GARY: Next on Start Up, we head to downtown Columbus, Ohio to meet up with Nathan and David, the owners of Restalgic, a vibrant pottery studio and boutique offering immersive classes and unique creations.

All of this and more is next on Start Up.

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♪ GARY: My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country faces significant challenges, small business owners are navigating their way through a changing global marketplace while continuing to push the economy forward.

We've set out for our 14th consecutive season, talking to small business owners about how they started, how things are going, and what matters most to entrepreneurs in modern day America.

This is Start Up.

♪ Pottery is one of humanity's oldest crafts.

Fired clay vessels have been used for at least 10,000 years, emerging independently in many regions around the world.

Early pots revolutionized how people stored, cooked, and carried food, and the potter's wheel, developed in ancient Mesopotamia, accelerated production and opened up new shapes and decorative possibilities.

Over time, pottery evolved from purely practical wares into powerful expressions of art, identity, and culture across civilizations.

Today I'm heading to Columbus, Ohio to meet up with Nathan and David, the owners of Restalgic, a vibrant pottery studio and boutique offering immersive classes and unique custom creations.

I'm excited to learn more about this amazing business and maybe even take a stab at some pottery myself.

♪ ♪ ♪ I want to learn about you as a person.

Tell me about like where you grew up.

NATHAN: I'm from a small town called Lima.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: And, um, It's about 2.5 hours from here.

Very cultured, you know.

Long story short, I moved around.

I went to New York.

I learned a few things.

I just fell into like the call center life and answering phone calls and all that good stuff.

I stuck in the call center world for about 10 years.

GARY: 10 years.

Okay.

NATHAN: And then I finally made my way to Discover Card.

And I went out for a position.

And in that position, it- they just looked over me.

And what that did was it really just allowed me to realize that maybe, like, the corporate world is just not for me.

I think it's time.

I think it's my time.

And I'll take a chance on me.

So I emptied out my 401k.

I took my savings.

GARY: Wow.

NATHAN: And I found a storefront on the corner of Broad and Cleveland.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: And that's how this all started.

GARY: What was the original vision going to be for what you wanted to start?

NATHAN: Ooh, so we originated as a furniture restoration company.

GARY: Furniture restoration?

NATHAN: Yes.

We started to have like Facebook Lives and like TikTok Lives.

GARY: Oh.

NATHAN: And long story short, it took off.

So I was like, oh, well, I think I'm getting into something.

And then we got like 7 orders.

So we was doing dinette tables and chairs and desks.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: And then I realized I realized that maybe Columbus might like this.

We got the space.

2 weeks later, COVID dropped.

GARY: Yep.

NATHAN: They sent us to work from home.

So what I did was I worked from the store.

GARY: Okay.

You had a workshop in a space now.

NATHAN: Yeah.

Yeah.

So I took my computer, worked from the store, and I was trying to get the store up and running, helping customers in between phone calls.

And I did that for about 6 months.

GARY: At that time, TikTok was exploding too during the pandemic.

NATHAN: Yeah.

GARY: Do you do anything with social?

NATHAN: So when we got tired of the furniture, because it happened.

GARY: You got tired of the furniture?

NATHAN: Yeah, I age quick, right?

It was like, in like just a matter of a year, like I was starting to like suffer with like carpal tunnel.

Like I felt like a 50-year-old man.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: So, you know, at the end of the day, I was like, maybe it's time to pivot.

So I made a bar of soap.

And in this bar of soap, I didn't realize that the bar of soap would cure acne.

I gave that bar of soap to my cousin.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: Just thinking, like, just try it.

She tried it on her face, healed her.

Then I was like, I think I'm on to something.

So I tried it.

I suffer with real bad acne too.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: It worked on me.

That bar of soap went viral on TikTok.

GARY: Went viral.

NATHAN: Viral.

I remember in that moment I got like 200 orders for that bar of soap.

GARY: Like, right away?

NATHAN: Right away.

When I tell you that I was like, "Ah, I like this.

It's easier.

I don't have to work so hard.

I don't have to stress my family out."

GARY: Soap.

NATHAN: So the soap bar blossomed.

Then we started selling room sprays and candles.

That blossomed.

Then I made this serum candle.

Only made 7 of them.

GARY: Yep.

NATHAN: I made a video.

