go, and if you would like to read the full story of our Hurricane Helene experience, you will find it at my website: crazygreenstudios-dot-com.