Meet Scott & Lori Neff | Owners of As You Wish Pottery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Scott & Lori Neff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Scott & Lori, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor behind our success is our employees. We have surrounded ourselves with the best in the business. We call our employees “WISHERS” and we like to say we “bleed purple” (purple is a color found throughout our studios). The old saying, “surround yourself with the best people” is so true. We have some WISHERS who have been with us for over 10 years. One at 15 plus years. It is our WISHERS that create the magical memories for our customers. Many of our WISHERS were customers when they were young. Now they are working at As You Wish. Many will go off to college and return during the summer break and holiday season. Once a WISHER, you are a WISHER for life.

One of our goals is to be the top memory making destination. It is our WISHERS that help make this happen. We are a very unique business in that people can come in and spend quality time together, making memories, and have a keepsake that will last.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Both Scott and Lori have business/accounting backgrounds. Scott was a CPA and spent 20 years working at various large companies in Metro-Phoenix. Lori was in banking and then accounting/human resources during the same timeframe. We both understand the numbers and the importance of setting the proper “tone at the top”. It was our work experience that taught us the essentials of running a business. We have continued to educate ourselves and we strongly believe in continuing education for our entry level staff through our executive team. We have a very robust training program to ensure our customers have the same amazing experience no matter which As You Wish location they visit.

This year, 2025, As You Wish is celebrating 30 years of making memories. We pride ourselves in providing a colorful space where customers can come in with friends and loved ones to spend quality time together, while letting their inner artist out. We know that we would not be here without the support of our communities. One of our core values is to give back to our communities and foster a sense of goodwill and belonging.

Another thing that sets us apart is that we are not a franchise. We are a family-owned and operated business. This lets us set our own tone and be much more involved, and quick to make decisions. It is also exciting to see our kids now heavily involved in the business.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Arizona is such an amazing state with so many things to see and do. If we had friends visiting, we would make sure to take them to As You Wish so they can paint a keepsake, and we can spend quality time catching up. We would then treat them to some amazing Mexican food. Our family has been going to Los Olivos Mexican Patio in Old Town Scottsdale for over 60 years. After Mexican food, we would walk through Old Town to visit the shops and art galleries. If we wanted to go to a nice dinner one night, we would take them to something like Ocean 44, Ocean Prime or Mastro’s. We would hike Camelback Mountain or float the Salt River. Maybe paddleboard at Saguaro Lake. We would play golf at one of the many golf courses as well as some pickleball. We would take a trip up to the Grand Canyon and stop in Sedona along the way. Maybe do a Pink Jeep Tour and see Montezuma’s Castle. Take another trip to Pinetop, Arizona to see the elk and the forest, then and have lunch along the creek in Greer. We could drive south and see the beautiful desert in north Tucson. Take a trip to Tombstone to check out its history or spend the night in Jerome and do a walking ghost tour that night and a copper mine tour the next day. With Arizona, the possibilities are endless.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our parents were a huge factor in our success. They stood behind us, supported us and were some of our biggest cheerleaders. They instilled the values of hard work, a solid education and educated risk taking. Our kids have also been a big part of our business and success. Each of them have worked in our studios and now two of the three are in leadership positions.

Website: https://www.asyouwishpottery.com

Instagram: @asyouwishpottery

Facebook: https://facebook.com/asyouwishpottery

Youtube: @asyouwishpottery