By Carla Bumstead

Defining exactly what the Your Creative Escape pottery shop in Eaton Rapids offers its customers is no easy task — as it has the unique capacity to be different things for different people.
For some, it is a quiet, reflective place to get away from one’s hectic schedule. For others, it’s much like a social club — a place to gather and gab with friends and family. But regardless of why you come in, you will leave with something uniquely yours.
Your Creative Escape, located at 142 Hall Street in downtown Eaton Rapids, is a paint-your-own pottery shop. Owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Jaime and Traci Lawson, it has been in business for four years. Their first shop was located on Main Street. They moved to their current, larger, location a year later.
Traci Lawson said the decision to open the business was highly impulsive.
“We were driving through town one day and saw a sign advertising a storefront for $700 a month,” Traci said. “I said ‘I think I could sell $700-worth of something in a month’ and by the time we got home we had decided to open the shop.”
She said they ordered tables and chairs that night and opened the business six weeks later. The name for the business was a result of sending out a list of possible names to friends, with “Your Creative Escape” getting the most votes.
However, both Lawsons are firm believers in their customers’ creative abilities. They are happy to offer advice to new customers on how to best paint their pieces, but the motto “it’s your creative escape” is often heard.
“It’s wonderful to see the smile on people’s faces, especially kids, when they pick up their pieces and see how great they turned out,” Jaime Lawson said.
The shop has grown steadily over the years and now features over a thousand different ceramic pieces to choose from  — from decorative kitchen and tableware to garden decorations to cute critters to holiday themes. Their massive stock comes from both ordering wholesale and by pouring their own “greenware.”
Each piece has a set price, generally based on size. A “studio fee” in the amount of half the piece price is added to cover all painting costs. Your Creative Escape carries multiple lines of paints, also known as “glazes.” Options for painting are virtually limitless and do not require any prior painting experience. They also offer occasional classes that focus on particular painting techniques. For those who do not finish a piece in one visit, the shop has a large “work in progress” room where customers can leave their pieces to finish at a later date. With the shop running three kilns at any given time, most pieces are ready to take home five to six days after completion.
Stopping in the shop on a recent afternoon and posing the question “what are you doing here?” results in variety of answers.
“I come every Friday to meet my sister and sister-in-law,” said Becky Spatrisano of Holt. “I like it here because I can be in my own little world or I can join in with other people if I want.”
Betty Steele of Eaton Rapids comes to Your Creative Escape virtually every weekday for what she terms “adult daycare.”
“I just stopped in to check it out one day and have been hooked ever since,” Steele said. “It’s relaxing and has a great atmosphere.”
Steele has been a regular for the past three years and has literally completed hundreds of projects over that time. She is currently working on a set of mosaic-patterned dinner plates, bowls and serving pieces.
“The owners are awesome, I’ve made a lot of new friends and it’s really rewarding to see your finished project,” Steele said.
Another regular, Barb Crockett of Eaton Rapids, first started coming when the shop was located at the old, Main Street location.
“It’s a very family-oriented place, and is a great place for the whole family to gather,” said Crockett, who often comes with her kids and grandkids. “It’s a great thing to have right here in Eaton Rapids, and people come from all over.”
Your Creative Escape is open six days a week, closing only on Wednesdays. Three times a month, on Saturdays, the shop holds special events that include raffle prizes. The first Saturday of the month is Family Day, from 1 to 5 p.m. The third Saturday, from 8 p.m. to midnight, is the women-only Diva Night for ages 16 and over. Adult Night is the fourth Saturday of the month, also from 8 p.m. to midnight. Each event includes multiple raffle drawings and the Diva and Adult nights feature a potluck. Raffle tickets are given out based on piece purchases and whether or not one brings a dish to pass.
Both Jaime and Traci Lawson say running their own local business brings a lot of personal satisfaction.
“It’s rewarding to see the friendships that develop here and also the overall feeling of community that we try to promote,” Jaime said.
Your Creative Escape’s regular business hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from noon to 8 p.m.; Fridays from noon to midnight and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. They are currently offering five-hour technique classes on March 8, 22, 28 and April 5. Those interested in signing up for a class can call the business phone at (517) 663-4397. More information — including dates and times for the Diva, Adult and Family Nights — can be found on the shop website at http://www.yourcreativeescape.com. The shop also has a Facebook page at “Your Creative Escape LLC.”