We sold like 2,000 of them serum candles.

GARY: Oh my gosh.

NATHAN: That month.

Right.

So it was just like ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

Right.

And I'm like, okay, I'm on to something.

GARY: You're all demand and no supply now.

NATHAN: Right, right, right.

GARY: Which is a problem in and of itself.

A great problem.

NATHAN: Right.

GARY: But a problem because if you blow it with those early people... NATHAN: That part.

GARY: They ain't coming back.

NATHAN: Yes.

GARY: You know?

NATHAN: Yes.

Well... GARY: Wow.

NATHAN: In that moment, I joined TikTok Shop.

So we had like 4 videos, like, go over like 2 million views.

I got one at like 4 million, 3 million, 2 million.

It did not stop.

I had to stop posting because when we... GARY: It was like a faucet of revenue.

NATHAN: Yeah, it was terrible.

GARY: But how were you keeping up with the products?

NATHAN: It was good.

Right, right, right.

My family, we worked so hard.

We was in there till 3, 4 o'clock in the morning.

GARY: Making soap, making serum, making the candles, like... NATHAN: Yes.

GARY: Just making it.

NATHAN: Yes, yes.

GARY: Did you fulfill all the orders?

NATHAN: And we did.

GARY: You did?

NATHAN: Of course.

GARY: And you made some money?

NATHAN: And we did.

Yeah.

Yeah.

DAVID: I still remember that moment of him giggling and I'm like, "Okay, yes, we're hearing the alerts from the sales.

We only have 2 molds to make these serum candles, you know, and they're imported from Europe."

So getting in contact with the lady with the time difference and let her know like, "Hey, we need like 30 of these molds like tomorrow."

They're 3D printed.

So she had to print them.

She had to print them all.

It took her about a week and a half.

GARY: Wow.

DAVID: Well, during this week and a half, we are still getting orders.

And when we're selling out on TikTok, we're also selling out on our website.

So like all together it was probably one of the most fun I've ever had in the business, but also one of the scariest.

♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: So then what?

Were you like, "Okay, this works," but you have to get a handle on it.

NATHAN: Right.

So, I was kind of torn because I'm new to like business at this point.

But... GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: We was 3 years into our lease and I had to make a decision.

I'm like, "Hey, like, I'm ready to shut it down.

This is a little stressful.

I'll just sell online."

GARY: Sure.

NATHAN: Because that's what that's what's making the money.

So I'll just figure it out.

GARY: Yeah.

Yeah.

NATHAN: So in that same breath, I got a phone call about this.

GARY: This meaning this space.

NATHAN: This space.

GARY: Right here on this beautiful street.

NATHAN: Yes.

Seriously.

GARY: Right in the middle of everything.

NATHAN: Yes.

Yes.

DAVID: We actually had maybe 50 people at our last store who were all from the Columbus Art Museum.

And one of the people in the art museum is really, really good friends with the owner of this building, the apartments across the street, the apartments across the way.

So he had a vision to turn this into an art district because across the street was just abandoned historical buildings.

NATHAN: He said that we will be a good person, well, a good business, right?

GARY: Yep.

NATHAN: And it's a waiting game.

So I didn't know what that meant.

I didn't know what they had planned.

I just knew that I had to wait.

So what I did was I just took a leap of faith again.

I shut the space down and I had to wait two years.

GARY: Two years.

NATHAN: Two years.

Two years of not knowing if this was actually going to come.

GARY: When did you get the call that the space was happening?

And tell me all about that.

NATHAN: I was sitting on the couch crying, okay?

And I was like, "This really is not going to happen," right?

GARY: Aw.

NATHAN: And I looked up to the sky.

I was like, "You know, I need a sign.

I need something.

Show me something."

Because I was getting mad, right?

I'm like, "Come on.

Like, yo, get the ball rolling, sir."

GARY: "I'm patient, but come on."

NATHAN: Right, right, right, right.

So the Downtown Growth Initiative dropped.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: And then we had to go through an application process to actually qualify for it.

GARY: What is the Downtown Growth Initiative?

NATHAN: So it's where they take vacant spaces and they stick either LGBTQ, women-owned, or minority-owned businesses.

GARY: Got it.

NATHAN: So that's what we are.

GARY: Okay.

And you applied for that?

