One of our sister projects is the Maine Pottery Tour. This may seem like an odd pairing, but it actually fits perfectly with the overall mission of Pine Tree Connect which is to build community among businesses and individuals, and to help the community support local businesses in Maine.
Celebrating its 13th year, the Maine Pottery Tour will kick off on Saturday, May 3rd and continue on Sunday, May 4th throughout the state. It's a fun weekend, and a chance meet all sorts of artists, watch pottery demonstrations, peek in the kilns, and shop for pottery and other handmade goods from the makers themselves.
Attending the Maine Pottery Tour is easy! The website will have downloadable and interactive maps of tour legs, and our interactive Plan My Tour app has online maps with all the studios to help plan a Pottery Tour road trip.
The Tour is also near and dear to Pine Tree Connect co-owner, Milly Welsh, who, in addition to being a digital marketing and SEO powerhouse, is also a talented potter. She’s been with the Tour for the last 10 years, built their website (no surprise), and also built their very popular Plan My Tour app that goes along with the Tour. It’s been her passion project, but we’re finding the software offers so much more. It’s allowed people to easily plan their road trip to visit the studios on the tour, as intended. But because it makes studios easier to find, it’s engaged more people with more potters. A greater community of followers and pottery enthusiasts has developed. Fans and customers of individual potters has grown, and websites have gotten busier.
Here's Milly hard at work on her wheel preparing for this year's Pottery Tour. She's got some fantastic planters coming along, as well as a variety of functional and fun pottery items. You can visit her on the Western leg of the Tour at her studio in Limington, Zwellyn Pottery.
The app is really very cool – give it a look! On the Maine Pottery Tour website, you can take a closer look at any of the Tour participants on their profile page, select those you’d like to visit, add them to your personal Plan My Tour, and out comes your custom road trip map!
Once you visit the studio, you can mark it as such, and receive a badge (who doesn’t like getting a badge?!). This year, we have some fun prizes and contests for Tour goers, so keep an eye on the social media to join in.
The Maine Pottery Tour started out as a few people putting together a local event. Over the years, it’s grown and grown to be statewide, with nearly 100 participants. Over 80 potters are signed up this year, and many of them have guest potters and artists joining them.
I’ve joined Milly this year in running the Tour, and it’s definitely not what I expected. It’s certainly more than “just an event.” The participants have amazed me with their appreciation for one another and the opportunity the Tour offers. They’ve created their own delivery brigades to help get Tour supplies delivered around the state to one another, they share information without hesitation. There’s not one ounce of competition, just community. Community in action, and I’ve loved watching it.
I knew we weren’t taking over the Tour to make a lot of money, but I didn’t realize taking it over would allow me a front row seat to such a profound display of how small businesses can help one another, and how it works to raise everyone up. To witness what can actually happen when businesses team up, without worrying that one is getting something or more than another, working together in genuine camaraderie, working in amity. I’m trying like crazy to avoid using the word synergy, so you get the idea.
In all the mayhem happening in the business world, this has been an uplifting and inspiring project to be part of. I also believe it’s an excellent business model for any of us. I think all of us who are business owners know in theory that when we support one another we can create something greater than working alone. What the Maine Pottery Tour has shown me is that it really works! When we can come together as a business community we are more valuable, more useful, and more effective – in ways that benefit all of us.
Visit Over 80 Studios Across Maine
The Tour is a self-guided adventure through the heart of Maine’s vibrant pottery scene!
Whether you're a collector, a curious wanderer, or just love shopping for unique handmade things, this is your weekend to explore, connect, and be inspired.
Plan Your Tour on MainePotteryTour.org
Saturday, May 3rd from 10am-5pm
Sunday May 4th from 11am-4pm
Every year on the first weekend in May, pottery and ceramics studios in Maine open their doors to the public. It\'s a fun day and a ch...
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Noelle has been a marketing professional, and a published author and copywriter for over 20 years. Her work has been featured in both print publications and online media, where she has written on a broad range of topics. She owns Castle Media Co., assisting businesses with their marketing and digital media needs, specializing in website development, content marketing, social media, copywriting, and blogging.
