Meet Laura Bachinski | Gallery Owner and Potter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Bachinski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have worn many hats in my working lifetime. Most of them have had something to do with helping, teaching, or providing a service for the community. When I chose early retirement from my education career I went back to school to pursue a certificate program in ceramics, an art form that I have long loved and collected. After finishing a clay certificate program at Piedmont Technical College, I set up my own studio space at home and began a satisfying career as a studio potter, selling my work locally, regionally and in the Northeast. In 2016, the gift shop that was selling my work in Greenwood closed. I felt strongly that our community needed a shop where the growing art community could sell original work and I wanted it to be a beautiful space that could highlight the fabulous art available locally. After a bit of thought and advice from our city leaders, I opened Main & Maxwell to provide that opportunity for myself and other artists. We opened our doors in 2016, just in time to share the new venture with the community during Greenwood’s annual Festival of Flowers. Since then we have continued to recruit local and regional artists to Greenwood. Currently, Main & Maxwell represents over 60 artists and makers.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started working in clay when I began taking pottery lessons at a small, local studio in the community that I lived in at the time. It was such fun and exactly what I needed at the time ~ a group of women with different interests and backgrounds that shared the urge to make things. Clay was the material that we all became addicted to. We all still get our hands dirty and have grown from playing in the mud to producing work that we sell.

About five years ago I developed an interest in growing and processing indigo, a plant that was an original crop in colonial South Carolina. I am intrigued with the deep blue color and the design process for creating Japanese shibori which is similar to tie dying. In my recent clay work, I am experimenting with mono printing surface design, combining the blue shades of indigo with white underglaze to create hand built pieces that echo the look and texture of antique Japanese fabric.

As the owner of a busy gallery, I have little time to devote to my own art work. I have a goal to get back into the studio a few more days a week than I have been! Hopefully the summer will be a productive time for me!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well first stop would be our gallery, Main & Maxwell! We would shop and browse through the fabulous art. We would take an afternoon class at the gallery taught by one of our local artists in our lower level classroom space called Underground Art. Once we finished being creative, we would head to Flynn’s on Maxwell Avenue where we would enjoy a glass of wine or a refreshing beer while catching a local musician playing original tunes. We would then walk down Maxwell Avenue to the Uptown Market, where we would watch the local children playing in the splash pad or perhaps set up our lawn chairs for an evening concert.

Next would be dinner at The Mill House which serves the best wood fired pizza and perhaps a trip to Good Times next door for a beer brewed on premises while we whip everyone at Trivia night!

If it was during Greenwood’s Festival of Flowers held every June, we would spend a day touring the amazing topiaries spread all through Greenwood’s Uptown. There are over 50 of them, so it would take all day with a stop for lunch at either Howard’s on Main or Southern Soul. A mid-afternoon coffee at Aromas Uptown would carry us through the afternoon!

We would start the next morning with a yoga class and a massage at Young Wellness on Maxwell Avenue and then perhaps head out to Ninety Six for a historical tour of the Ninety Six Historical Site. We would finish the evening back in the Uptown by heading to Montagues Restaurant for a special cocktail and a steak dinner.

The last day of a visit would be spent shopping the rest of our Uptown. Within a few blocks there are fabulous shops that carry everything from clothing to shoes to furniture and gifts. Lunch at Buena Vista Cuban Cafe and a stop at Sled Dog Brewery in The Exchange would be fabulous before checking out our golf swings at The Golf Fix. We would finish up the evening with a nightcap at the Fox & Hound Lounge at The Inn on the Square before sending my guest up to their beautifully newly renovated king size room for the night!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Main & Maxwell would not be a success without our dedicated artists! When the lease on our space was signed and we had an opening date, we held a “Surprise Announcement Party” and invited the local art community to join us for some food, music, and a special announcement that would change the local art scene. That evening I announced the opening of the gallery and gave the specifics of membership to a room full of local artists. By the end of the evening, we had run out of applications and I left the event with membership checks in hand for most of the attendees! It was the push I needed to truly understand how much our community needed this shop. Many of those beginning artists are still with us today. 8 years later! They donate their time to demonstrate their craft at open houses, they help with the planning and implementing of special events and provide us with beautiful art that line the walls and shelves of the gallery.

Website: https://www.mainandmaxwell.com

Instagram: instagram?mainnmaxwell

Facebook: facebook/mainnmaxwell

Image Credits
for head shot photo of Laura Bachinski – Valor Media Group