NATHAN: Applied.

Yes.

Yeah.

And there was a whole pool of us.

And we all had to go out and look at all these vacant spaces.

And then they chose the tenants.

GARY: When you got confirmation that you got the space, go back to that day for me.

NATHAN: I'm a crybaby.

I'm a Pisces, right?

So I will cry myself under a rug.

So that's all I did for days.

Like the first 3 days of... GARY: Happiness.

NATHAN: Yeah, because I'm like, okay, it's actually happening.

♪ GARY: Talk about the Downtown Ground Floor Initiative and what it means for you personally and as a business owner.

DAVID: The initiative is great because it's putting businesses back downtown, its getting customers and people back to downtown because our Columbus downtown has been dying.

It's been suffering.

You know, we lost a major mall because major malls are building in suburban areas.

So people are moving to suburban areas.

But now as people are moving back downtown, this program allows a small business like us an opportunity, an opportunity to have some relaxed bills so we can build our brand.

GARY: Yeah.

DAVID: Especially the city of Columbus has been great.

Councilman Nick Mangston has been a tremendous help with this.

He- this is his program.

This is funding he pulled together to help small minority businesses thrive.

♪ GARY: You guys were led the charge on the, uh, it's the Downtown Growth Initiative.

NICHOLAS: Absolutely.

GARY: Okay, talk about that program a little bit.

NICHOLAS: Yeah, very proud of that program.

When I first came into office, it's something that I spearheaded, and it's really built off of a premise that if downtown is going to come back and we were just coming out of the pandemic that it has to come back stronger, has to be different, but it has to celebrate the diversity of our great city.

Uh, we've had a lot of construction happen, as you can see here.

GARY: Sure.

NICHOLAS: A lot of the bottom floors though still remained empty.

And what we know is that if we wanna attract folks to live downtown, they gotta see that amen- those amenities, right?

GARY: Yeah.

It's gotta be walkable.

NICHOLAS: They gotta see that vibrancy.

GARY: Yeah.

NICHOLAS: Uh, and so we thought of ourselves as a catalyst to how do we remove barriers for small businesses, particularly minority businesses, local businesses to get into these downtown spaces to start to revitalize that ground floor experience.

GARY: Let's talk about Restalgic and David and Nathan.

How do they sort of exemplify what this program means?

NICHOLAS: I mean, it really exemplifies the Columbus story, right?

They are born and bred here, you know, really started off their own, right?

And got this opportunity to tell their story.

That's what the Ground Floor Growth Initiative is all about.

You know, my vision for our downtown is that Columbus becomes the downtown with the most local flair of any other downtown.

GARY: Okay.

That's a bit- that's a big deal.

NICHOLAS: Yeah.

Yeah.

We, you know, I love the big chains and all of that.

GARY: Sure.

NICHOLAS: And you need that, but, when you come here, you want to have that unique thing that you can only get here.

And Restalgic is one of those things.

♪ GARY: You get the keys to the space.

NATHAN: Yes.

GARY: Now what?

NATHAN: My money was limited when I went to go get those keys.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: But when I tell you that I was a man on a mission, I didn't know how, when, or where.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: I was getting them keys.

I went and got them keys.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: I applied for a Lowe's credit card.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: And I had to build all of the furniture in here myself.

GARY: All of this furniture?

NATHAN: All of it.

So the tables, the hanging baskets, literally, I was in here for a month straight building all of the stuff that's made from wood.

GARY: How much rent and overhead runway did you have when you got those keys?

NATHAN: Like 2 months.

GARY: How scary is that?

NATHAN: It was.

GARY: Wow.

NATHAN: It was frightening because when you think of it, right, like you, like the community is going to show up for you.

I think back now and I had a couple of conversations with people, they're like, "Don't do it, don't do it.

If I was you, I wouldn't do it."

GARY: Yeah.

Fear mongers.

NATHAN: And I'm like, "Well, well, well, you know, I'm not that type."

So when you give me fear and you give me negativity, I take it on in, buddy.

GARY: Yeah.

So turn it into something.

NATHAN: Yes.

GARY: I'm gonna show you.

NATHAN: So what that did.

GARY: You turn it into, "I'm going to show you."

That's what you do.

NATHAN: Yup, yup, yup.

And I showed up.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: And that's how we got here.

