Quiet Giants: Lilly Mae Clay puts a fresh spin on pottery

DELAWARE — Lilly Fathbruckner’s clay-throwing talents first came to life in Mrs. Stump’s ceramics class at Buckeye Valley High School.

“I knew then I had to do this forever,” Fathbruckner said.

The 22-year-old artist (and her dog, Pixie) took the first step towards forever when she opened Lilly Mae Clay this past December at 9 N. Sandusky St. in downtown Delaware.

However, she’s been building her namesake brand for the last six years before opening her shop.

“My dad helped me set up a studio in his basement, and I was making stuff and selling it to my family for a while,” she said.

“Once I started doing pottery, I was like, ‘Everyone needs to do this, this is the greatest thing ever.’ So, my goal was to make it accessible to the community around me.”

The young entrepreneur took that goal with her to Colorado Christian University, where she got a business degree. She kept sight of it as she worked through an apprenticeship in Michigan.

Fathbruckner’s doors have been open every Tuesday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. since her dream became a reality.

Coming home

After learning from artists like Austin Hines at Labor of Love Studio in Denver and Miles Stearn at Glazed Impressions in Michigan, Fathbruckner wasn’t originally sure if she wanted to come back to Delaware.

But after some Facebook Marketplace hunting, something caught her eye.

“I was originally looking at people’s barns just for somewhere I could do pottery,” she said. “I wasn’t necessarily looking to start a business, I was just looking for something to get started.”

When she found her Sandusky Street studio, Fathbruckner toured it with her mom. Things moved quickly after that.

“She called me, and said, ‘I paid the deposit. I hope you can pay the rent for next month,'” Fathbruckner said.

“Then I said, ‘Okay, it looks like I’m moving back home.'”

That’s exactly what the young artist did. She came home, got a barista job at Coffeeology and began renovations at her new shop.

“I got the keys in November, and I wanted to get it up and running pretty quick. So, I set a date for myself,” Fathbruckner said.

From painting walls and patching holes to installing shelves and a table that her grandpa made, Fathbruckner did it all in three weeks.

“There was a lot of work to be done in a very short amount of time. But I opened on Dec. 5 for the Christmas tree lighting downtown because I figured a lot of people would be downtown,” she said.

“Now, I don’t think I could leave Delaware. I just love Delaware so much — there’s really nowhere else I’d rather be.”

The business behind the art

Fathbruckner teaches three different classes that fall on either Friday or Saturday nights in addition to making and selling her own art.

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“I’m also working on offering memberships where people can just come in and throw whenever they want,” she added.

While the artist does take orders, she is very careful what orders she takes.

“I have a style that I gravitate towards. I love to create things for people, but I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t feel like me,” Fathbruckner said.

“I prefer if I take orders and it’s somebody that really appreciates the art that I create and wants something along the lines of my style.”

Fathbruckner described her style as “functional” and uses stoneware clay to make pots, mugs and cups.

Something not so functional? A lamp as tall as her.

“I just like a practical art piece. Something that you look at and say, ‘Wow, that’s beautiful. That’s really a piece of art but it goes hand in hand with everything,'” Fathbruckner said.

“That’s what I strive towards.”

Community support

Growing up in Delaware has definitely benefited Fathbruckner and her ventures.

“I have seen people, that I have not seen since I was five years old, show up at my door just to look around,” she said.

“They’re like, ‘We saw you on Facebook; we know that little girl. So, we had to come in.’ That’s been super sweet.”

The social media support has been overwhelmingly kind, too.

Fathbruckner recalled when she first posted a picture of her shop to Facebook; by the end of the day, the post had gained over 130,000 views.

Her family has helped her every step of the way, with her mom bringing in friends to sit in for a mock class.

“Even the guys from Rose & Web Tattoo are amazing. They take care of me so well, I have a bunch of big brothers over there,” Fathbruckner said.

While Fathbruckner has seen some challenges with her building’s visibility, the first few months have been mostly smooth sailing.

“Everyone’s been so supportive, and while everything has been a learning curve, I’ve had somebody to walk me through every part of it,” she said.