Keeping it in the family

Micah Wassink and husband are thrilled to be taking over her parents' pottery business, Pridham Studio

Nancy Pridham showcases her outstanding artwork on the pottery that her husband creates. — Brianna Poulsen photo

Centrally located in the town of Creston is Pridham Studio, an 800-square-foot gallery that showcases an extensive collection of pottery. Behind the gallery is the production area of the studio, where you can watch the pieces take shape in all their stages. David and Nancy Pridham are the owners of this studio, but that is soon to change. They are retiring from the pottery business and are thrilled to be passing it on to Micah and Jeremiah Wassink, their daughter and son-in-law.

The studio was formed in 1988, with pottery being its main focus in 1998. 

“By starting this family business, we chose a lifestyle that combined our working life, married life and family life all as one,” said Nancy.

As a result of this lifestyle, the Pridham family has always been close.

“Everyone seemed to be involved at some point," said Micah. "I spent time at craft fairs and helped out at home throughout my childhood. I always wanted to help.”

This summer the Wassinks are moving from Victoria to Creston and are looking forward to the richness of life that owning a business in Creston has to offer. For Micah, this is a lifestyle she is very familiar with as she grew up around the business. The Wassinks considered taking over the business in fall 2010, and in April 2011 they decided to make it happen. 

“We plan on keeping the same style and techniques," said Micah. "There are many people who love the work my parents produce, and we want to be able to still provide it. In the future, we plan to start expanding into other projects too.” 

Reflecting the surroundings

Pridham Studio offers a product that takes its design ideas from the Kootenays, and the Pridhams have combined this love of their environment with a product is functional. They developed what they call the Community Pride Series; for example, when designing pieces for Creston, they feature local attractions such as Kootenay Lake or the grain elevators. For items that are shipped to Banff, they customize their product with bears or moose. For Whistler, they create designs featuring skiers and snowy mountains.

Often, the Pridhams visited the region they would be designing for to get a sense of what the locals had a fondness for. On one such occasion they were in Nelson; upon asking the locals what they felt was iconic in their community, the Pridhams kept getting the same answer: “BOB, Nelsons Big-Orange-Bridge." Because of this, they now have a hit product featuring the much-loved BOB.

Developing prize-winning pieces

The couple's pottery is sold in numerous galleries across Western Canada. David is the potter; he is mostly self taught, though he gained skills from fellow potters in Oregon, Boswell and Creston, as well as techniques he learned while visiting Talavera potters in Mexico. David builds his own plaster moulds, which he uses to support the slab-rolled pieces. Nancy then develops the designs and handpaints each piece. She graduated from Capilano College in media arts, studied through the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, and was mentored for four years by MSA artist Bette Rothwell. Nancy started working with clay in Mexico doing primitive pit firing and has been instructed and inspired by Talavera potters. She has been working professionally as an artist since 1988, and her works are in galleries and collections internationally. Having received awards from the Federation of Canadian Artists and the Oil Pastel Association of America, Nancy has created pieces that strike deeply resonant chords in her audience.

These skills have been passed on to Micah, who is looking forward to taking over the business with her husband.

“Our motivation comes from being able to work together and enjoy what we are doing,” said Micah.