Meet Hallie Smith | Ceramic Artist and Business Owner

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

Hi Hallie, why did you pursue a creative career?
I cannot remember a point in my life where Art did not exist. My mom was very creative so I had access to a lot of art supplies. I always say I started when I was eight because that is the first memory I have of doing art, but I always loved it. The mediums of art that I have done have changed throughout the years but ceramics was always my favorite. It’s not as easily accessible as some art forms so I was introduced to it when I was eight but then did not have access to it constantly for a while. I dabbled in ceramics in elementary, middle, and high school, but when I picked it up in college, I have stuck with it since. I started selling my work casually to people about four years ago because I was running out of space to keep everything. Then people started really loving my work and wanting to place custom orders so I began doing that and officially started my business a year ago.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I make functional ceramic artwork like mugs, plates, vases, etc. I really enjoy making a variety of pieces and using different techniques. This sets me apart from many other ceramic artists, a lot of ceramic artists stick to one specific design or type of piece. I like continuing to make unique pieces that different individuals are able to connect with and find the piece that speaks to them. I don’t think that owning your own business could ever be described as “easy” but it does allow me to continue to do what I love and make art so it is definitely not something I take for granted. Hard things can be well worth the effort.

A newer venture I have been pursuing is the possibility to do ceramics pop-up classes. I want to make clay more accessible because I feel like if I was not able to interact with clay at a young age I would have never found my passion.

I would also like to mention that I am coordinating and co-hosting an art festival in June. It is called GardenArts and it will be June 8th from 11-4pm in Spartanburg at the Clevedale Historic Inn and Gardens. And our plan is to have 25+ local artists as vendors. It is free and open to the public to attend.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Lets say they arrive on a Monday, I would take them to walk around downtown Greenville and grab a pizza at Belladonna’s Pizzeria. Tuesday I would take them to Music Bingo at Vaughns Warehouse, my favorite Tuesday night activity and get some ice cream at the Ice Cream Station.
Wednesday Id pack a lunch and take them on a hike in the morning at Paris Mt state park then hangout at the lake there.
Thursday id take them to the Greenville Drive Baseball game for the evening.
Friday we would hang out and go to Napoli Italian restaurant for dinner.
Saturday we would have a shopping day around greenville and grab dinner at Habitap
Saturday morning we would go to Conestee park for a walk or run then Waffle House for breakfast.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
When I think about how I started ceramics I always think about my elementary school teacher, Mrs. Thomas she is the first person that introduced me to clay and it is what started my interest.

Website: halliesmithceramics.com

Instagram: @hallie_creates

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/hallie-smith11

Facebook: Hallie Smith Ceramics

Image Credits
Hallie Smith Laura Brown