The winter season brings in chilly air, blankets of snow, and the excitement of holiday shopping. For many, it’s the perfect time to explore local craft fairs in search of unique, handmade gifts.
One small business making its rounds at craft fairs across Indiana is D&D Ceramics. Run by mother-daughter duo Debbie Werden and Tina Flack, D&D Ceramics is more than just a family-owned business. It’s a hobby that goes beyond crafting for leisure, for them this little ceramic shop has a meaning backstory.

When Debbie Werden graduated from high school, her parents offered her a choice for a graduation gift, a used car or a kiln. For Werden, the decision was easy, she chose the kiln. Little did she know that gift would ignite a lifelong passion for ceramics. 

 

With her parents’ help, Werden began her craft, learning the process of creating and finishing ceramic pottery. As the business grew, so did the need for additional hands, and soon the whole family was involved with painting, assembling, and setting up at craft shows. 

 

But in 2009, tragedy struck when Debbie’s father passed away. Overcome with grief, she made the difficult decision to put her ceramics on hold. As she put it, “It just wasn’t the same without him.”

 

Thirteen years later, it was Debbie’s daughter, Tina Flack, who encouraged her to return to the business. Flack, motivated by her desire to help her son Tanner, who is on the autism spectrum, saw ceramics as a helpful way for him to develop “soft skills”. This renewed sense of purpose gave Debbie the strength to give the business another shot.

 

When mother and daughter began attending craft shows again, they realized that their ceramics weren’t the only special thing they had to offer. Tina shared how they still had the original molds from Debbie’s early work in the ’80s. This allowed them to offer something truly unique. If a customer came to them with a ceramic piece that was passed down to them, there was a good chance they could fix it using the same molds that they still had. 

While the journey back into the business has been rewarding, both Werden and Flack acknowledged that the transition has been far from easy. For Debbie, adapting to the modern world of craft fairs has been a challenge. She recalled how, when she first started, there was no need for websites, social media, or the technology that’s now essential for success. In the early days, everything was done in person, and payments were made in cash. Today, however, there are countless ways to make a payment, and keeping up with those changes has been a learning curve.

 

For Tina, the challenge lay in balancing her full-time job, caring for her two sons, and managing the demands of the business. With everything that needed to be done as in preparing products, placing orders, and getting ready for each craft fair. For her, finding time in her already packed schedule was no small task. 

 

However, through it all, both women have found a way to make it work, driven by their passion for the business with the backstory and with the support of each other to lean on. Werden also shared that, for her, every step of the journey is a tribute to her late father. As she put it, “I just wanted to show my dad I could do it. I wanted to show him I’m going to make this work.”