Karen Dyer DiCenso, Owner of Portland Pottery, Recently . She Bought the Business from Chris Bruni Allmost Two Years Ago.
A Display of Holiday Figures Created by Ellen Hamer Available in the Upcoming Holiday Sale. Photo by Karen DiCenso.
Bowls Created by Lauri Watts for Sale at the Holiday Sale Range in Price fro $34. to $52. Photo by Karen DiCenso.
Holiday craft shows are popping up all over the area these days. But one of the longest running is the 34th annual Holiday Sale hosted by Portland Pottery, at 118 Washington Avenue on the east end of Portland. It runs from December 13th – December 24th, 2024 – that’s a full week to do your holiday shopping from more than 180 vendors at the Holiday Sale.
A recent visit to this iconic center of creativity was an eye-opener because of its size.. It included a chat with Karen Dyer DiCenso who purchased the business from Lisa and Chris Bruni almost two years ago. Karen had worked there since 2001 as an employee of the couple who founded the business.
Since that time and the COVID pandemic, Karen has been occupied with expanding her facility to meet the needs of the community. That’s why she has expanded her studio space into 49 Fox Street where about 100 students currently take pottery lessons. This move was to help shorten the long waiting list of people wanting to take classes that developed because of the isolation caused by the covid epidemic.
Currently Portland Pottery offers 50 classes for adults and 6 classes for children. “We pride ourselves on having amazing teachers.,” said Karen. Laurie Watts is the longest employed teacher at Portland Pottery. Karen has a staff of 45 people – both part-time and full-time at Portland Pottery. She doesn’t hesitate to credit her competent administrative staff with her success.
But Karen’s current focus is on the upcoming Holiday Sale that starts next week and lasts for a week. Although most of the vendors for the upcoming Holiday Sale are pottery students and teachers at Portland Pottery, a substantial number of vendors are talented members of the community. One of those is Ellen Maher, of Chebeaque Island, whose art work is shown in a photograph above left. Items for sale include a wide range of price levels.. Karen explained that the reason the event is later in the month is because the space needed for vendors is used by classes until mid-December.
Karen who holds a BA in Art Education & Ceramics from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, said: “We have no limit on the number of vendors here. We’ll find a space for you here I like to help out as many artists as I can.”