Favorite Pastime Meets Entrepreneurial Twist In Petaluma, CA

For months, Tara Spillane and her friends had a standing weekly date for coffee, conversation, and pottery painting. They caught up on each other’s lives while making something together, enjoying a routine where she sometimes imagined herself on the other side of the business. “This place is so cool. I would like to own this one day,” Tara recalled.

Years later, that possibility found a home at The Hot Spot Studios in Petaluma, California. Tara opened her studio in April 2026, bringing more than 20 years of hospitality experience and a personal appreciation for the kind of place she wanted to create.

From working in hospitality, Tara was familiar with businesses where the experience mattered. Here was a setting she enjoyed enough to visit week after week, and she could imagine owning a place that offered that experience to others. The same enjoyment that made pottery painting a standing date with her friends is part of what she now hopes people find at her Hot Spot Studio.

Her decision followed nearly a year of exploring franchise opportunities. She wanted a business of her own, where her children could participate as they grew. The Hot Spot Studios caught her attention with a variety of creative projects, and a chance visit with her children helped her picture the opportunity for herself.

Tara’s career included hotels and restaurants, with responsibilities that put her in direct contact with guests and behind the scenes of daily operations. “I’ve been in hospitality forever. I have a degree in hospitality management. I’ve worked in hotels and restaurants,” she says. “I’ve been manager, bar manager, server, hostess, concierge, everything.”

After more than two decades, she was ready to explore a different direction. Business ownership offered an opportunity to put that experience to work in a setting she could make her own, and a creative studio offered an appealing possibility. Children and adults could enjoy the activities, and the environment was one her family could participate. Her own experience painting with friends had shown her how naturally creativity and social time could fit together. Now, as a parent, she had another reason to appreciate that combination.

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Finding the Right Fit in Franchising

Tara began her search with an interest in franchising itself. She wanted to own a business and saw value in joining a company with an established approach. Her hospitality background gave her experience with customers and daily operations, while a franchise could provide a model for the business she would be learning to run. “I looked into franchises because you kind of get that business model,” she explains.

She explored opportunities online, browsed franchise offerings, and requested information. The process gave her different businesses to consider, but finding one that felt personally right, took time. “I was looking at different franchises for almost a year, and nothing really aligned,” Tara says.

Eventually, she narrowed her search, reflecting on those pottery mornings with friends that had once prompted thoughts about ownership. Now she was investigating whether a business like that could be a practical option. “And then I kind of Googled, specifically, paint your own pottery franchise, and that’s when the Hot Spot popped up.”

The discovery gave her something specific to explore. Pottery painting provided the familiar starting point, while The Hot Spot Studios introduced a wider range of activities she could offer. A studio could welcome someone interested in painting pottery alongside a guest who preferred making a candle, working on a mosaic, or creating a garden. “I loved that they had more to offer than just painting your own pottery,” she says.

That variety became an important part of the opportunity’s appeal. It expanded the possibilities beyond the experience that had originally inspired her, giving guests different projects to explore during visits with friends or family. Today, Tara sees that variety reflected in her own studio, where pottery and candles are popular and children enthusiastically request slime at birthday parties. While the Hot Spot Studios brand caught her attention, and the concept connected with an interest she had carried for years, she still needed to see for herself. 

A Family Outing Made It Real

While vacationing with her family, Tara realized an existing Hot Spot Studios location in Sparks was within driving distance, offering a convenient opportunity to visit. “I said, ‘Hey, let’s take a day trip to Sparks,’” she recalls.

She worked the visit into their vacation, giving herself and her children a chance to experience the studio together. There was another attraction nearby, too. “We went to the Hot Spot, and across the street was a water park, so we made a whole day of it.”

For Tara, the visit brought a different perspective to her franchise research. She could experience the business as a parent enjoying an outing with her children, while also considering what it would mean to own a studio herself. The family experience mattered because her children were already part of her motivation for pursuing ownership.

She also met The Hot Spot Studios founder Olivia Franks during the visit and spoke with her. Alongside her online research, Tara now had an introduction to both the studio experience and a person behind the brand. Looking back, she identifies visiting Sparks and experiencing the studio with her children as what helped her decide.

