Rising Stars: Meet Ben Clark

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Clark. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Ben Clark, and I run Queen City Clay along with my staff of 8 full-time and over 40 part-time employees. I received my MFA in ceramics from Wichita State University and learned functional ceramics from Scott Shafer, a potter in Centerville, Indiana. Queen City Clay is one of the largest public clay studios in the United States. Our studio has been around for over 26 years and was previously known as Annie’s Mud Pie Shop and Funke Fired Arts. When I moved to Cincinnati in 2004, I started teaching wheel throwing techniques for Annie Swantko who was the original owner of this shop. At that point, the shop was located on Wasson Road in Hyde Park. I became the education director when the business was sold to one of my students. I was able to purchase the studio and change the name to Queen City Clay in 2016. During the pandemic shutdown, I was able to purchase a 50,000 sq. ft. building in Norwood with my wife Krista and business partners Denise and Doug Chase. We moved the studio and started growing immediately. Queen City Clay is a very unique place. We teach all levels of wheel throwing, hand-building, sculpture, and surface design in the main studio. Our shop rents space to local artists and hobbyists and provides kiln firing services for anyone with a home studio. Our retail store sells everything a person or school might need for clay work, including wheels, kilns, glazes, clays, tools, and clothing. We support a huge amount of the local schools with teacher training and supplies and host large-scale workshops all year around. Our classes range from 8-week sessions to two-hour special events for beginners. We host corporate outings, team-building workshops, birthday parties, and any other celebration people can think of. Our students come from every background and age group. We generally have around 250 students every eight weeks and host over 30 special events in that time. We also have a sales gallery for functional pottery from local artists and an exhibition gallery with shows that rotate every two months. Our mission is to give a positive clay experience to as many people as we can. Our focus is on the beginner, but we have the staff to take someone all they way to the professional level if that’s their goal. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being as big as we are, there aren’t any other studios to look at for ideas of what to do. We are writing the script and that always comes with a lot of edits. Keeping up with demand has been a huge problem. Moving to a larger facility that we own was key in securing a future of growth and expansion. Our staff works extremely hard to create a feeling of family and positivity in the space. Making a 50,000 sq. ft. warehouse feel artistic, fun, and inviting was a major challenge. My staff is incredibly talented, and all of them bring a wealth of knowledge and problem-solving abilities to every challenge. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Each employee at the shop is also an artist. Our large accounts manager is an incredible sculptor and hand builder. Our Education Director is one of the best functional potters in the country. Every single position is filled with someone who can pull their weight on the clay art side as well as the business side. We all specialize in clay work, but some are functional potters while others focus on clay sculpture. Our Artists in Residence are either established clay artists with an international reputation or clay artists at early stages in their career. What sets us apart as a staff and a business is that we are all extremely passionate about teaching. We want our students to have the best experience possible. Our focus in the classroom is as much on community building as it is on clay technique. Our teachers are the best in the business, and that in itself is an art form. 

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Risk has been a major part of every pivotal decision I’ve made with this business. I was a professor at Northern Kentucky University with an eye on a tenure track position before deciding to buy the business. I loved teaching the general public and loved the idea of growing something with my friends where we get to decide what the next day brings. This was a scary venture and especially so because I don’t have business background. My wife is brilliant, my business partner loves accounting, and my employees are not quitters, so the risk was taken! I couldn’t be happier with that decision. Queen City Clay is thriving, and it’s because of the teamwork and commitment to people that we are finding success. We risk our financial future every time we decide to invest in more kilns, e-commerce, slip casting businesses, new delivery strategies, etc… Our business would never be a massive money maker, but it does well enough to support a pretty large staff with families and future goals. The risks are nerve-racking but we believe in each other and have proven we have the ability to make good decisions together. When everyone is committed to the mission, willingness to take risk gets easier. 

Pricing:

• 8-week classes are around 250.00
• open wheel is around 45.00 per person
• pottery painting is always between 10 and 60 dollars depending on the piece

Contact Info:

• Website: queencityclay.com
• Instagram: queencityclay
• Facebook: Queen City Clay

Image Credits
Thomas Jordan
Charity Rust-Jordan