Get crafty in downtown H’burg

You Made It! Gives people a place to express themselves through pottery

By Ashton Smith, staff writer
Posted on December 3, 2007

Looking for a place to express your inner-artist?

In downtown Harrisonburg, there is a quaint shop called You Made It! across from the Massanutten Regional Library. Joan Clasbey and her son David Miller have co-owned this make-it-yourself ceramics shop for more than four years.

“You can take something this small and make it art,” Clasbey said, holding up a shot glass.

Clasbey created You Made It! with some inspiration from her daughter.  “My daughter went to the University of Tennessee and she made me a ceramic that was yellow and blue that matched my house,” Clasbey said.  “There weren’t any ceramics that allowed those color combinations back then and it was do-it-yourself.  So I turned 50 and jumped off the ledge!”

She said they get a lot of JMU students in the shop along with families from Harrisonburg. 

“Bigs and littles from sororities come in and paint things for each other and use their Greek letters,” Clasbey said.  “[Martini and margarita] glasses and mugs are also very popular with the college students.” 

There are many different things that you can paint in the shop such as bowls, cups, coasters, clocks, dog bowls, key chains and much more.

“I like to think we offer functional pieces,” Clasbey said.

The best part about the shop is artistic abilities are not required.

“If we can do it, so can you,” Clasbey said. 

The shop contains notebooks full of designs that customers can size to whichever ceramic they pick and then trace the pattern onto it. 

“We offer every color that you can think of,” Clasbey said.  “We also don’t have a time limit like other stores.” 

The ceramics all vary in price because of the size of each product, and there is a studio fee that is half of the ceramic you choose.  The studio fee covers the clear glaze and re-fire of the ceramic that Clasbey and her son do after painting. It takes about a week before it’s ready to take home. 

You Made It! also offers different events throughout the year.  There are two college nights on Dec. 4 and Dec. 11, which give college students half-off of the studio fee.  Clasbey also has had college nights during finals so that students “could chill out during exams.”  On Friday, customers can watch the Christmas Parade from the shop while they paint. 

You Made It! is available to be reserved for parties and offers different packages to choose from.  Clasbey added that customers “can bring refreshments, non-alcoholic of course.”

Clasbey’s ceramics are all food safe because she does not use lead based products.  The ceramics are dishwasher safe, but she doesn’t recommend it.

Clasbey and her son run the store which is open seven days a week.  With Christmas right around the corner, You Made It! offers a place to make some personalized gifts for loved ones.