The last day to paint in the studio is Aug. 19 before the doors officially close on Aug. 31. Borchard said this will allow time for people to have their pieces fired and be able to pick them up.

Borchard is the owner operator and creative director of Brush Up Pottery and Art Studio, formerly known as Cobbygoose.

She purchased the business in 2015 and has been running it since then. Borchard has been a creative person her entire life, so when she noticed Cobbygoose was up for sale, she jumped on the opportunity.

“It all happened very quickly when it did, but that’s my personality to just dive in headfirst and just do it,” she said. “And the funny thing that I always tell people is when I bought this place, I had never painted a ceramic a day in my life. … but I fell in love with it, and it’s become my baby for the last eight years.”

News Photo by Zipporah Abarca An unpainted display of pottery options sits on a bookshelf that takes up the entire back wall of Brush Up Pottery and Art Studio.

If you have ever taken a business class, she said, they teach you it takes five years in a business before you have officially made it.

However, when her fifth-year hit, so did the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That was devastating, as was for every business,” Borchard said. “…It did take a toll, you know, juggling and trying to keep the doors open and pivoting your business model. And trying to find ways to work around the governor’s orders and not infect other people.”

Since her pottery shop was considered an entertainment business, unlike restaurants, Brush Up Pottery and Art Studio had to stay shut down longer. Additionally, with its original mall location having been bought out, Borchard had to locate a new spot for a business amidst it all.

While doing to-go pottery in her typically busiest months of November through December, she wasn’t receiving the same customer volumes as she did previously, and inflation took a toll.

News Photo by Zipporah Abarca Ashley Borchard talks to a family that is gearing up to paint some pottery to escape the hot afternoon.

“Here I am in this new spot, needing to pay rent and now I’ve got all of this debt that I’ve now created from moving spots, and it was like I can’t even open to the public,” Borchard said “So, that in itself did cause a lot in the very beginning.”

The pottery studio was open to the public in January 2021, where she continued to do pottery to-go. Personal matters and financial issues became a highlighted factor while Borchard tried to keep her business afloat.

“Nobody goes into business planning to close,” she said. “So, you know, you sometimes have to just make some really hard decisions and time really wasn’t on my side at that point.

“It almost kind of felt like it was a vacuum. It was a lot of things that just kind of came and created the perfect storm. And then it was like as a single mom, I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

When asked what it felt like to conclude she was closing, Borchard said it was very heartbreaking.

News Photo by Zipporah Abarca A painted cactus sits on the shelf to display what it would look like once it has been fired.

“Not only did this affect the business, but now it’s affecting me personally,” she said “It started affecting my health, as I’m sitting there trying to contemplate like, ‘Okay, what do I do? How do I handle this? Where do I go?’ It’s a very alone feeling.”

Through her grievances, Borchard thought of all the possibilities and ways to keep her business open. Unfortunately, after putting her heart and soul into it, the chapter had come to an end.

“Every ending is sad,” she said. “My main thing, not only as a business owner, but just as a person in general is making sure, like, my customers are also being thought of in this whole process because this isn’t just me, it affects a lot of people.”

Her mission throughout the eight years the pottery studio has been open, Borchard never wanted anyone to feel like they were alone when they visited. She said when people came to paint by themselves, she and her employees would make sure to invite them for a conversation or to paint together.

“It’s terrifying to go somewhere by yourself sometimes,” she said. “And I never wanted anyone to feel that way because I knew what it was like to go somewhere by yourself…

“You don’t need someone to go [paint] with you because we’re going to be your friend. I always wanted that for people. And I hope I instilled that in people.”

Borchard’s legacy in the community has been to provide a safe and inviting environment for people to come and be creative. She said she has always thought of her pottery studio as a place for people to find a love with art and receive confidence and friendship while doing so.

“This in itself has allowed me a space to be able to heal through a lot of what I’ve gone through in my life,” Borchard said. “Just by being able to care for others and helping them through their art and their creativity.

But also creating those friendships with people and then finding my outlet, you know, finding my space where I could just, you know, be able to shut down and not have to think about what was happening.”

As an artist, you always want to learn new things, she said. Being at the pottery studio it allowed opportunities to try those things and gain confidence even through failure. As Borchard explored the pottery realm, she found safety in knowing that no one would be aware of the times you did fail.

“One of the things I always enjoyed the most was when people would come in for class, and they’d be like, ‘Oh, I can’t do that.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, you’ll be surprised.’ And you can see them as they work through that as they’re painting,” she said.

Borchard described the way she would watch her customers’ faces go through the ups and downs of figuring out their paintings and eventually see their confident smiles glow in the end. She said it has brought her a lot of joy that cannot be replaced – “a one of a kind thing to be able to see that knowing I helped with that.”

There were many moments Borchard cherishes that she was able to witness and spend with her customers. Whether it was someone’s birthday, a girls night, or a newborn baby having their footprint painted, she will miss it.

However, even through the gloom of one door closing, Borchard has several new doors that have opened for the future. She couldn’t give too much detail about opportunities that have recently presented themselves, but she knows her business closing is “not a forever thing,” she said.

“It’ll just be a different direction,” Borchard said. “And I am excited for those things. So, once I can get those figured out, then obviously that’ll be something we can announce in the future but for right now, our main goal is just to, you know, pack up…”

As Borchard reminisced, she recalled a saying someone once told her. She said you know you are making the right decision when opportunities start presenting themselves, even though she hadn’t expected them to do so.

“I’m thankful for them,” she said. “And I think they’ll be a huge blessing not only just for me, but even for the community, it’s going to be good.”

This story was produced as part of the Michigan News Group Internship. Zipporah Abarca is working for WCMU this summer at The Alpena News.

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