Imagine the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the house and tapping you on the nose as you are gently waking up. The aroma of the Flat Iron grinds bought locally at the Peekskill Coffee House make you stretch and make your way towards the kitchen where the fragrant smells were coming from. You open the cabinet and take out one of the most unique, attractive and beautiful mugs you have ever owned. This is your favorite mug. It is the mug that everyone comments on and would love to have. It is a one-of-a-kind piece that was handmade with love and care by a potter’s hand. It was a gift that was given to you from a friend who bought it at the Peekskill Clay Studios Winter Market last year. As you pour the drip coffee into your mug you close your eyes after you take that first sip. You relish the fact it is your day to go buy a new handmade mug made by a potter’s hands at the Peekskill Clay Studios Winter Market. It’s your turn to give a gift that gives you such joy so someone else can have that same feeling you get when you wake up in the morning and smell the aroma of coffee and think about your favorite handmade mug.   

This Saturday and Sunday, December 9th and 10th, you can make those dreams happen when Peekskill Clay Studios at The Hat Factory hosts their annual Winter Market from 11am to 4pm! With one-of-a-kind handmade original unique pieces, anyone who buys a piece (or a few) will know that the pieces were made in Peekskill at the hands of a potter. All the works at the Winter Market expresses the style of each potter and uses a variety of firing methods. Pieces include mugs, cups, bowls, vases, pots, plates, and much more. The best part is that everything is reasonably priced with items ranging from $10-$150 so everyone can take home something unique and made with love. 

The Winter Market will include the works of their members. Those participating this year include Lise Prown, Judyth Stavens, Geesun Lee, Emily Bicht, Andrea Ruedy, Donna Light, Melanie Kahn, Christine Williamson-White, Denise Leaden, Ellen Lasser, Karen Timko, Carol Fessler, Michael Porfido, Paula Zacarro, Molly Heily, Stephanie Friedman, Kay Petronio, as well as Jon Torres and Jessica Dubin.

Peekskill Clay Studios, located at The Hat Factory in Peekskill, is one of the region’s premier clay art facilities. They offer a full range of adult and children’s classes as well as membership space available for experienced clay artists. The Studio features state of the art equipment and one of the area’s only reduction gas kilns. Peekskill Clay Studios opened in 2010 and was the brainchild of Ben Green, the owner of the Hat Factory. Ben loved working in clay as a college student and wanted to create a place where local clay enthusiasts could work and learn. Since then, the Studio has expanded organically over the past 23 years, adding studio space whenever it became available. Currently, there are over 30 artist members and they offer 6 classes a week to an enthusiastic and dedicated group of students. Since the pandemic, interest in pottery has grown exponentially. Because the space is small, the classes are small but the benefit of that is that students get more one-on-one time learning the craft from an extremely patient and experienced teaching staff. As a result, there is a staggering waitlist for folks who want to take classes. To learn more about the Peekskill Clay Studios or classes visit https://peekskillclaystudios.com/ or visit their Facebook or Instagram accounts.