St. Pete Ceramics reopens in Warehouse Arts District eight months after devastating fire
/St. pete Ceramics has reopened in the Warehouse Arts District following a fire | St. Pete Rising
In late January, pottery artist Beth Miranda woke up before sunrise to a devastating call from her business partner, Ethan Fielder.
Their community studio, St. Pete Ceramics, was engulfed in flames.
The fire tore through much of the interior, including walls, shelving, tables, stools, and other equipment. Two rabbits that lived at the studio also died.
Miranda arrived at the studio, which is located at 593 22nd Street South in the Warehouse Arts District, around 5:15 a.m. after calling her husband in Philadelphia and taking a moment to process what she had just learned.
“I got here and dealt with everything. Then I sent a text to friends in the local clay community and said, ‘Guys, I just need prayer. This is happening,’” Miranda said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.
Fellow artists arrived with bagels, coffee, pizza, gloves, and a willingness to help however they could. Within roughly 36 hours, volunteers had helped empty and clean out the fire-damaged studio.
“It wasn’t just thoughts and prayers,” Miranda said. “People were physically here helping us.”
Firefighters who responded to the blaze believe an electrical issue caused the fire.
Pottery artist Beth Miranda and business partner Ethan Fielder stand inside St. Pete Ceramics following a devastating fire | St. Pete Ceramics
Eight months later, St. Pete Ceramics has reopened in the newly renovated 1,800-square-foot space.
Miranda and Fielder quietly reopened September 18th and have resumed hosting workshops, welcoming members back into the studio, and selling pottery.
“I kept asking myself, ‘What am I doing with my life?’” Miranda said. “I had worked so hard on this space, and it was gone.”
Her daughters launched a GoFundMe the same day, which has raised nearly $30,000 to support the rebuilding effort.
The funds helped St. Pete Ceramics pay rent while it was without a permanent space, replace lost equipment, and cover other rebuilding costs.
“We wouldn’t be here without the GoFundMe and the community,” Miranda said. “We had no way to bring in money over the summer.”
A week after the fire, the studio found a temporary home at Five Deuces Galleria, in two small studios owned by Three Daughters Brewing.
The spaces were only about 110 to 120 square feet each, but they gave members somewhere to gather and create while rebuilding continued.
St. Pete Ceramics’ newly rebuilt studio space | St. Pete Rising
St. Pete Ceramics also continued participating in several previously scheduled markets.
Miranda spent weeks cleaning pottery that survived the fire in her kitchen sink and dishwasher before selling the pieces at local events.
The studio’s new layout is substantially different from the one it replaced. With its interior walls gone, Miranda and Fielder opted for a more open floor plan, creating a large workshop area with room for members, classes, and future community gatherings.
The studio currently has eight members and plans to keep its membership capped at 12.
It will also continue hosting one-time workshops and flexible five-class packages for students of all experience levels.
Miranda said St. Pete Ceramics has become something more personal than she originally expected.
“We thought we would be a space that helped people build pottery businesses,” she said. “It turns out we’re a space that helps people with life.”
St. Pete Ceramics will celebrate its grand reopening October 24 from 5 to 9 p.m. | St. Pete Rising
That realization also helped lead Miranda to establish the Clay Collective of Pinellas, a new nonprofit focused on supporting clay artists and businesses throughout the county.
The organization’s mission is to further clay artists and businesses “both fiscally and mentally,” Miranda said. She hopes it will help bring more collaboration among local artists while encouraging art-related tourism in St. Pete.
St. Pete Ceramics will celebrate its reopening with a grand opening party and Halloween-themed carnival from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, October 24th.
The event will include live music, food from Zee’s Barbecue, The Chef Upstairs, and Eat Art Love, along with local art, vendors, and family-friendly activities throughout the surrounding Warehouse Arts District.
Miranda is still building out a gallery space, finishing a wall of ceramic mugs, and creating an outdoor lounge area. But the upcoming celebration is about more than reopening a renovated studio.
“It’s going to be a giant party,” Miranda said. “It’s really about celebrating that we’re back and everybody who helped get us here.”