GARY: Was it going to be primarily soap and candles at that point?

NATHAN: That's what it turned into.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: But, in the same breath, our workshops went viral.

Ohio Road Trips is an Ohio Facebook group.

And a lot of like crafters and people who want to travel Ohio will go on there and they'll see posts and then they'll come to those places.

Well... GARY: Like, "You should go here on your road trip."

NATHAN: Yes.

GARY: And you're one of them now.

NATHAN: Yes.

Classes went from maybe 2 people to like 20 people, like per class.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: So it just- I was breathless.

GARY: And that's straight revenue too.

Yeah.

NATHAN: I didn't understand.

I was just like, you go from giving up to now being like a vibrant business.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: I'm not going to say I gave up, but it was just like it was a lot of worry, right?

Like... GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: Am I doing the right things?

Like... GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: That's why they say keep knocking on the door until the door opens, because at some point it's going to open.

GARY: I want to hear about the activities and the workshops.

NATHAN: Okay.

GARY: Break that down for me.

What are you doing in here and what does that look like?

NATHAN: Okay, so we're a full-time pottery studio.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: So we have 7 pottery wheels, 2 kilns, 2 clay sinks, clay, all the tools that you need for full pottery studio.

But outside of that, we do like the one-time wheel throwing experience, or you could do a 4-week course with us.

So we have probably now about 7 students that's full-time.

GARY: Okay.

Who is the instructor?

NATHAN: Me.

GARY: You are?

NATHAN: Yeah.

Yeah.

GARY: So you just happen to be a pottery expert as well?

NATHAN: Yeah.

Yep.

That's me.

But outside of pottery, we do candle making, terrarium building, paint and sip, chunky knit blankets.

So you could come here and do a chunky knit blanket, 3 by 5 feet in 3 hours and leave with it.

GARY: Crocheting?

NATHAN: Yep.

Yep.

♪ GARY: What do you love most about Restalgic?

TERRA: What I love most about Restalgic is simply being able to walk in the door and feel transported from the noise of the outside world.

You know, everything in here makes it feel like a hug.

GARY: Yeah.

TERRA: Also the warmth of Nathan and David, their knowledge and their skills and their talents.

GARY: Talk about some of your favorite products and things that you've bought here.

TERRA: So I've bought several things here.

My favorite products are the shea butter.

I've bought the mango butter.

I've bought the candle melts.

I've also had a pottery class here.

GARY: Okay.

TERRA: So... Lots of things.

Lots of things I love in this store.

GARY: Why is a store like this important to Columbus?

TERRA: This being the first Black-owned pottery studio in Columbus, that itself is historical.

To have something that you can't find really anywhere else, you know, it's both a pottery studio and housewares.

You can also make large knit, large loop blankets.

GARY: Yeah.

TERRA: It's just- it's a different spot.

It's something you have to experience to understand.

♪ NATHAN: Welcome to our pottery class.

What we're going to do today is make one of these.

So let's take our tool and kind of just push it into that clay.

And then once we got it kind of open, let's just spend some time and let's create a cylinder.

So let's pinch those sides and let's start raising the clay.

GARY: It's beautiful.

WOMAN: Thank you.

GARY: You're doing great.

How many have you made total in your life?

Lots.

WOMAN: I did a 6-week class when I was younger and it was a disaster.

And then I did Nathan's first class.

His first class he offered here.

I was here and it turned out beautiful.

So I think it's just having someone to assist me with it.

But I've done, I think, every one of Nathan's classes.

GARY: You have any interesting stories or anything that's unique or crazy that's happened in a class before?

NATHAN: I put my first students' pieces in the kilns, all of them.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: Before they was actually dry.

I opened the kiln.

I looked down.

Everybody's piece just exploded.

I know.

I was mortified.

Listen, I don't know what to tell these people.

GARY: You got to come up with a story.

Something quick.

NATHAN: Well, well, well, I did.

So I allowed them to retake the class, right?

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: It was so bad, I went to the back corridor, and I leaned against the wall, and I was like, I think I'mma pass out.

Because it was so bad.

WOMAN: I can picture that.

I can picture that.

♪ GARY: Getting into texturing and smoothing out, what's the final step in completing this?

NATHAN: All right.

