The Clay Pit builds community with Elevate Hennepin guidance

The Clay Pit builds community with Elevate Hennepin guidance

Soren Aster was working as a cheese monger when they saw a clay workshop for sale. In the span of a few months, they got out of the cheese business and founded The Clay Pit, a community-focused art space for ceramics artists of all levels. Soren said the new location along Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis might not have been possible without Elevate Hennepin advising.

Soren has been into ceramics since kindergarten, and graduated with a fine arts degree to pursue a career in ceramics. But they “burnt out” from production-heavy ceramics work and had been bouncing around the food and hospitality industries. The workshop, however, offered a way to get back to ceramics with a community-focused business instead of the pottery production grind.

“I texted my dad and said, ‘Hey, do you think this would be a bad idea?’ He said, ‘I think that's a great idea.’ That was that was all the all the support I needed,” recalled Soren. “I've always been someone who has a bit too much ambition for my britches—an entrepreneur. So, I decided that I was going to make this happen.”

How exactly was the question. Soren learned plenty about clay in art school, but not much about business or how to finance a brick-and-mortar business. They leaned on their dad for some mentoring, but then learned about Elevate Hennepin advising through a friend who had experienced success using the program.

“I had a friend tell me about Elevate Hennepin, and I knew that was probably a good start if I was going to figure out how to do this,” said Soren. “I got connected with Hiromi Yokoi at NextStage right off the bat. She did way more than I was ever expecting. Truly, I don't think I would have been able to open this place without her.”

Hiromi, who provides advising on business loans and other access to capital questions, became Soren’s loan officer, helped with certifications, permitting, and essential peace of mind when the process got tricky.

“I had some issues with signing the lease and I was messaging her about it, and she would just be like, ‘It's OK. Here's plan A, here's plan B, and here's plan C if everything goes wrong,’” said Soren. “Just having that guidance from someone that very much knows what they're doing and has done this many times before gave me the confidence I really needed to keep going.”

Today, Soren is hosting classes, selling clay kits, and providing kiln-firing services for other artists at The Clay Pit. But they’re especially excited about the growing community and providing a space for ceramic artists of all levels along Minnehaha Avenue in South Minneapolis. And they’re getting used to being a business owner in their community.

"It's such a privilege to be able to have the opportunity to be that role model for people, especially being both a young business owner, a queer business owner, and a first-time business owner—I'm kind of checking all the boxes," Soren reflected.

As a business leader, they have some advice for other entrepreneurs across Hennepin County.

"First off, don't be afraid to reach out to get help. Especially Elevate Hennepin is something to really take advantage of. It's such a wonderful thing that the county offers,” said Soren. “It's there to be a service to you, just take advantage of it as much as possible, that's what it's there for.”