Pottery studio transforms former Waterbury gun shop

March 27, 2022  |  By Abbie Kopelowitz | Community News Service

Mud Studio owner Mike Sullivan, pictured with his dog Oscar, says pottery classes are underway at the new studio in Waterbury where the gallery/retail space will be opening soon. Courtesy photo

A popular commercial business location on U.S. Route 2 in Waterbury has recently undergone a transformation becoming the community’s newest craft center as a pottery studio and gallery. 

After 12 years in business in Middlesex, The Mud Studio has moved six miles north on Route 2 into the spot that was home to Parro’s Gun Shop until the firearms dealer opened its new expanded retail store and indoor shooting range nearby in 2021. 

Mud Studio owner Mike Sullivan said he is happy about the move calling the location “a perfect space for us.”

Sullivan, who has owned the pottery center since 2008, said the size and location of the property were key to the choice. Mud Studio is renting the entire 3,400 square feet, according to building owner Henry Parro. 

The space works for pottery classes with room for supplies, equipment and materials. Sullivan said the center has room for a gallery/retail area as well. 

Keeping the studio along the Route 2 corridor was also an important factor in choosing a new space. Sullivan said the Waterbury location checked all the boxes without being too far from most of their clientele. 

With 12 pottery wheels, two large kilns, different clay bodies and a variety of tools, the studio is currently open for classes and studio memberships. The Mud Studio gallery will allow members to sell their art and will be set up this spring, Sullivan said. 

Parro said he was happy to land a tenant to lease the entire space to a new business that is a destination for its regular users and hopefully new customers. Leasing the space, however, marks a transition. 

Until last year, the building had been the site of a business in his family for more than 80 years, Parro said. “The 1940 Census showed my grandmother as the sole proprietor of a thrift shop there,” he said. 

The gun shop opened in 1983 selling firearms, ammunition and gear for hunters, sportsmen and law enforcement personnel. After several years of planning, design, permitting and construction, Parro’s last year opened about a quarter mile away in a new facility triple the size of the original store that includes Vermont’s only indoor shooting range. 

Parro said the new shop and range have become a destination for customers from around the region and the traffic has meant a significant increase in staffing, growing from about six to more than two dozen employees. 

Parro said he’s happy to see cars outside The Mud Studio now as the business gets established in the new spot. 

Sullivan said so far, the studio’s schedule has had 10 pottery classes each week for wheel throwing and hand building. Most classes are mixed levels that have filled up and beginners are welcome to join, he added. 

The studio offers patrons the chance to take classes or become a member with 24-hour access to the studio and the opportunity to sell pieces once the gallery opens. Sullivan said he is aiming to have the retail and gallery space open sometime in April.  

Community News Service is a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.