Just across the river on Sophia Street, two craftspeople have merged their talents to create a space that feels homey and leaves customers feeling happy.
by Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Business Name: Sophia Street Studios and SaraGray Designs
Location: 1104 Sophia Street
Regular Business Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 10 AM – 5 PM; Sunday Noon – 5 pm; or by appointment.
Website: sophiastreetstudios.com
Keep an eye on the two bay windows at 1104 Sophia Street. There you’ll see fine pottery, stylish tables, and if you’re lucky … Ruth.
Ruth is more than a loveable dog who quietly wanders Sophia Street Studios and SaraGray Designs, greeting customers, being adorable, and generally making people feel good.
She complements the aura of what Trista Chapman and Sara Branner have created – a studio and store that not only sells artisans’ wares and home decor, but combines arts and furniture to create one joyous and welcoming space.
“Our tagline,” says Branner who’s been Chapman’s partner since 2021, “is ‘Where Art, Home Decor and Happy Meet’.”
“And that,” Chapman echos, “is what our customers tell us when they come in here. It makes them feel … happy.”
That sense of home and happiness comes from the way Chapman and Brand have combined their talents both as business partners and as shop curators.
Chapman has been throwing pottery since she as a little girl in New York, where her parents ran a Freedom School – popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s – and she began to learn the craft.
She eventually found her way to Virginia and to Virginia Commonwealth University. At a show in Richmond in 1995, she met her future husband, Phil Chapman. Longtime Fredericksburg residents will remember Phil as “Fredericksburg’s potter.” Since 1982 he worked out of the house Branner and Chapman now occupy.
Phil passed away in 2008 from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and since then Trista has experimented with a number of reinventions at the business on Sophia Street while she continued to throw pottery and travel to shows.
It all came together in 2021 when she was introduced to Branner. With an eye for beautiful furniture and a knack for creating vignettes that showcase home decor and art in ways that folks might not imagine, the two bonded quickly.
“The combination of what [Branner] does with what I do,” says Chapman, “helps to sell the products. She makes vignettes with her furniture and the paintings that we have, and the pottery that we make.”
The two of them working together also make it possible to run regular store hours; something Chapman couldn’t do before Branner arrived as Trista travels monthly to shows.
In the past year, the two have opened a gallery in the back of the store, and they now have about 15 artists who sell their wares at the store.
Three Questions for the Owners
FXBG Advance: There are many arts stores in Fredericksburg. How does Sophia Street Studios distinguish itself?
Chapman: It’s a big family here in Fredericksburg, especially with those who work in clay. It’s not a competitive environment. We’re like sister businesses; we’re all friends and support one another. I do have my own style of pottery that people recognize, and I’ve built a following over the years.
FXBG Advance: What are your bestsellers?
Chapman and Branner: Vases, mugs, salt and pepper shakers, and bowls are the bestselling pottery pieces. Lamps, little tables, and chairs lead the way in the home decor department. Oh, and socks. We have lots and lots of socks that sell here.
FXBG Advance: Best advice for someone new to art and nervous about knowing what to buy?
Chapman: Go with something that grabs you. I go with things that make me feel happy.
Branner: Ask yourself how it makes you feel? We can show you a good grouping, but in the end, it’s about what it feels like for you.
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-Martin Davis, Editor
Great story! I love the fact that you now have the resources to cover stories like this one. This is certainly one of my happy spots!