Student and teacher launch 'unique' Staten Island business offering classes for kids and adults

STATEN ISLAND, NY — As a student in Darren Corona’s ceramics class, Diana Ferdinando fell in love with her new hobby, which allowed her to create unique ceramics with her own hands.

“My passion for working with clay began in 2021 while experimenting with air-dry clay with my daughter. That summer, I enrolled in a hand-building class taught by Darren Corona at ArtLab. The rest, as they say, is history,” said Ferdinando, a mother of two daughters, ages 4 and 8, about her instant attraction to creating with ceramics.

The former music educator became so passionate about ceramics that she found a space in the heart of West Brighton for a studio where she could create her ceramic pieces.

Diana Ferdinando opened Silk Road Ceramics Studio in August 2023 with Darren Corona.(Courtesy of Amanda Domenech of Remi Studio)

But it wasn’t long before Ferdinando and Corona found themselves discussing the lack of studios in the area that allowed customers to make ceramics from scratch. That’s when the unlikely business partners began putting together a plan, which led to the August 2023 launch of Silk Road Ceramics Studio in the space initially intended to be Ferdinando’s personal studio.

“We saw a gap on Staten Island for a professional ceramics studio,” said Corona, who has 30 years of experience working with clay. “We are the only one of its kind here on the island. Our approach has been, from the beginning, to create a professional ceramics studio that is accessible to anyone who uses this space, no matter what their level of experience.”

Silk Road Ceramics Studio opened in August 2023 in West Brighton.(Courtesy of Amanda Domenech of Remi Studio)

But before the launch, the business partners carefully outlined their plans and ensured their compatibility to run a successful studio.

“We really took baby steps because we didn’t really know each other. We wanted to make sure that we worked well with each other, that we trusted each other,” Ferdinando said.

And it wasn’t long before they discovered a “synergy as partners and the joy of cultivating a supportive environment,” she said.

Darren Corona has been working with ceramics for 30 years.(Courtesy of Amanda Domenech of Remi Studio)

“Walking into the studio every morning filled me with pride and inspiration. Our community embraced our vision,” said Ferdinando.

The essential qualities needed to run a creative business like Silk Road Ceramics Studio are patience, flexibility, creativity, faith and “an incredibly strong work ethic,” Corona said. And the duo says they share those traits.

Offers

Silk Road Ceramics Studio offers a variety of classes to help potters of all levels create “masterpieces” using their hands and/or a pottery wheel.

Darren Corona and Diana Ferdinando opened Silk Road Ceramics Studio in August 2023 in West Brighton.(Courtesy of Amanda Domenech of Remi Studio)

Offerings include one-time pottery wheel and hand-building classes, which teach students how to make pottery without a wheel. Additionally, Silk Road Ceramics Studio offers spin and sculpture classes for teens, which are unique explorations of ceramic throwing, and six-week pottery wheel and hand-building courses for those seeking a deeper understanding of the craft.

There are also craft classes designed for children ages 7 to 12. And business owners also host a variety of special events, including: team building, birthdays, community events, ladies’ nights, home socials, collaborative workshops with other small businesses, and more.

Silk Road Ceramics Studio also offers membership benefits for professional ceramicists to enjoy the freedom of open access to the studio, they said.

Darren Corona and Diana Ferdinando opened Silk Road Ceramics Studio in August 2023 in West Brighton.(Courtesy of Amanda Domenech of Remi Studio)

Special events

The owners of Silk Road Ceramics Studio also offer a number of special events including:

Kurinuki: A traditional Japanese sculpture technique embedded in the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic philosophy, which reflects the beauty of imperfection, impermanence and authenticity.
Clay monotype: a unique technique in which engraving and clay meet.
Macramé and Ceramics: A workshop where you create your own ceramic pot and a macramé plant hanger to hold it.
Raku: An “exciting and unpredictable” outdoor shooting inspired by traditional Japanese methods.

Silk Road Ceramics Studio offers a range of pottery classes.(Courtesy of Amanda Domenech of Remi Studio)

Since opening, Corona and Ferdinando said they have received a warm welcome from the community and interested potters of all levels who find honing their craft relaxing and therapeutic.

“A lot of people have come up and said things like, ‘I’ve been looking for something like this. We didn’t know you were here. I’ve been wanting to do something like this,’” Corona said, noting that many people will say they did pottery in their youth and wanted to try it again. “Everyone has been very supportive, very friendly and encouraging.”