Banana Barn Pottery | TVM Spotlight
Banana Barn Pottery, found on the main level of Topeka Vendors Market, is a customer favorite. Carla Hayes is a talented artist that uses slip cast, handbuilt, and wheel thrown techniques to create her unique pottery. The handcrafted work you will find in her booth makes Banana Barn Pottery a great spot to find unique planters, decor, and gifts. Carla's ready-to-paint bisque pieces are a perfect kid-friendly project for cold winter evenings. Here's a behind-the-scenes look into the dedication it takes to bring these beautiful creations to market.
Q. Why Banana Barn Pottery?
When brainstorming business name ideas, I knew I wanted something random and funny and associated with something yellow (my favorite color). I have pet chickens who live in a yellow coop, so it's also loosely named as a nod to the coop. When directing people who ask where to find my booth, I say, "Look for the yellow barn.”
Q. How long have you been in business?
My pottery business has only been officially running since January 2021 (when I joined TVM). I was a shopper at Topeka Vendors Market and saw booth openings, and couldn't resist jumping in to sell my pottery. The only retail space where you will find Banana Barn Pottery is at Topeka Vendors Market; otherwise, I take custom orders through my Facebook page.
Q. What can we find in your booth that we cannot find anywhere else?
Unique ceramics and pottery. I switch back and forth between three methods: slip casting, wheel throwing, and handbuilt techniques.
Q. What is slip casting?
This method creates a hollow clay piece in the mold shape used. You begin with a clean plaster two sided mold held together and secured with rubber bands. Then you pour in liquid clay (the slip) and wait. The wait time depends on temperature, humidity, size of the mold, etc. After a given time, you pour the still liquid slip back out of the mold leaving the inside coated. After several hours you open the mold and take out the leather-hard piece. After scraping and smoothing the seams, you wait again until bone dry. After this, It is ready to be fired in the kiln, glazed, and then fired again. Finally, it is ready to take to the Vendors Market. The whole process per batch takes about a week. Whew! I'm obsessed with the endless combinations possible with glaze. I spend a lot of my time experimenting by layering two to four different glazes per piece.
Q. How are your pieces unique from ceramics found in large stores?
Most of the molds I use are vintage (from the 1950s-2000s). I get them primarily from people who have had them in their basement for decades! I especially love the '70s molds! Another thing that makes my product unique is that I have a large selection of ready-to-paint bisque (that is, fired only once) pieces for those that want to paint ceramics themselves! Regular old acrylic craft paint works great!As far as my wheel-thrown and handbuilt pieces go, they are one of a kind, and no two pieces will ever be precisely the same. I try to have some pieces at the booth that coordinate with whatever holiday is coming up. Right now, I'm working on little heart ring dishes and deviled egg trays.
Q. Do you have business partners?
The pottery is all me, but my booth does feature some other handy crafters. My mother-in-law, Lynn Hayes, makes paper decor (cards, signs, etc.) and other seasonal decors, and Nancy Timmons is the woman behind the cute crocheted gnomes, animals, hats, etc., in my booth. Dennis Hemmendinger makes the one-of-a-kind Southwest-inspired wood and stone necklaces and bolos.
Q. What is your most popular item?
My planters. I'm a horticulturist by day and a potter by night. So, I must bring both worlds together and include planters with various succulents, houseplant cuttings, etc. I have a wide range of slip-cast planter molds (some very exciting ones I will bring out for the first time this spring!). And I make wheel-thrown planters as well. The ceramic tree faces are also a big hit.
Banana Barn Pottery's ready-to-paint bisque pieces are a perfect kid-friendly project for cold winter evenings.
Content provided by Topeka Vendors Market.
