In November of 1980, David and I participated in our first craft show at the Fairgrounds in Bozeman, Montana with our pottery. David had been making pottery as a hobby for about a year but we had never presumed that we would be able to sell it, but my sister and brother in law, who were involved in the show, encouraged us to try our pottery. We sold out over the weekend and were blown away by the response! That was the beginning of Mountain Arts Pottery. For the next 37 years we have gone from making pottery in our back bedroom to the chicken coop-turned garage-turned studio to our retail store on the road to Big Sky and Yellowstone National Park. For years before we opened our retail store, David and I traveled from coast to coast doing art shows and fairs. In the early years we took our four children with us and they learned how to set up a pottery booth in a timely manner, great customer skills, how to make change, how to set up attractive displays, and multitudes of other skills. Three of the four of them have started their own businesses with their spouses, and I'm sure that those early lessons aided them in their own enterprises.
For three decades and more, David and I have been blessed with the challenges and joys of making pottery, setting up a store, and then starting a bakery cafe in the same building as the retail space. We have transitioned from doing all of the pottery, all of the baking, all of the dishes, cleaning, shoveling, marketing, deciding, depositing, buying and sweating, to hiring phenomenal managers and a great Team who do all of those things for us!
We are now entering a new season of our lives. After two years of working on selling our business, we are going to be turning the reins over to new owners. That process has had the fingerprints of God all over it, and has been both challenging and exhilarating. It has been a great opportunity to trust that God really is in control. In the two years we have been working with a broker, we have had two very capable candidates look into buying the business. For one reason or another, the sale didn't work out for either of them, though either would have been great at running our business. God had another plan, however. Our oldest son, Josh and his wife, Kathy came to us and asked if they could buy the business. At that time, we were negotiating with someone else, so we told them no. When that sale fell through we talked to them and they were thrilled. That process began in the middle of September and will culminate in December.
It is a bittersweet thing to be at the end of a decades old business, but the blessing is that it will be carried on within our family and we feel that the legacy God began with us will be continued with people younger and more energetic who have fantastic ideas for the next season of Mountain Arts Pottery and the Coffee Pot. We will be around for the next six to eight months, and Josh and Kathy have assured us that our input and experience are always welcome, so even if we aren't here on a daily basis, we should be here on a weekly basis. Please stop in and say hello to them. Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years. You are the the reason we have been in business and we are grateful for your friendships.
Psalm 121:7-8
The Lord will keep you from all harm--He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore"
- Jennie Lockie
For three decades and more, David and I have been blessed with the challenges and joys of making pottery, setting up a store, and then starting a bakery cafe in the same building as the retail space. We have transitioned from doing all of the pottery, all of the baking, all of the dishes, cleaning, shoveling, marketing, deciding, depositing, buying and sweating, to hiring phenomenal managers and a great Team who do all of those things for us!
We are now entering a new season of our lives. After two years of working on selling our business, we are going to be turning the reins over to new owners. That process has had the fingerprints of God all over it, and has been both challenging and exhilarating. It has been a great opportunity to trust that God really is in control. In the two years we have been working with a broker, we have had two very capable candidates look into buying the business. For one reason or another, the sale didn't work out for either of them, though either would have been great at running our business. God had another plan, however. Our oldest son, Josh and his wife, Kathy came to us and asked if they could buy the business. At that time, we were negotiating with someone else, so we told them no. When that sale fell through we talked to them and they were thrilled. That process began in the middle of September and will culminate in December.
It is a bittersweet thing to be at the end of a decades old business, but the blessing is that it will be carried on within our family and we feel that the legacy God began with us will be continued with people younger and more energetic who have fantastic ideas for the next season of Mountain Arts Pottery and the Coffee Pot. We will be around for the next six to eight months, and Josh and Kathy have assured us that our input and experience are always welcome, so even if we aren't here on a daily basis, we should be here on a weekly basis. Please stop in and say hello to them. Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years. You are the the reason we have been in business and we are grateful for your friendships.
Psalm 121:7-8
The Lord will keep you from all harm--He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore"
- Jennie Lockie
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