A paint-your-own-pottery studio in Falls Church has received a freshly glazed look under new ownership.
Jessi Cash, who has worked at Clay Cafe Studios since 2019, took over the reins from retired owner Gayla Hassett in January. Since then, Cash has brought 101 N. Maple Avenue a fresh coat of peachy paint and replaced its old farmhouse-style tables, among other aesthetic changes.
“I told people that it was less of a renovation and more of a glow-up,” Cash told ARLnow. “Taking this really awesome spot that just needed a little bit of TLC that, honestly, Gayla and I had not had the time to get to.”
The business, located just off W. Broad Street near businesses including Rare Bird Coffee Roasters and Doodlehopper 4 Kids, offers walk-in pottery painting and party reservations, in addition to hosting kids’ art camps.
Clay Cafe Studios can seat about 40 guests. The studio carries a variety of clay goods, from animal figurines and planters to mugs, bowls and tea bag dispensers, which are heated in one of the studio’s two massive kilns.
Walk-ins are $7 per painter, plus the cost of pottery, which starts at around $18.
Cash is the third woman owner to carry the Clay Cafe torch, succeeding Hassett and Helene Safford, who founded the business in 1998. Cash said she was motivated to keep the venue in the community, while providing a safe place for adults with disabilities to find employment.
She works alongside her 18-year-old-daughter, Bailey, and her son Morgan, who has autism.
Morgan Cash has worked at Clay Cafe Studios since his senior year of high school, when the pandemic prevented him from fully participating in a job skills program. Since then, Jessi Cash said she wanted to do better by him and others.
Today, he operates the studio’s kiln room in addition to assisting with sales and customer service.
“[Clay Cafe Studios] gives me the ability to provide my adult autistic son, Morgan, and other disabled adults a place that’s safe to work, that pays a decent wage, and where I can be sure that they’re getting proper job skills and being treated well,” Cash said. “It’s the whole reason why I ever wanted a small business in the first place, was to be able to provide that for my son.”
Cash, who also teaches art at public schools in Arlington and Fairfax County as an independent contractor, hopes to continue sharing the joy of artwork with the community through Clay Cafe Studios. Looking ahead to this fall, she plans to introduce new monthly adult art classes for skills like pottery handbuilding and glass fusing.
“[Pottery painting] is not just for kids. That is a common misconception I find a lot, when people come in,” Cash said. “Gayla and I used to get kind of haughty about it.”
The new owner is also considering adding a date night pottery painting special.
Clay Cafe Studios is open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Elsewhere in the area, Paint Your Heart Out recently celebrated a grand opening in Shirlington, offering similar paint-your-own-pottery activities.
Photo 4 via Clay Cafe Studios/Facebook.