The outing connected several parts of her search; a creative activity she had enjoyed with friends, a franchise offering multiple ways for guests to participate, and a business she could imagine becoming part of her family’s life. 

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Petaluma Welcomes a New Hot Spot

Tara grew up in neighboring Novato and attended school in Petaluma, making the area a familiar choice for her studio. “I’m originally from Novato,” she says. “I went to school in Petaluma.” On April 1, 2026, she opened the doors and began introducing residents to the range of creative experiences available inside.

Much of that introduction happened through personal conversations. Tara participated in an art and wine festival, handed out flyers during local parades, and spoke with people about what they could do at the studio. Her years of working with guests in hospitality paid off when meeting neighbors and inviting them into her own business.

“I’m meeting people face to face and, you know, telling them who we are, what we do,” she explains. The conversations quickly became specific. People wanted to know how the studio might fit into their plans with family and friends. “Can I bring snacks? Can I have a birthday party? Can I do this?” Tara recalls people asking.

As studio guests began arriving, residents told her about a paint-your-own-pottery studio that had operated nearby years earlier. Some had visited as children and were delighted to find a similar experience now available locally for their own families.

“The biggest, the most common one I get is, ‘I’m so happy to have this back in our community,’” she says. “I get that all the time.” For an owner whose interest began with her own memories of painting pottery, that welcome had a personal connection. The experience she remembered enjoying with friends also held meaning for people walking through her doors. “Petaluma has been great. They’re a really supportive community,” Tara says. The response often comes in a few simple words that capture the welcome she has received, “I get a lot of thank yous for opening up this spot.”

The Everyday Rewards

One of Tara’s regular guests is working on a project that will eventually reach her entire family. Each week, a grandmother visits the studio to paint another bowl, gradually creating a collection of handmade gifts. “She’s doing homemade bowls for her entire family,” Tara says. “She comes in and she does a new bowl every week.”

Her visits are part of the studio’s weekly Senior Wednesdays event, and they give Tara a chance to see personal projects develop over time. Each bowl has a recipient, and each visit adds another piece to the collection. It is one example of how guests find their own reasons to make the studio part of their routine.

Birthday celebrations are creating connections of their own. Tara has begun recognizing children who first visited for someone else’s party and have returned with plans to celebrate their own birthday. “They’ve come to a birthday party, and now they want to have their birthday party here,” she explains.

For a new business owner, seeing those familiar faces brings encouragement. The children have enjoyed an experience enough to want to share it with their own friends. Parents are also telling Tara how much their families enjoy spending time at the studio and how eager their children are to return.

The range of activities gives those visits plenty of variety. Pottery painting is the most popular choice in Petaluma, with candle making close behind. Guests also work on gardens and mosaics, while slime has become a favorite addition to birthday parties. “We’re doing all the projects every day,” Tara says. “Every birthday party wants slime!”

Tara’s favorite…mosaics! She enjoys the creative possibilities, particularly the painting involved in making a piece her own. That personal interest keeps her connected to the enjoyment guests find in choosing and completing their projects.

Her own children are part of that enjoyment, too. The business she hoped they could grow up around is now something they recognize and take pride in. “My kids are proud of the business,” she says. When they see her wearing her studio shirt, their response is, “That’s mommy’s Hot Spot.” Her children get to see the business their mother is building, while other families are making it part of their celebrations, creative projects, and time together.

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Possibilities Still To Come

As Tara gets to know her customers, she is finding more ways to connect the studio with life in Petaluma. Schools have already become part of that effort through local partnerships and interest in fundraising opportunities. “We’ve already paired with a couple of schools to do some things, which have been quite rewarding for both myself and the school,” she says.

She is also developing plans for monthly kids’ nights, giving parents another occasion to bring their children to the studio. Early conversations with families have been encouraging. “I’ve been speaking about it with people and parents who come in, and everybody is very excited about it.”

A weekly pastime once gave Tara a glimpse of a business she might enjoy owning. Today, she has a studio of her own, a community welcoming her, and ideas she is excited to develop. The experience that first appealed to her now offers opportunities to create something lasting for her family and her town.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a paint-your-own-pottery franchise owner, connect with The Hot Spot Studios franchising team to learn more about opening a creative business in your community.