Sunday, November 15, 2026
JBTClayworks marked its fourth anniversary on Saturday with a celebration that brought together customers, friends and supporters to recognize the growth of the pottery studio and the work of its founder, JB Townsend of Oyster Bay.
Between 60 and 70 people attended throughout the evening, Townsend estimated. Unlike previous anniversary celebrations, which he said were more focused on selling his work, this year’s gathering was centered on celebrating the community that has supported the studio since its opening.
“I feel like in past year it’s been more focused on selling my work as there were less people coming,” Townsend said. “There was more space to sell things, but this year it felt like there was a little bit of a shift from it being sales focused to more celebration focused, and a thank you to all of my customers.”
The anniversary marked four years since Townsend held the studio’s grand opening in November 2022. He had moved into the space, located within Scarsella’s Florist in Laurel Hollow, in January of that year, but needed several months to get a functional kiln and build enough inventory to open to the public.
Townsend’s path to establishing the studio began well before his return to Long Island. After taking pottery lessons at a studio in Glen Cove, he spent about a year and a half traveling around the country studying different types of farming. He eventually settled at East Wind Community, an income-sharing community in Missouri, where he discovered and fixed up an abandoned pottery studio on the property.
Townsend lived at East Wind from approximately 2018 to July 2021. Although he initially pursued pottery as a hobby, the practice became increasingly important to him.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he began spending more time making ceramics. After deciding to leave East Winds, he applied to several artist residency programs but was not accepted. Preparing those applications, however, helped him photograph his work and develop artist statements, leading him to consider opening a studio of his own.
He returned to Long Island and spent several months searching for a suitable location. His mother eventually suggested asking one of the owners of Scarsella’s Florist, where the studio is now located, about available space. What was then a storage closet became the home of JBTClayworks.
In its early years, Townsend concentrated primarily on functional pottery, including vases and vessels, while developing his skills and building inventory. His work has since expanded into increasingly elaborate projects inspired by nature.
“I’ve been working on turning my space into a ceramic forest, and I feel like it’s becoming very cohesive.” Townsend said. “Whereas like a year ago, that I had many vases and many pieces, and that each of those pieces were kind of their own piece. Now the whole space is almost one piece.”
The installation includes thousands of ceramic leaves, a water fountain, trees, a chandelier, a bar counter and various woodland and fairy creatures. Townsend said the idea developed gradually, beginning with ceramic flowers and the leaves he created to accompany them.
Longtime customers have watched that evolution firsthand. Carla Panetta, a Bayville resident who grew up in Oyster Bay, first visited the studio four years ago after a friend recommended it.
Panetta said she was drawn to the combination of a pottery shop and working studio, as well as the atmosphere of the space. She later took a pottery lesson with Townsend, introducing her to the process firsthand.
“I had never been a potter or even really studied or taken ceramics class,” Panetta said. “So when a friend had bought me a pottery lesson, a gift to the studio because I was a fan, and it was I was so surprised when I came for the class, and he just put a lump of clay on the wheel and said, ‘Okay, do it.’”
She said Townsend’s work has grown beyond what she initially understood as traditional pottery. Panetta also praised Townsend’s willingness to work with customers on individual ideas, saying he has created pieces based on conversations about incorporating ceramic greenery into candle holders and outdoor table decorations.
Panetta said she hopes more people will have the opportunity to see his larger creations, comparing the ideal setting to a museum.
“I think JB is so friendly,” she said. “I think anybody who’s curious should stop in.”
For more information on JBTClayworks, visit JBTClayworks.com.
