Local pottery business owner discusses the importance of creativity and diverse entrepreneurship

• Aniya Faulcon
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Aniya Faulcon is The Spark Host/Producer for WITF. She has a passion for shining a light on unique people, experiences, and perspectives within the community.
  
  Previously she worked as the People and Social Trends Reporter/Video Anchor for LancasterOnline | LNPNews. During her time there, she created video packages, provided Facebook Live coverage at community events, and wrote data-driven stories with census data and feature stories on local leaders, non-profit organizations, events, and people with unique talents and experiences within Lancaster County.
  
  Aniya also worked at WMAR ABC 2 News as a Sales Assistant and at the AFRO American Newspapers as an Executive Assistant and Media correspondent. Aniya interned at WEAA Gospel Grace 88.9 and worked at her alma mater’s radio station, WWPJ at Point Park University, where she gained skills and a passion for radio.
  
  Aniya grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended the Baltimore School for the arts for high school with a concentration in acting. She continued to hone her skills and passion for storytelling and later graduated from Point Park University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Broadcast Reporting. Aniya is eager to continue her journey with storytelling in her role with WITF, as she aims to shed a light on real people and real stories within Pennsylvania in a variety of mediums.

 iStock Photo

Hands of a potter. Potter making ceramic pot on the pottery wheel.

Airdate: October 20, 2022

According to a recent survey, women have powered the post-pandemic small business boom, with the share of women entrepreneurs nearly doubling from 2019 to 2021. Robin Wheeler, Owner of Wheel of Light Studio, is one of those women.

Wheeler said starting her business during that time had its challenges.

“Figuring out the best loan processes to apply for, sorting through all the information out there, dealing with the supply chain issues; it’s been interesting. I really picked an interesting time to try to launch this business,” Wheeler said.

However, she thought that it was important to start her pottery business to spread the importance of creativity and diverse entrepreneurship.

Wheelers’ studio offers classes for people with all levels of skill with art forms like pottery, painting, macramé, wood, burning, silk painting and resin trays. She described her studio as a place to play, where people can make cups, bowls, plates, decorations, wall ornaments, lamps, picture frames, tiles for walls, Christmas decorations, plant holders, wind chimes and more.

“I hear so many people say they don’t have an artistic bone in their body and yet they are creative in wonderful ways, but somewhere along the line they were made to feel that they weren’t artistic,” Wheeler said. “I also think that creativity is the spark for problem solving, ingenuity and invention. And if the creative thought processes aren’t encouraged at an early age, then you lose a part of yourself. So, I think everybody needs to be encouraged to explore their creativity.”