We recently connected with Laurie Canfield and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Laurie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.
One of the reasons that I started Sunshine Sunflower Studio was to engage with and give back to our community. I love to partner with non-profit organizations to help raise funds for their good causes in a variety of ways. We recently partnered with One Love Pit Bull Foundation and hosted a ceramic pet bowl workshop. Participants crafted their own bowls using clay and a portion of the ticket sales went to One Love. We have also partnered with Act One for several years to design an exclusive ceramic ornament that we sell, and a portion of the product sales are donated to them. Sometimes we sell unclaimed pottery for $5 and donate that money to the AZ Humane Society. We wouldn’t be able to run our business without the support of our community, and I think it is important to give back to show our appreciation. Plus, giving back makes you feel good!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have always loved art, and after a 16 year career in art education and community arts, I finally opened the art studio of my dreams. I believe there is an artist in all of us, and I love providing people of all ages with opportunities to get creative and bring their ideas to life. At Sunshine Sunflower Studio, we offer classes and workshops in a variety of mediums such as ceramics and pottery, clay sculpture, painting, mosaics, and more. Local artisans are invited to teach their crafts in jewelry making, metal smithing, cookie decorating, glass etching, etc. We host private parties and events, as well as corporate team building and off-site workshops. We also have a gift shop featuring handmade items by local artists and makers. When you walk into Sunshine Sunflower Studio, we want you to feel like you walked into a warm hug, and leave feeling like you made new friends.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
In 2010, a friend reached out to ask if I knew of somewhere her daughters could attend some art enrichment programs. I offered to teach them, and I started out with a small group of elementary students around my dining room table. But, it gave me to idea to one day open my very own art studio. I worked in community arts on Philadelphia’s Main Line for five years, which taught me a lot about the inner workings of running a studio. When I moved to Phoenix, I knew that I wanted to make my dream a reality. While continuing to teach K-8 art in public schools, I spent two years working with a mentor from SCORE, networking, providing mobile workshops, building my social media following, and educating myself on a variety of business and marketing strategies. We looked at our original storefront in Melrose days before COVID was declared a global pandemic, but we decided to go for it anyway. I felt that if our business could survive during such uncertain times, we were indeed living our purpose. We opened up our storefront in May 2020. I normally wouldn’t consider opening a business during a global pandemic to be advantageous, but I believe that the ability to create art offered a much-needed emotional release for people during that time.
Since then, Sunshine Sunflower Studio has steadily grown to encompass 3,000 sq ft. of space in our original location in the Melrose District, and we recently closed on a new property in Laveen to open a second location in Spring 2024. I was able to retire from public-school teaching at the end of the 2022 school year, and focus entirely on my business. I couldn’t have done all of this without the support and encouragement of my husband, children, and friends. I am eternally grateful that I was able to transform my dream into a reality, and I look forward to making memories and masterpieces with our creative community for many years to come.
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
In our first expansion in 2021, we opened up a retail space to showcase local artists and makers within our studio. It’s had it’s ups and downs, but it provides a little extra income to pay the rent on the additional space while providing a way for them to sell their work. I’m hoping to grow this space to match my original vision of it being an exhibition space for new artists, as well as a resource for the makers to build their own following, and network with each other through meet ups.
In 2022, we began selling AZ Pops, and I would like to be able to offer other refreshments to our customers as we continue to grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sunshinesunflower.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunshinesunflowerstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunshinesunflowerceramics
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurie-canfield-29580b12b/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sssfceramics
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxTgEe_eD8dDJqjMlU9I–w
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sunshine-sunflower-studio-phoenix