Meet Caroline Eldridge & Lauren Wetzel | Potters

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caroline Eldridge & Lauren Wetzel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caroline Eldridge, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
We worked with our uncle for summers during high school and college. We realized pretty early that we had a lot of fun doing it. We decided that we wanted to open a studio, so It was a natural progression. We love having the option to work on different fish each day . It gives us the freedom to choose what creative outlet we’d like to fill, whether it be working with clay and creating pieces, painting or mold making.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
At Grainger Pottery Sandwich, we make over 100 different species of realistic ceramic fish, made to hang on the inside or outside of a home as wall décor. We have a local focus on all of the major New England species, plus we make a variety of southern, tropical, and freshwater fish. In addition to fish, we make shells , horseshoe crabs, lobsters and other ocean life. Our products have a lifelike feel because we make plaster molds from a real fish and hand-press clay into the molds.

We have a fun bright store that looks like a fish art aquarium. People enjoy the pieces and love to come up with creative ways to design with them in their homes.

Opening up our store set the course for the rest of our lives..At first, we spent so much time working. We lived above our shop and worked six days a week. We had almost no free time, working early in the morning to late in the evening. .We’ve slowly tapered that down and figured out how to have a better balance.

Fishing has always been one of our favorite hobbies. We have a love and appreciation for both marine wildlife and art, which shows in our work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We love Sandwich. We’s pick breakfast downtown at Beth’s Bakery or Cafe Chew.

Sandy Neck Beach is beautiful, but the water is a little chilly.

Our favorite spot for an an afternoon latte is Cafe Riverview.

You can’t go to Sandwich with out stopping by Heritage Museums and Gardens. They have a hundred acres of beautiful gardens.

Glass studio on Cape Cod is always a great stop. They have ocean inspired glassware and you can watch glass blowing some days. Some of our favorite gift shops are Painted Daises, Wish Gift and Thatcher Ellery.

The best way to spend the evening is to walk the canal and watch the fishermen and boats. Right next door is an amazing dinner at Fishermen’s View with ocean and canal views.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We’d love to give a shout out to our community and customers. They have always supported us and made our work more fulfilling year after year. One our favorite parts of the job is helping our customers create unique schools and groupings of fish. We love seeing which pieces are customers like and help them figure out how to best fill their spaces.

Website: https://www.graingerpotterysandwich.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/graingerpotterysandwich/

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