Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here.
Partain Pottery owner Tanner Partain’s college major was not what one might expect from a craftsman who makes the majority of his living selling ceramics.
The Dallas Baptist University graduate pursued biblical studies and camp leadership, but he finds the latter applies to the business side of his work peddling mugs, incense holders and garlic graters.
“There’s a lot of business management and logistics. We spent an entire week one time learning about sewage treatment options at different camps,” Partain said. “As silly as it is, that probably did me more good than anything else in my major, was just getting to do all of the things that you wouldn’t think of, but you need to think of in order to do a business.”
The 30-year-old Grand Prairie resident previously worked as a teacher and as an inventory specialist at a medical technology company before starting his business in October 2024.
The further he takes his business, the more confident he has become that he is on the right path.
“The more I do and the more I’m consistent in pursuing pottery and pursuing the business, the more I feel like it’s where I belong,” Partain said.
He spoke with reporter McKinnon Rice about molding his business.
The interview has been edited for clarity and space.
Contact information:
Website: partainpottery.com
Instagram: @partainpottery
Etsy: etsy.com/shop/PartainPottery
Email: PartainPottery@gmail.com
McKinnon Rice: Tell me about your business and how it got started.
Tanner Partain: I started October of 2024, so a little bit over a year now. I’d been doing pottery as a hobby for a long time, but it just felt like I was getting good enough that I wanted to dive in and see what I could do with it. I like doing things all the way, and I got to a point where I was so interested in pottery and so obsessed with getting better at it that I was like, well, I just have to do this for a job. That’s kind of where the business side of it started. I started doing markets about then, like farmers markets and craft markets and things like that. I’ve expanded to have an online presence since then as well.
Rice: What are some of the markets you sell at in Tarrant County?
Partain: I really like the Pretty Little Things Market. I also do the Arlington Farmers Market. I did the Funky Finds one at the Will Rogers Center this year. This next year, I’m planning on doing ArtsGoggle. I didn’t get a chance to do it this year, though.
Rice: How old were you when you first started doing pottery?
Partain: I started in high school. I started when I was 16. I had a class that I took, and I just kind of fell in love with it. I took the class, I did a little bit of pottery here and there, and then, because of housing situations — it requires some equipment that did not fit in an apartment with seven other dudes — I had to take a break for a little bit.
Rice: Is your pottery business your only job?
Partain: This is my most-of-the-time job. I do odd jobs here and there. I have a friend who does florals, and so I help her with those sometimes. But in general, I’m working to make it feasible to have this be my all-the-time job. I just still have to do other things in the meantime right now.
Rice: What is your favorite part about your business?
Partain: In pottery as a business, I do so many different things. Because I’m doing my own business, I’m my own admin, I am also an artist. I’m also a craftsman, which is different in pottery, because you have to have the craft to be able to do a good mug that is dishwasher safe and microwave safe and all those things on top of the art side of it, making it look pretty.
I like balancing all the different parts. I really love getting the things that I make to people who really love them and enjoy them. Overall, that’s probably my favorite part. But I also like the borderline-hectic bouncing around between different things that have to get done.
Rice: What are some of the challenges that come with a business like yours?
Partain: There’s the business side, and there’s the art side. In the business side, of course, you have to think about all of the legal things and taxes and all the things that you have to get to get started. There’s a lot of up-front investment in pottery. Equipment is pretty expensive. A normal kiln and wheel is probably $3,000 to $4,000 just on its own. I was operating on a wheel that was not professional quality for a while. Just those little things of jumping into it and the obstacles at the beginning that you run into in any business.
I think the other side of it is separating out the artistic side, where I’m constantly criticizing my own work because in my head, it’s better, it’s always better. It’s always better, and no matter how good I get, it’s always going to be better in my head than what actually comes out. And so trying to show grace to myself, while also saying, this is a good product. Objectively, I did a good job on this. I am happy that somebody is going to enjoy this. But battling that interior voice that’s telling me that it’s not good enough.
Rice: When you think toward the future of your business, what do you hope for?
Partain: This year, I’m trying to expand my online presence. I have an Etsy, I have my own website, but I’m trying to expand into a couple of other spheres that I’ll be excited to hopefully get into as far as online sales go. I also want to do more art-related markets because historically, I’ve done mostly craft and farmers markets, and so doing more markets that are focused on a clientele that is looking for a product that is beautiful and brings them joy in their own ways I think is my near future goals.
I’d love to expand my studio and be able to offer classes. My goal is to be able to offer classes by the summer, so I can do summer break classes for students. That’s more of, I used to be a teacher and I miss students more so than a business side decision. I want to be able to teach and help people grow more so I’m hoping that that’ll be a big source of income.
Rice: Do you have a favorite piece that you’ve made over the years?
Partain: I feel like that’s a constant moving target. I think my favorite piece from last year on the art side was, I had an incense holder that was a little guy in a boat, and the incense, as it burned, fell on top of him like rain, and he was in a little rain jacket. Personally, I really liked that one. I have a couple others that are in that same collection where I have one hiding under a leaf and one under a mushroom that are all hiding out from the ash falling on their heads.
Outside of that, I really like the lamps that I’ve started making this past year. I have some good ones that are a metallic-chrome color that reflect the light really well when they are being used as lamps.
McKinnon Rice is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org.
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Great Job McKinnon Rice & the Team @ Fort Worth Report for sharing this story.
