Still Fired Up

Northport’s reputation for pottery and ceramics runs deeper than any one shop, tracing back to the clay studios connected to the Kentuck Art Center, but Still Fired Up offers a more hands on version of that tradition. Tucked into a suite off McFarland Boulevard, the paint your own pottery studio hands customers a blank piece of bisque and lets them turn it into something they made themselves rather than something they simply bought off a shelf.

The process starts with choosing from a wall of unfinished pottery, mugs, bowls, plates, vases, and figurines among them, before settling in at a table with brushes and more than one hundred paint colors, along with stamps and stencils for anyone who wants a pattern rather than a freehand design. Once a piece is finished, the studio glazes and fires it in a kiln, with pieces typically ready for pickup about a week later.

The studio’s hours stretch into the evening several nights a week, a schedule built around the after work and after school crowd who want an activity that does not require much planning. Tuesday through Thursday the doors stay open until eight in the evening, and on Friday and Saturday nights that extends to nine, giving date nights and small groups plenty of time to finish a piece without rushing through the painting process.

Beyond walk in painting sessions, the studio hosts birthday parties, school visits, and other group events, catering to the kind of celebration that benefits from a finished, take home object rather than just cake and games. Large groups can reserve space in advance, and staff walk newcomers through the basics of glazing and firing so first time painters are not left guessing about how their piece will look once it comes out of the kiln.

What sets the studio apart from a typical gift shop is the process itself. A mug or bowl bought finished off a shelf is a purchase, but a piece painted by hand carries a different kind of value, whether it ends up as a Mother’s Day gift, a keepsake from a birthday party, or simply a Tuesday evening project shared between friends. That distinction fits neatly into Northport’s broader identity as a town where ceramics and pottery are treated as something to participate in, not just something to admire from behind glass.

The studio’s location just off McFarland Boulevard puts it within easy reach of downtown Northport, and its late hours make it a workable stop for people finishing a workday or an afternoon of shopping along Main Avenue who want to fit in a creative project before heading home. Groups of coworkers, church groups, and mother daughter pairs are as common on a given evening as families with young kids.

For visitors who spend an afternoon browsing the antique shops and boutiques along Main Avenue, Still Fired Up offers a different kind of souvenir, one that requires a little patience and a return trip once the piece has been fired, but carries a personal stamp that nothing bought finished off a shelf can match.

Regulars often keep a running collection going, adding a new mug or bowl every few months, while first time visitors tend to arrive for a specific occasion, a birthday, a holiday, or simply a slow weekend afternoon, and leave already planning a second visit. The studio’s staff say that is the most common feedback they hear, that painting a piece by hand turns out to be more relaxing than expected, less about artistic skill and more about the time spent at the table with a brush in hand.