We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laurie Canfield. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laurie below.

Alright, Laurie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I often get asked how Sunshine Sunflower Studio got it’s name since it’s unusual and a bit of a tongue twister. The studio is named after my youngest daughter, Chloe. When I was expecting her in 2014, her older brother, Nathan, who was 6, wanted to name her Baby Sunshine Sunflower because he said, “Mommy, those are your two favorite things!” I was afraid it might be a little strange for her having to put Sunshine Sunflower Canfield on job applications in the future…I mean, I’m a bit of a hippie, but not quite that much. We ended up naming her after my grandmother instead.

When I was trying to select a name for the studio, nothing seemed right. My husband, Wayne, suggested that we name it Sunshine Sunflower, because it would be my new “baby”. It was the perfect fit and encompasses everything I want people to feel when they think of visiting us for classes or workshops. And I’m excited to say that my new “baby” will be turning 2 years old on May 21! Come celebrate with us at our “TWO Much Fun” studio anniversary celebration on Saturday, May 21 from 5-8 pm at 700 W Campbell Ave #3 in Phoenix!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started working in clay in college and I fell in love with it. After graduating, I became a public school art teacher. After teaching for about 5 years, I began offering classes to my friends’ children in my home and they idea to open my own art studio was born. It got tabled for about five more years when my family moved to the Philadelphia area and I began working in community arts, which was a fantastic learning experience for me. I use a lot of those experiences in designing and scheduling the classes that I offer at the studio. I moved to Phoenix in 2017 and began participating in local arts events when I realized that many people I spoke with had fond memories of working with clay as a school student, or still kept their children’s pinch pots even though their children were older than I was. I realized that humanity must have a deep connection to working with clay, and that once people leave an academic setting, there are few places for them to experience it without signing up for semester long classes. I wanted to provide everyone who was interested in trying it out the opportunity to do so in a fun, judgement free setting. After providing mobile workshops for a few years, my husband and I opened Sunshine Sunflower Studio in May 2020. During the pandemic, many of our students said that working on the pottery wheel and creating with clay was exactly the stress relief that they needed during such difficult and uncertain times. I am happy that we are able to offer people of all ages and interest levels a fun, warm, and welcoming place to experience the ceramic arts.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

The idea of opening my own art studio was “born” in 2010 when I started offering art classes to my friends’ children in my dining room. In 2016, after years of teaching and working in art education, I had decided to get back to creating my own artwork. I took some refresher classes at a community arts center. Shortly afterwards, I bought my first pottery wheel and set up a home studio. I began teaching at the arts center while selling my work locally and on Etsy, and my goal was to make enough to not have to use household income to pay for art supplies or classes. Then my goal was to earn enough for a tent so I could do markets. After moving to Phoenix in 2017, I really wanted to bring my dream of opening my own art studio to life. I began working with a mentor from SCORE to learn about how to start and run a business, and she helped me make contacts with other individuals in the art scene. I began offering workshops at West Valley Arts Council’s HQ Gallery and other small studios in the area while still teaching K-8 art for public schools. When a space opened in the Melrose district that I loved, I knew the time had come to finally open the bring and mortar studio that I had been dreaming of. The one slight problem was that it was March 2020 and COVID had just been declared a pandemic. With the help of my husband, Wayne, I decided to move forward anyway, believing that if I could make it through the pandemic, then I was truly living my purpose. In 2021, we expanded to open a gift shop and this year we took on an additional 800 sq. feet of classroom space. At the end of this school year, I will be “retiring” from teaching and running the studio full time. I am so excited to have the opportunity to be able to design and implement new classes and workshops for our creative community!

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

In order to be successful in business, you need to have multiple income streams to provide for you when things are slow. We primarily earn most of our income from teaching classes and hosting private parties, but we supplement by selling our own artwork in a variety of locations locally, as well as online, and we opened a “Sip and Shop” in 2021 which features art and products by local makers and artists, which we earn a commission on. We recently partnered with AZ Pops to be able to sell their popsicles so we are able to offer our customers refreshments. I’ve learned quite a bit about which seasons are big sellers for classes and workshops, and which ones I should instead focus on producing and selling new work. As we continue moving forward, I am sure I will learn even more and find new ways to increase our supplementary revenue streams.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sunshinesunflower.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunshinesunflowerstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunshinesunflowerceramics
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-canfield-29580b12b/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lauriecanfield?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxTgEe_eD8dDJqjMlU9I–w
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sunshine-sunflower-studio-phoenix