Beth Robinson

Owner/President

Prior to starting Fired Up Studios, Beth worked in the telecommunications industry for 15 years. When she decided that she needed more balance in her life, she started taking pottery classes at Northern Clay Center. She soon became aware that many students were taking classes just to have a place to work, and that was when she got the idea for Fired Up Studios.

One interesting fact is that Beth is the only person at Fired Up Studios who is not a potter. She believes this is a major factor in the success of Fired Up Studios. It allows her to stay true to the mission "for our customers to have fun and leave in a better mood than when they arrived."

Patty Rau

Operations Manager

Patty works with our office monitors to keep the office running smoothly.

Patty Rau earned a B.A. in Studio Arts from Bethel University in 1996. A year later, she found Fired Up Studios while looking for a place to keep making pottery. When she was ready to leave the corporate world and spend more time with her pots, she started working in the office at Fired Up. She enjoys being able to work part-time in a creative environment that allows her the flexibility she needs to keep creating pottery.

Evan Twichell

Studio Tech

Melissa Gust

Studio Tech

Melissa is a B.F.A graduate from UMN with an emphasis in ceramic sculpture in 2019. Since graduating, Melissa has transitioned her practice into smaller and more functional based work under the name Keeping It Together Pottery. Her work varies with not only different inlay and sgraffito techniques, but also varying forms and altered forms. She does like her ceramic name says, whatever helps her keep it together.

Nick Kosack

Studio Tech

Nick is an artist based out of South Minneapolis, MN. He grew up commuting between Saipan and Massachusetts and moved to Minnesota where he earned his degree in Studio Arts from St. Olaf College. In 2005, He graduated with Departmental Distinction and acceptance into St. Olaf's post-graduate Apprenticeship program. After "10 years in the wilderness" of on-again off-again studio practice, he began creating new work at Fired Up Studios and participating in local art shows.

Nick is Fired Up's studio tech and works to keep the studio space clean and running smoothly. He takes pride in his work here and appreciates being a part of an organization that is so supportive of his and members' creative pursuits.

Ray Doan

Studio Tech

Ray is a St. Paul based ceramicist. He started pottery in 2021 at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia by taking a five week beginner class and never stopped. Shortly after moving to Minnesota in 2022 he signed up to be a member at Fired Up Studios and began working as an Office Monitor soon after. They now sell their pottery at local art fairs as well as work at Fired Up Studios as a studio tech mixing glazes, loading kilns, and chatting with other ceramicists.