So the final step would be to allow it to dry.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: Then we'll throw it into the kiln.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: And then we'll glaze it and then we'll refire it.

GARY: Got it.

And how long before it is completely done, hardened and ready for pickup?

NATHAN: Typically 2 weeks.

♪ GARY: Have you ever had to take out any, any loans, any SBA loans?

DAVID: We bootstrapped the whole entire business.

GARY: Amazing.

I love that.

DAVID: So with Nathan working his job and taking from his 401K.

GARY: Yeah.

DAVID: And then me holding on to my job, it was putting every bit of money in home and business.

So it's not something that's going to instantly make you a millionaire because that's a climb.

You got to build that momentum.

You have to build your brand.

GARY: Is the business profitable?

Are you doing well?

NATHAN: It is.

So we just got 2 wholesale orders.

One, I'mma drop the name.

GARY: Do it.

NATHAN: Dupler Office.

GARY: Okay.

NATHAN: They just purchased 350 items of our candles, room sprays, lotions.

GARY: Congrats.

NATHAN: Thank you.

GARY: And if that goes well, it'll probably continue.

NATHAN: Well, it already went so well that- that another office reached out and we're working on finalizing the- the same deal with them.

GARY: If you could look at yourself in 5 years in this business, what does happiness look like to you?

NATHAN: If I could just have this run itself and me just be an artist.

If I could pay people to do things for us.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: That- that would be it.

GARY: Is that pretty far off or you think you could get there?

NATHAN: It's almost there.

GARY: What is the key to successfully working with a spouse?

DAVID: Honestly, a good relationship at home.

Because if you have a bad relationship at home, you're going to bring that negative energy into your business and it's going to show.

So it's A, having open communication and B, just being vulnerable.

GARY: How much fun are you having doing this?

NATHAN: You know, actually now I'm having the time of my life.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: Yeah.

I'm having a lot of fun.

GARY: But it took a lot to get here.

NATHAN: It did.

You know, it did.

This is the first time in my entrepreneurship that I'm actually having fun.

GARY: What do you think is the number one most important factor or individual personality trait that somebody could possess to be a successful business owner?

NATHAN: I want to say relentless.

GARY: Relentless.

NATHAN: When- when you have that relentless vibe and energy, no matter what you go through, you will get over it.

The sun will shine at some point.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: So being relentless enough to get there.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: Is the goal.

So never give up.

Always show up.

And you have to believe in yourself, the product and the vision.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: So when you speak to people, they need to feel... They need to feel the essence of you.

They need to be able to trust you.

Having faith and knowing that you tell the truth.

GARY: Yeah.

NATHAN: You love what you do.

These are all elements that people, they'll just gravitate to you.

GARY: They feel it.

NATHAN: It's like boom, boom, boom.

They show up.

GARY: From the moment that I stepped into Restalgic, I could feel the essence of what Nathan and David had envisioned.

Sade playing softly in the background.

The subtle scent of mint and lavender, and the soft incandescent lights bouncing off the smoked glass and bamboo.

But as we've learned from many small business owners, that calm is often hard-won from years of setbacks and missteps.

But if it weren't for those challenges, Restalgic wouldn't be anywhere that it is today.

And I love this story for so many reasons, especially Nathan's fearless approach to change.

And his unrelenting faith that the universe will provide, something that's been proven to him time and time again along this journey.

And while your dream and vision may change over time, as long as you remain true to your authentic self, there is no way that you can fail.

For more information, visit our website and search episodes for Restalgic.

♪ Next time on Start Up, we head to Chicago, Illinois to meet up with Luke Saunders, the founder of Farmer's Fridge, a company that serves fresh, healthy food in vending machines placed in convenient locations.

Be sure to join us next time on Start Up.

Do you want to learn more about the show?

Or maybe nominate a business?

Visit us at StartUp-usa.com and connect with us on social media.

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Learn more at bluehost.ai.

Bluehost is a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: From concept to planning to execution, businesses like Spikeball are built by people.

And Bamboo HR brings people data together in one place.

Learn more at BambooHR.com.

Bamboo HR is a proud supporter of Start Up.

ANNOUNCER: From startups to established brands, pens.com offers promotional products for your business journey, like custom pens, bags, drinkware, and more.

For 60 years, we've partnered with millions of businesses, and now we're proud partners of Start Up.

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