Sarah Sunshine Pottery brightens up Cherry Street
Grand opening to coincide with Holly Jolly and Christmas parade
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
December 3, 2021
Sarah Vekasi will celebrate the grand opening of Sarah Sunshine Pottery on Cherry Street, Dec. 3 and 4. Photo by Fred McCormick
Like many longtime residents of the Swannanoa Valley, the weekend of Holly Jolly and the Black Mountain Christmas parade is one that local potter Sarah Vekasi looks forward to every year.
“I love Holly Jolly,” she said, Nov. 30, working diligently to prepare for the busy days ahead. “In fact, the very first Holly Jolly that I lived here, I was just learning how to make pottery.”
Eleven years later, as the Black Mountain tradition is set to return at 5:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 3, there will be a renewed significance for Vekasi, who will host the Grand Opening of Sarah Sunshine Pottery on Cherry Street.
Much like the festive gatherings that bring holiday revelers downtown every year, Vekasi’s journey as a potter is rooted in this community.
“I’m self-taught, and I learned it all here in town,” said Vekasi, who moved to the Valley in the summer of 2010, in the midst of her career as an interfaith chaplain with a focus on ministry serving environmental activists in the Appalachian region.
She got to know the community through a new job, and a hobby that would develop into a business.
“My very first friends were the people at the Dripolator, where I started working as soon as I moved here, and the people at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, where I signed up for a pottery class,” Vekasi said.
While her work at the downtown coffeehouse put her in contact with countless locals, the time Vekasi spent on her new craft grew into “an obsession.”
“From the very beginning, I was prolific, and I was making a lot of pots,” she said. “When I wasn’t working on the wheel, I was reading books about pottery, watching videos on YouTube and everything. I was, and still am so obsessed.”
In an effort to make ends meet, she began selling her pottery to friends and family, often returning to the coal fields of W.V., where she ministered before moving to Western North Carolina. By the time she was ready to purchase a home in Black Mountain, a serendipitous discovery would help take her pottery career to the next level.
“We used to have a local art tour called the East of Asheville Studio Tour, and it was awesome,” Vekasi said. “Artists would open up their studios, and of course I would go. We visited one studio in 2011, and it was like heaven.”
Several years later, Vekasi acquired the property with her parents, who live in Maine.
“It’s a dream,” she said. “I have a pottery studio and house nestled in the woods just seven blocks from downtown. It’s really incredible.”
Sarah Vekasi, who began making pottery when she moved to the Swannanoa Valley in 2010, will begin the next chapter of her career with the grand opening of Sarah Sunshine Pottery in downtown Black Mountain, Dec. 3 and 4. Photo by Fred McCormick
It was here, unconstrained by time and in a spacious studio furnished with a wheel and kiln, she sharpened her skills and established Sarah Sunshine Pottery. She learned to make her own glaze, and cultivated a distinct style that reflects the joy she feels when working with clay.
“I already had so much pottery, and that was around the time I started doing art shows,” Vekasi said. “My confidence was growing, and by 2013, I joined Asheville Art in the Park, the Big Crafty, Art in Autumn in Weaverville, and I really got started.”
Her signature pieces blend the texture of raw clay and her colorful ceramic glazes.
“It’s important for me to have the clay be part of the final presentation,” Vekasi said. “It’s also important to me to make functional pieces. I want them to be used. They go in the dishwasher, they go in the microwave, and they’re meant for everyday use.”
Content with her growing pottery business, Vekasi did not have plans to move into a retail space until a chance encounter downtown.
“I was up here shopping at Thyme & Again,” she said of the boutique store at 105 Cherry Street, which was owned and operated by Karen Buell for over three decades. “I heard Karen mention that she was selling the building. I told her I wanted to buy it, and we were under contract the next day.”
Vekasi, with the help of sole employee and shopkeeper Cherie Miller, began working on the space in October, and opened in November. Every piece of pottery in the shop was made by Vekasi, who viewed the arrival of Holly Jolly and the Christmas parade as a perfect opportunity to host a two-day grand opening.
“We’ll be open all day on Friday and Saturday,” Vekasi said. “We have free gifts for anyone who has a purchase, and we’ll be serving food and treats. It’s going to be a celebration, and we’re excited to see the community.”
As she begins a new chapter of her pottery career in Black Mountain, Vekasi is as passionate about her craft and community as she has ever been.
“I’m all-in on Black Mountain,” she said. “Since I first moved here, and started working at the Dripolator, I’ve always been impressed by how many of our local businesses are owned by women. I’m really excited to be able to continue that tradition.”