Former Cork city launderette transformed into pottery hub

When Luciana Altoni came across a vacant unit on Douglas Street last year, she had a good feeling.

Originally a sports journalist, Luciana had been working in a bank before she moved to Ireland from Argentina with her husband and young daughter.

She had previously thought about opening a shop, but the move gave her the push she needed to take the leap.

In August, Luciana opened Potteria, a paint-your-own pottery studio and social hub, on Douglas Street, where visitors can select a piece of pottery and paint it in a fun and social setting.

“I was thinking of opening a shop like this. It was always there, but I wasn’t totally 100% sure, because it’s a big change” she says.

When faced with the choice of working for a bank in Dublin or starting her own business, Luciana decided to follow her dream and open the shop.

Finding a premises the right size and location was challenging.

“When I saw this corner in Douglas Street, I really liked it. I liked the idea that it’s not really the city centre. It’s in the centre, but not in the busiest area,” she says.

The space was previously a launderette, and Luciana and her husband could see it would take a lot of work to turn it into a studio.

Thankfully, they have a supportive landlord and were able to make the changes they needed.

“We did almost everything ourselves. It was me, my brother-in-law, my husband, and we brought in specialists for other things like the flooring, the lighting, and the electrics,” she says.

Potteria offers people the chance to do something creative while catching up. Although they took walk-ins initially, the popularity has meant online bookings are essential now.

“You need to book a table on our website, then, when you come you will have a big selection of different pieces, like plates, vases, bowls, teapots, mugs, kids’ figures like animals, and money banks,” Luciana explains.

Each piece has a different price, which includes all the materials, the firing, and glazing. Painting sessions are two hours long, and staff are available to give tips and answer questions. There are also QR codes with inspiration if you need ideas.

At the end of the session, you leave your finished piece to be glazed and fired in the kiln, and it can be picked up three weeks later.

Luciana emphasises that you don’t need to be artistic, and it’s more about enjoying the activity in a relaxed environment.

“You don’t need to be artistic at all to try it,” she says. “It’s not a class or something where we teach people how to do it. It’s more for them to do it freely.”

It’s suitable for all ages, and it can be a particularly nice thing to do with children.

“We have very small kids, like three-year-old kids, up to grandpas and grandmas coming in the with the whole family, or with a grandchild to paint. So it’s for everybody,” says Luciana.

Potteria doesn’t sell food or drink, but visitors are welcome to bring drinks and snacks with them.

“We allow snacks, cakes, things like cheese boards. Then they can bring whatever they want to drink,” says Luciana.

She highlights a number of local businesses near the shop that sell food and drinks, including Café Moly, Spar and Cork Flower Studio.

The studio is open until 8pm during the week and 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

The business community of Douglas Street has been a huge support to Luciana since Potteria opened.

“The community here, it’s amazing. The business owners since the first day, they were so supportive,” says Luciana. “I didn’t know a lot of things, because I just moved to Cork, about parking and everything, and we have a chat group where we always help each other.”

Luciana is glad to offer an option for socialising that isn’t just going to a bar or restaurant, where you can chat with your friends and do something creative at the same time.

“It’s something new here in the city,” she says. “I think it’s a very calming activity, that you can just focus for two hours on a project that will be with you forever after that, or for a couple of years, I hope!”

In the future, Luciana hopes to expand Potteria’s offerings into workshops, collaborations, and special events.

“The idea, at some point, is to collaborate with some local artists. We can have a special section for pieces created by local artists that the people can paint,” she says.

“We are always very open to feedback and ideas.”

See www.potteriapainting.com