About Us

Hi! I'm Stacy! I opened The Painting Paw on November 19, 2005 as the first all-inclusive paint your own pottery studio in the St. Louis area.

I have always loved crafting and painting, but aside from high school art class (which I hated by the way) I have no formal art training. I think that it's better that way. I've been a waitress, a secretary and have worked in a large corporation. It was in that corporation that a couple of friends and I tried our hands at paint your own pottery (pyop). I pink puffy heart LOVED it! It was so relaxing and so much fun. My actual painting sucked but it was more about the experience for me than anything else. Then, that time-sucking job got in the way and I didn't go back for a long time.

Fast forward several years. Two friends and I started a "craft fair" business painting on ornaments, wine glasses and already glazed plates. It was a nice creative distraction and I had almost forgotten about pyop. But one day, I hit my wall with the corporate environment. Office Politics + Stacy = Hot Mess. So, I started scoping out businesses and stumbled back into pyop.

As luck would have it (or fate), a Google search brought me to the Contemporary Ceramic Studios Association (CCSA) website just in time to register for the annual pottery studios convention. Craft fair money in hand, I flew to Philadelphia for my first dose of the business side of pottery (with my two friends!) It was love at first brush stroke. We thought up the studio's name and tagline, The Painting Paw...Pottery Painted by Your Paws or Ours, while sitting in the hallway of the convention center. I came up with a plan and three short years later The Painting Paw opened!

2005 was a huge year!

Not only did the studio open, but I also got married to the man of my dreams. He has been my biggest supporter and I couldn't do this without him. We have 2 angel babies that keep us very busy and always entertained. It's not hard to pick me out when I'm in the studio. I'm the one that looks like I've been hit by a train and needs to be on an episode of What Not To Wear...having 2 kids under 3 and your own business will do that to a girl.

My studio is not a franchise. It is locally owned and managed and every person at The Painting Paw wants to make your experience the best possible! We understand that you have a choice in entertainment and where to spend time with your family and friends. We are committed to your satisfaction and hope that you love it as much as we do...just not enough to open your own studio. Bwahaahaa!