Imagine the scene for a moment: You invite a few people over that you haven’t seen for a while for a cup of coffee. As you begin to brew the coffee you purchased from the Peekskill Coffee House, your guests sit down in the breakfast nook. In the middle of the table is a stunning blue and brown handmade pottery jar with swirls in it that you purchased at the Peekskill Clay Studios Winter Market at the Hat Factory. Inside the jar, is a beautiful flower arrangement made by POME florals you purchased at the 2024 HoliYAY! Market.
As you pour freshly brewed coffee into handmade mugs made by Kay Petronio you purchased last year from the Peekskill Clay Studios Winter Market, you place a few apple scones, pumpkin danishes, and a sweet cream danish you purchased from The Central at the Peekskill Train Station on an optical patterned plate, full of yellow and green, you purchased this year at the Peekskill Clay Studios Winter Market.
As you serve coffee, you let your guests know that there is sugar in the delightful handcrafted ceramic gray jar next to the floral arrangement you picked up from the Winter Market. Over the course of the next hour or so, you all catch up on everything that has been going on in Peekskill and the stories you all have read in the Peekskill Herald such as the heart wrenching story of the Neidhardt brothers, the annual Peekskill Tree Lighting and PAA Big Art Show, the 4th annual Reindeer Run, and how amazing Arisa Specce, Imani Felder, and the rest of the PHS Girls Varsity Winter Track & Field team did at the ‘Big Chill’ invitational at Yorktown High School after reading the Red Devil Report.
You all then agreed that the Peekskill Herald is vital to the City of Peekskill and surrounding communities. You all then agreed that you are going to donate to the Herald immediately as you converse so that the donation is doubled during the month of December by NewsMatch. You all agreed that the Herald is vital and needs the support so they can continue to report on great news, government and school affairs, events and all of the stories that keep the public informed throughout 2025.
The pottery and ceramics mentioned in this scene, and so much more, can be yours and gifts to others when you shop at the 2024 Winter Market at the Peekskill Clay Studios this Saturday, December 14, and Sunday, December 15 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
From planters to vases, berry bowls and plates, to silver clay jewelry and beaded creations, the Peekskill Clay Studios gallery will be filled with lovely handcrafted ceramic work at the 2024 Winter Market. This year, 19 members will be participating in the Winter Market. The artist’s work is diverse in style, color and function as there are so many stunning handmade unique items to choose from.
“Many people look forward to this event and come annually, something that we truly value. We hope to create a festive and relaxed environment for our visitors,” says Jessica Dubin, Director of the Peekskill Clay Studios. “Each day, several of the artists will be at the studio. They love to share information about how pieces are made and visit with customers.”
Everything at the Winter Market is reasonably affordable and priced with items ranging from $10-$150 so everyone can take home something unique and made with love.
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. 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.
Don’t forget to tell everyone at the Winter Market you read about it in the Peekskill Herald.
December is the final month of the Peekskill Herald’s big annual fundraising campaign – where every dollar donated is matched, dollar for dollar, by major national funders through our partnership with NewsMatch. Please help by donating to keep this 501c3 news organization thriving.
Visit the Peekskill Herald Events Calendar Features and the Peekskill Herald Event Calendar to see more local events. To add your event, visit the Peekskill Herald Event Calendar. Subscribe or donate to the Peekskill Herald and receive the most updated news stories to your inbox daily.
