Kernersville News - Doily Dreams

Doily dreams

Lace Pottery owner fashions one-of-a-kind pottery with a creative touch

Many believe that true success comes from following your passions in life.

For Lace Pottery owner Maggie Weldon, her creativity and passion for crochet led to a growing business in home décor, apparel and pottery. Weldon uses doilies, ornamental mats usually made of cotton or linen and placed under a dish or bowl, to press intricate designs into her clay artwork. Weldon said she would call her work feminine pottery.

“Normally pottery is masculine looking with heavy clays and dark colors,” she said. “I think this is more delicate looking. It’s different. When people see this, their mouths drop open.”

Designing crochet items has been a passion of Weldon’s for nearly 25 years. “I learned to crochet when I was nine-years-old,” she said. “My fourth grade teacher taught me.” Weldon initially followed patterns when creating crochet items, but that changed when there was a slight mishap with a bunting she made for her son. “I used a design by someone else to make a bunting for my son and I couldn’t get it off of him,” she said. “I had to cut it off of him and I thought, ‘Well that was a waste of time,’ so I tried to redesign the bunting with buttons in the front.”

From then on, Weldon designed and created her own crochet pieces. “Everything I do is related to crocheting,” she said. “I like combining business with creativity. My mind never quits. I like the way I think. I dream up ideas all the time.” Weldon decided to combine crochet and pottery when she and her daughter took a pottery class together.

“I couldn’t work with the wheel so I did hand designs with the clay,” she said. “The teacher gave me a doily to make designs in the clay and I thought that was a great idea.”

Ten years later, more than 41,000 people have visited Weldon’s Web site to learn about her intricate and unusual pottery. Weldon offers everything from bowls and plates to ornaments and rimmed mirrors, with pieces ranging from $7 to $375. In January 2007, Weldon upgraded her business by purchasing a kiln and other supplies to keep her business running smoothly. “I have invested more than $25,000 into this business,” she said. Many of the crochet designs used to make the intricate pottery are Weldon’s own designs; she also uses antique doilies and family heirlooms. “I like going to antique shops and collecting old doilies,” she said. “I will also take someone’s old doily and make dishes out of it.”

Although it can take up to two months to complete a custom order, Weldon said it is a great way to preserve a piece of family history. “Right now I am working on a piece for a wedding and making dishes for a bride out of her grandmother’s handmade doily,” she said. “The family also gave me some information about her grandmother that I can put on a card and include with the piece.”

Through the years, Weldon has made a variety of strides to improve her work. “We are always a work in progress,” she said. “We are always trying to perfect ourselves. I am now getting into slip casting and mold making. That will allow me to make a wider range of pieces like vases and dinnerware. There is no end to what I can do.” 

Another new enhancement for Lace Pottery has been color. “When we were doing art shows many people were asking for color,” she said. “I started experimenting and it has been really fun. You open the kiln and it’s like Christmas because you don’t know how they are going to turn out.” Although she puts a lot of herself into everything she creates at Lace Pottery, Weldon does have help in finishing the one-of-a-kind pieces.“I hire college kids and teach them how to make the pottery,” she said. “I couldn’t do anything without their help.”

Recently Weldon and her staff have been traveling to arts and craft shows in locations including Columbia, SC, Savannah and Stone Mountain, GA to exhibit her work; however, Weldon said she would like to find a new outlet for the business. “Those shows are exhausting for me,” she said. “You have to take a lot of pieces with you, all your displays, buy a tent and stay in hotels. It’s hard.” When times get tough, Weldon said she has always used crocheting as a way of release. “There is a saying that those who go without, go within,” she said. “When I was young, crocheting gave me an escape from what was happening around me.”

As a way of giving back, a portion of Lace Pottery’s profits go to Stop Child Abuse Now in Winston-Salem.

“I went through abuse and I guess I just appreciate being free from that,” she said. “I spent a lot of years in counseling so it is very important to me to help others.”

Lacy Pottery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Saturdays by appointment only. For more information visit www.lacepottery.com.

By Jennifer Schneider
Features and News Editor