Dorri Partain
Managing Editor

Northeast resident and clay artist Rebecca Koop invited friends, students and other guests to Back Door Pottery (3922 St. John Ave.) on Saturday, April 18, to celebrate forty years of business at the same address.

Koop leased a former hardware store space in 1986, then was able to purchase the building and expand when the laundromat next door closed a few years later. As she explained during a tour of the space— filled with a small retail area, potter’s wheels, buckets of clay glazes, and kilns of different sizes— a three-inch gas line originally installed to operate multiple clothes dryers was the perfect amenity she needed for her clay studio.

The studio’s name, Back Door Pottery, refers to a previous location- literally a basement accessed by a back door- but the name stayed even as Koop changed business addresses.

In addition to pottery, Koop is an avid gardener and operates St. John Gardens – a community garden and orchard next to her studio- and the scene of many community gatherings. The studio became its own artistic statement in 2020, when Koop and multiple friends completed a tile mosaic across the front of the building. The following year, Koop designed and painted a mural on the west side of the building.

This evening, outdoor celebration was punctuated with live music, food and drink- including tamales from local business The Tamale Kitchen-  a welcoming fire pit, and a fire-spinners performance as the skies grew dark.

Throughout this anniversary celebration, a total of 60 guests mingled and enjoyed the ambiance of the garden, conversations and a surprise proclamation from Missouri State District 19 Legislator Wick Thomas to mark the occasion.

“I didn’t move and made my studio home in Northeast for these 40 years,” said Koop. “I want to thank many of my neighbors, friends, fellow potters and Northeast Arts KC for making the party a success.”

Set image: Fire & Music photo

  All photos by Dorri Partain