NOHFC - Success Stories

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“If you don’t have a kiln, you don’t have a product. So that’s the battle in terms of being a ceramic artist. The fact that I was able to buy this absolutely beautiful manufactured kiln is a dream...”

Susan Felix has always been an artist but today she is also a proud business owner in her hometown of Thunder Bay. The owner and operator of Susan Felix Pottery, Susan crafts and sells a wide variety of handmade art items including teapots, mugs, jugs, bowls, and plates. Thanks to funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), she was able to turn a lifelong passion into a career and with each turn of her potter’s wheel, Susan is creating her own future.

From The Classroom to the Kiln

Susan has made a serious commitment to honing her craft, accumulating eight years of learning at a number of institutions including the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and Sheridan College in Oakville. She also spent four years applying what she learned in the classroom as a ceramic studio technician at Lakehead University.

During her final year of study at Sheridan, Susan applied to the NOHFC’s Northern Ontario Young Entrepreneur Program, a program that provides young northerners with funding to start a business in the North. Even though she had ventured to southern Ontario to complete a ceramics diploma, she was eager to return to the North to pursue a career at home.

The funding Susan received from the NOHFC was used to purchase a kiln, a very expensive piece of equipment she would not have been able to afford at the time. As Susan explains, buying this essential piece of equipment so soon after graduating greatly accelerated her progress as an entrepreneur.

“If you don’t have a kiln, you don’t have a product. So that’s the battle in terms of being a ceramic artist. The fact that I was able to buy this absolutely beautiful manufactured kiln is a dream.”

“Most potters can’t afford a kiln so they usually end up building one themselves. It takes years of working out the kinks of the kiln they have built, because after buying the materials and building the kiln it won’t fire properly. So they’re losing thousands of dollars worth of product and time before they’ve even sold anything.”

Home Is Where the Art Is

Although the lower cost of living factored into Susan’s decision to return to the North to open her business, she was also drawn to Thunder Bay for a number of other personal and professional advantages.

“I have support here. I have family here. We have a community here that is already established as far as pottery goes… I’m part of the artists’ guild, and have been for the past ten years already. So I had friends in the business and already people knew me. Even before school I was already out there selling. So I already had a little bit of a following here.”

Susan’s active involvement with the Thunder Bay art scene has also opened up other professional opportunities for her, such as teaching part-time at a local school. The premium Susan places on strengthening community ties is also evident in the advice she offers other artists looking to establish themselves as entrepreneurs.

“If I were to give advice, I would say that if you’re going to get into this kind of business, it has to be something you feel will sustain you long-term. It can be very difficult, but as an artist, the more community you can have the better, so align yourself with other artists…there are more outlets for you that way in terms of [participating in] shows, being able to get out there, sell and be a part of galleries and spaces.”

A Lifetime Pursuit

As is surely the case for many artists, Susan derives great personal satisfaction from being able to make a living pursuing her craft. As she explains, pottery is much more than simply a career interest to her.

“For me, this is a lifetime pursuit...I’m fortunate that, along with all the struggles that come with it, I can sit back and realize I am doing something that I love to do. That’s a great achievement.”

In the future, she’d like to expand her business to include several potter’s wheels and a bigger space that could accommodate students or even allow her to employ an apprentice. It’s good news then for other young artists in the North. When motivated entrepreneurs like Susan are eager to share their experience, and resources like the NOHFC’s Young Entrepreneur Program are available to help, it’s possible to parlay a lifetime pursuit into a living.

• Learn how the NOHFC can help you: Northern Ontario Young Entrepreneur Program

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