Madd Potter Studio Builds Community and Creativity One Piece at a Time

Issue #785

August 22, 2026

Sponsored by

10K Steps Is a Myth–Try This Instead

When motivation is lacking, jumping into heavy routines is the fastest way to burn out. That’s why millions of people are turning to walking as the foundation of their fitness journey.

Walking lets you enjoy the outdoors, clear your head, and practice mindfulness. It’s simple, sustainable, and can support lasting weight loss if you know how much you need. The “10,000 steps a day” rule is outdated; everyone’s lifestyle is different.

With Simple, you’ll get access to habit-based coaching that’s helped users lose over 18 million pounds. Take the quiz to discover your personalized walking target.

 

In This Cape May Local Scoop Issue…

 📆 Cape May Events

☀️ Cape May Local Weather 

🎭 Madd Potter Studio Builds Community and Creativity One Piece at a Time

🦞 Gateway Playhouse Partners With PPAWS to Help Train Future Seeing Eye Dogs

🏛️ Police Charge Operator After Boat Found Abandoned on Villas Beach

Don’t forget we have until August 24th to vote The Best of Cape May and until September 4th for Cape May to be featured in a Hallmark Christmas Movie

👇 Here’s what’s going on in the Cape May Local Area👇  

 August 22

Have an Upcoming Event?

Overpaying for car insurance? Find out.

Find out if you have the best deal. Compare multiple car insurance quotes on LendingTree.

 Madd Potter Studio Builds Community and Creativity One Piece at a Time

For nearly two decades, The Madd Potter Studio has been proving that a lump of clay can become much more than a bowl, mug or sculpture. For owners Amanda Leipert and Julia Hickman, pottery can be an artistic outlet, a lesson in accepting imperfection and, sometimes, a two-hour escape from everything happening outside the studio.

Now operating at the Cape May County Airport, in the same strip as Cape May Brewery, Madd Potter has evolved considerably since its beginnings. What started as a tiny operation has developed into a creative destination offering pottery classes, private parties, artisan-made merchandise and opportunities for both residents and visitors to get their hands into clay.

The business traces its roots to Leipert's early fascination with pottery. She discovered clay while in high school and later spent time in preschool education and teaching art through a grant-funded program. Eventually, she realized she wanted to teach in an environment where people were coming specifically because they wanted to create.

Leipert met Hickman while the two were working at Historic Cold Spring Village. The partnership eventually developed into Mad Potter Studio, with the business opening its first location at Woodland Village on Route 9 in November 2008.

The operation later moved to Carpenter's Lane and eventually to its current location at the Cape May County Airport.

The two owners have complementary approaches to pottery. Hickman gravitates toward throwing clay on the pottery wheel, while Leipert specializes more heavily in hand-building. Those differences have helped the studio accommodate students with different interests and abilities.

That accessibility has become central to the business.

Unlike studios that primarily offer multiweek courses, Madd Potter has structured much of its programming so vacationers and first-time visitors can participate without making a lengthy commitment. Students can try wheel throwing or hand-building during an individual session, while those who want to continue can take additional classes.

Beginners are welcome, including people who have never touched clay before.

More committed students can purchase multi-session packages that provide additional studio time and materials. The studio also offers project-specific workshops, sometimes taught by visiting artisans.

One of those artisans is jewelry maker Bev Hiles, whose wirework is sold through Mad Potter. Hiles began as a customer before Leipert and Hickman became interested in carrying her work. She creates pieces using materials including sterling silver, brass and copper and has also taught workshops at the studio while visiting the area.

Supporting artists such as Hiles reflects a broader philosophy at Mad Potter: creativity isn't limited to people who consider themselves artists. Cooking, gardening, writing, jewelry making and working with clay can all be expressions of the same creative impulse.

For Hickman, pottery also provides another lesson — learning how to fail.

Clay doesn't always cooperate. Pieces collapse. Shapes become distorted. An ambitious idea can look very different once it reaches the wheel.

Rather than treating those moments as disasters, Hickman encourages students to learn from them. At the studio, that philosophy has developed into the idea of "working with the wonk" — adapting to an imperfect piece instead of automatically discarding it.

A misshapen bowl might become something unexpected. A pot that leans in the wrong direction can develop an entirely different personality.

The result is a philosophy that reaches beyond pottery: plans change, mistakes happen and unexpected outcomes can sometimes produce something more interesting than the original idea.

Madd Potter carries that same philosophy into its one-time classes and private events. Staff members complete the technical work necessary after some sessions, including drying, firing and glazing, but deliberately avoid transforming a student's creation into something that looks professionally made. The goal is for the finished piece to remain recognizably the customer's work.

Private events have become an increasingly important part of the studio's business.

Groups of four or more can arrange parties featuring wheel throwing, hand-building or a combination of techniques. Prices start at $58 per person and vary according to the project. Groups generally select the same basic project, but participants are encouraged to personalize their pieces.

Some returning groups even bring the studio their own ideas. One group, for example, found a ceramic chicken project online and asked whether Madd Potter could create a workshop around it. The studio developed a version that participants could build and customize themselves.

Guests at private events can also bring beverages and snacks, turning the pottery session into a social gathering. The studio prepares materials before the group arrives so participants can concentrate on creating.

That experiential side of the business has become increasingly important as Leipert has watched customers shift toward spending money on activities rather than simply buying objects.

Madd Potter has responded by devoting more space and energy to classes and parties. Multiple activities can take place simultaneously, and private events such as birthday gatherings and bachelorette parties have become a significant part of the schedule.

For the owners, however, the experience isn't solely about entertainment.

