MOUNT PLEASANT, MI — Painted Turtle is open again in Mount Pleasant after a downtown fire shut the pottery studio down for nearly a year and forced owner Isabelle Steffke to start over.
Steffke held a soft grand opening on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the studio’s new home at 1231 N. Mission St., welcoming close friends and family first. She said the months after the fire were difficult, including the possibility that she might need to leave Mount Pleasant entirely. The reopening marks a fresh start for a business that had become a familiar gathering place for customers looking to relax, paint and spend time together.
Downtown fire in September 2025 forced several small businesses to close
The fire broke out Sept. 15, 2025, inside Stitches Oddities in downtown Mount Pleasant, just four days before that shop’s planned grand opening. According to the Stitches Oddities website, the blaze started from a lithium battery.
Flames spread to nearby businesses, including Pleasant City Coffee Company and Painted Turtle Pottery Studio. Steffke has said the pottery shop mainly suffered water and smoke damage, but still needed renovations before it could reopen. The fire left the building and its tenants facing major cleanup, repair work and uncertainty about how quickly the downtown corridor could recover.
Searching for a new location stretched beyond Mount Pleasant
After the fire, Steffke had to look for a new space instead of simply moving back into the old one. Her search took her beyond Mount Pleasant as she considered locations in Freeland, Saginaw, Midland and other communities in the Saginaw Bay region.
That search shows how disruptive the fire was for a small business that depended on a physical space to operate and serve customers. Steffke eventually found a site on the north end of town and began turning it into a replacement studio. The move allowed Painted Turtle to remain in the community rather than relocate elsewhere, a decision that carried real meaning for both the owner and longtime customers.
Family help made the rebuild possible
Once she secured the new location, Steffke and her family spent months getting it ready. They removed wallpaper, pulled up flooring and repainted the space before reopening to the public.
Steffke said her father handled a great deal of the work, something she appreciated deeply because she does not have the construction or renovation skills needed for that kind of project. Her comments reflected just how hands-on the recovery had to be. For a small independent shop, reopening was not just a matter of signing a lease. It meant physically rebuilding the business environment from the inside out with help from the people closest to her.
Painted Turtle has long been a place for community and creativity
For Steffke, Painted Turtle was never just about pottery. She said the business helped create a community where people felt comfortable gathering, relaxing and spending time together.
That sense of connection was important to customers and supporters as well. Art Reach Executive Director Amy Powell said the organization has valued its relationship with Painted Turtle and even served as a pickup location for completed work for months after the fire. Powell said she enjoyed bringing her children to paint there and looked forward to returning. Customer Nikomi Lewis added that the shop gives people a way to be creative while supporting a local business instead of buying mass-produced items.
Customers returning after the closure gave the owner new perspective
Steffke said seeing customers come back after the long closure made her realize how much Painted Turtle meant to people in Mount Pleasant. Their support was especially moving after she had spent months wondering whether she would be able to stay in town.
She said the return of familiar faces made her emotional and reinforced the value of small businesses that serve as more than retail spaces. Customers were not just buying painted pieces; they were helping restore a place tied to memories, family time and creativity. For Steffke, that response confirmed that rebuilding the studio was worth the effort and that Painted Turtle still had a home in the community.
