Been back in Ojai a bit. This time it feels different. I’m not just visiting, but hope to be staying. For those of you who haven’t heard the story yet, here are the basics.


About 2 months ago, I got a call from one of my pottery students. She said that Larry Carnes, the potter next to Ojai Lumber, seemed to have sold his house and studio. I knew it had been on the market off and on for a long time. The new buyer was interested in having the studio be a pottery school. Larry had recommended me as the person to run the studio and school. My friend asked if I was interested. I said I didn’t know. I wasn’t especially looking for a reason to stop traveling, but I was certainly interested enough to talk with the buyer when the time was right.

Two months later, the buyer and seller had finished their negotiations and there was a signed purchase agreement. I got a message from the buyer asking if I’d like to talk. I said yes. I was in New Mexico, and we setup a time to have an initial conversation. We were largely in agreement about how we’d like to see a pottery school/membership studio operate. We agreed to continue the talk via email.

We shared ideas and worked out some basic processes via email, and set a date to meet in Ojai. That was on April 8th. We resolved a couple items that would have been deal breakers and agreed to work together to create a shared vision.
She takes ownership of the property in mid-June. So, I’ll be back in Ojai full-time by then. Sherman and I are going to travel a bit more until pottery blast off time arrives. We’re headed to the 4-corners area.

I’m excited by the opportunity. Robin and I have good overlapping and complementary skills and experience. I think we will manifest a wonderful place for people to create and have fun with clay.
I’ll be back in town for a couple days here and there during this period, and can also do remote support for most computer issues that may arise.