Brushstrokes in Medina moving from Main Street to Victorian house
Photos by Ginny Kropf: This Victorian home at 512 West Avenue is being converted into a ceramics studio by owner Tim Elliott.
MEDINA – The owner of a Medina business is taking a leap of faith and moving off Main Street.
“It was time to grow as a business, and that meant owning my own place,” said Tim Elliott, owner of Brushstrokes.
Elliott has purchased a 3,000 square-foot Victorian home at 512 West Ave., which he is in the process of converting into his for the business.
It will be set up roughly the same as his Main Street store, Elliott said. The living room is now a painting room, a parlor is filled with fired pottery for customers to choose, and a sun room off the kitchen holds his kilns. Two bedrooms upstairs will be private paint rooms for parties of 15 to 20 people.
Elliott was thrilled with the charm of the old home, which boasts stained glass windows in the front doors and stairway landing, 10-foot windows with shutters in the living room, pocket doors, tin ceilings, and push button light switches. The radiator in the kitchen has a built-in bread box.
Elliott first opened his own business after he was laid off from his job in finance.
“I was looking for something to do that was affordable, and came up with an escape room or a ceramics studio,” Elliott said. “A ceramics studio was something affordable I could offer the community and which people could do as a family or date night.”
Elliott said kids are his biggest customers.
He has also partnered with several wineries to hold popular paint nights. At a Gust of Sun Winery in Ransomville, three events sold out in a day, Elliott said. Customers visit the wintery, have a drink and paint, while practicing safe distancing, he said. Then they can pick up their fired piece in a week. They painted garden gnomes and mason jar lanterns.
Tim Elliott, owner of Brushstokes in Medina, stands with a room full of pottery in the house on West Avenue, where he is moving his business.
Elliott said he has partnered with several Medina businesses in an effort to help them during this pandemic. Near Mother’s Day, he bought planters from Creekside Floral and gave flowers to customers with their ceramic piece.
He bought chocolates from Della’s a gave them away with every order.
He has also partnered with 810 Meadworks, which can accommodate up to 25 people who come and paint outside.
“We have been busy during the pandemic,” Elliott said. “When kids were home and had nothing to do, their parents brought them in to paint.”
He just finished an art academy, following guidelines for summer camps. There was a maximum of 15 kids who wore masks and maintained safe distances. They did glass work, rock painting, oil/pastels and ceramics.
Elliott has had to adapt during the pandemic, and developed to-go kits. He also bought acrylic paint, which he never carried before. He has from 500 to 600 fired pieces for customers to choose from.
Elliott was born in Germany, and admits to being a “military brat.” He graduated from Elba Central School, but is proud to call Medina “home.” He has been on the Village Board for four years and is owner of a new axe-throwing business, 810 Axes, with Bryan DeGraw.
Elliott plans to have his new West Avenue location for Brushstrokes open by Nov. 1. In the meantime, he is encouraging online sales.
Tim Elliott, owner of Brushstrokes in Medina, stands by the pocket doors in the 3,000-square-foot Victorian home on West Avenue.