Working with clay requires concentration. Particularly on a pottery wheel, there is little room to think about an overflowing inbox, a difficult day at work or personal problems while simultaneously trying to center and shape spinning clay.

That temporary mental break is one of the things Leipert values most about the studio. People sometimes arrive carrying considerable professional or personal stress. If working with clay allows them to put those concerns aside for a couple of hours, she considers the session successful.

The business itself has had to practice the resilience it encourages in its students.

Madd Potter has navigated recessions, moves, delays and changing consumer habits. More recently, the owners ended a 16-year presence at the West End Garage, the transition was unexpected but, as usual, Leipert and Hickman performed a graceful pivot.

The response from longtime customers and followers, however, reinforced the community the business had built. Messages and reactions from people who had followed Mad Potter for years helped the owners move forward.

The studio is also expanding its retail presence with a small space at Shop Local on the Washington Street Mall, while the owners say additional plans are being developed.

For Hickman, the experience fits naturally with what pottery has taught her over the years. A broken piece does not necessarily mark the end of the process. It can become the starting point for something different.

After 18 seasons, that willingness to reshape, rebuild and keep creating may be one of Madd Potter Studio's most enduring lessons.

Gateway Playhouse Partners With PPAWS to Help Train Future Seeing Eye Dogs

Gateway Playhouse is teaming up with a regional Seeing Eye puppy-raising group in a partnership that will give future guide dogs valuable experience navigating the sights, sounds and distractions of a working theater.

The Somers Point theater has announced a formal partnership with People & Puppies at Work for Sight, or PPAWS, a volunteer group serving Atlantic and Cape May counties that raises puppies for The Seeing Eye.

The collaboration comes as Gateway begins rehearsals for its upcoming production of “9 to 5: The Musical,” which runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 4.

Gateway Board President Katie Calvi and Technical Director Peter Avagliano, who is also a PPAWS leader, helped develop the partnership. Although the arrangement is now official, Seeing Eye puppies have been visiting the theater for about three years.

The goal is to expose puppies-in-training to an environment filled with activity and distractions they may encounter later as working guide dogs.

A theater offers an unusually diverse training environment. During rehearsals and performances, puppies may encounter live music, changing lighting, sound cues, moving scenery, crowds and performers. Behind the scenes, they can also experience set construction, equipment and other activity.

Through repeated exposure, puppy raisers work to teach the animals to remain quiet, composed and focused despite what is happening around them.

Avagliano has brought Seeing Eye puppies to Gateway for years and will now encourage other volunteer puppy raisers to bring dogs to rehearsals and performances. Puppies have also been exposed to Gateway's scene shop and scenery transportation as part of their socialization.

PPAWS raises future guide dogs for The Seeing Eye while educating the public about how trained guide dogs provide greater independence and mobility for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Volunteer puppy raisers welcome Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers or German Shepherds into their homes and are responsible for house training, basic commands and extensive socialization. The Seeing Eye covers veterinary care, food and medications during the approximately yearlong puppy-raising period.

Based in Morristown, The Seeing Eye is one of the country's best-known guide-dog organizations. Puppy-raising clubs operate throughout much of New Jersey as well as Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania.

For Gateway, the partnership expands the theater's community role beyond its stage productions.

Since reopening in 2017, Gateway Playhouse has offered year-round theatrical productions, concerts, educational programs and performance opportunities. The organization sees its work with PPAWS as another way to make the theater a community gathering place while promoting accessibility and inclusion.

The upcoming “9 to 5: The Musical” provided an appropriate opportunity to formally announce the collaboration because the puppies being raised through PPAWS are preparing for their own future careers as working dogs.

The partnership is expected to continue beyond the upcoming production, giving additional puppies the opportunity to become accustomed to theater environments while introducing audiences to the work involved in preparing future guide dogs.

Gateway's production of “9 to 5: The Musical” runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 4. Tickets are $25 and are available at GatewayByTheBay.org.

Gateway Playhouse is located at 738 Bay Ave. in Somers Point.

More information about volunteering as a Seeing Eye puppy raiser is available at SeeingEye.org.

Police Charge Operator After Boat Found Abandoned on Villas Beach

A 32-foot boat found abandoned on the beach in Lower Township has led to charges against its operator, according to police.

Lower Township Police and New Jersey State Police discovered the 32-foot Yellowfin on Villas Beach on Aug. 18. The vessel was sitting on the sand near the dunes, approximately 50 feet from the waterline.

No one was aboard the boat when authorities arrived, and no injuries were reported in connection with the incident.

Police subsequently identified the vessel's operator as Thomas Hinchman, 63, of Mullica Hill.

Hinchman was arrested and charged with boating under the influence and reckless operation, according to police. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Authorities contacted Sea Tow Cape May to remove the stranded vessel. The boat was later towed from the beach and returned to the harbor.

Police have not released additional details about how the vessel ended up on the beach or the circumstances that led investigators to identify its operator.

Which famous abolitionist is associated with Cape May, New Jersey, due to her summer visits?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

 Answer to the August 21st Trivia Question 

Cape May, New Jersey, is renowned for its historical significance and unique attractions. Which of the following statements about Cape May is true?

A) The Cape May Lighthouse was built in 1892.

B) Cape May diamonds are actual diamonds found on the beaches.

C) The entire city is designated as a National Historic Landmark due to its Victorian architecture.

D) The Harriet Tubman Museum opened to the public in 2015.

Answer: C) The entire city is designated as a National Historic Landmark due to its Victorian architecture.

Cape May is famous for its extensive collection of Victorian buildings, which contributed to its designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1976

How Did We Do In This Issue?

Cape May Local Scoop Wants To Know Your Thoughts About Our Newsletter...

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.