Melissa Kirkham opened the doors of The Glaze Shed on May 1.
Photo by
Billie Davern
Although she was called “crazy”, Melissa Kirkham has successfully turned her retirement into a thriving business, bringing something to Seymour that it hasn’t seen before.
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Tallarook St’s latest addition, the Glaze Shed, was born out of boredom.
“I wanted to be a stay-at-home mum. All my kids had left home, so I thought now’s the time,” Melissa said.
“Three weeks later, I was so bored. I turned around to my husband and I said, ‘I need to do something’.”
Not having the desire to return to full-time work, Melissa turned to the pottery moulds she had in storage and an idea formed.
Initially, Melissa hoped to host pottery painting classes at her Whiteheads Creek home, “but then the fires hit”.
“We weren’t touched, but you could see the damage across the road, so I thought, ‘no-one is going to want to come out and see this’,” she said.
Then she found the perfect place on Tallarook St, and on May 1, she opened the doors of her new business.
Gabrielle Kirkham’s son Elijah is often a special guest at The Glaze Shed.
Photo by
Supplied
The Glaze Shed is currently open between 10.30am and 6pm, Thursday to Sunday, for walk-in pottery paint sessions and classes, and night classes are on the way.
The shop is run by Melissa and her daughter Gabrielle, who spend much of their time making 99 per cent of the pottery pieces available to paint, with the other one per cent being sourced online.
In the just over two months that The Glaze Shed has been operating, connection and creativity has already been sparked within the community.
“The talent that has been coming out of what people are painting — I would never have thought to put those things on those pieces,” Melissa said.
“People have been really interested. They come in, they sit down, they ask questions.
“Or, they sit down with their little group, and they chatter away, which is what we want. We want them to have that spot where they can just sit here and chat.”
When telling people that she was set to open up The Glaze Shed, Melissa said the word “crazy” was thrown around.
“Everyone thought I was crazy because it’s not something you picture in Seymour,” she said.
“I think it changes a lot of perceptions in Seymour. I think people are realising that it’s fun and relaxing to do these sorts of things.”
The Glaze Shed is a space for Melissa Kirkham to explore her creativity alongside the community.
Photo by
Billie Davern
She said seeing people walk out the door with a sense of satisfaction proved the leap was worth it.
“We had a couple of kids come in to paint money boxes, and they were so excited to pick them up. When they walked out, they were showing everybody — anyone who was outside got to see inside their bags, and they were so proud of themselves,” Melissa said.
“It’s little things like that that make our day. We’re watching these little kids grow up and love art, and we’re seeing the older generation come in and say, ‘we did this as kids, we love this’.”
For more information or to book a class at The Glaze Shed, visit theglazeshed.com.au
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