Service to others. That is a fundamental tenet of Isaac Shue’s church and his life. Now he is serving his family and others though the art of pottery, including a special offering at Christmastime.
Isaac and Karina Shue are founders and owners of Gallery Mostaza in Harper. Isaac grew up here and was active in the Mennonite Church, in which hands-on service to humanity is a vital part of the faith. He participated in church service projects in Miami and Haiti while attending Hesston College, and then Goshen College.
Shue enjoyed art, especially sketching. “I always had a pencil or a basketball in my hands,” he said. He was good at drawing and painting but wasn’t sure about three dimensional art.
While at Goshen College, he was required to take a ceramics class and found he loved the challenge. “It draws you in,” Shue said. He bought a pottery wheel and started making bowls.
“At the end of the semester, there was a student sale,” Shue said. “People bought a lot of my bowls and I realized people would pay for this.”
Shue’s next service trip was to Bolivia. “To raise money for the trip, I had an ice cream social,” Shue said. “Everybody who came got a bowl, and then made a free will offering.”
He raised the funds and went on the church trip to Bolivia. He volunteered at a day care center. Here he met Karina, the psychologist who worked there. The two fell in love and ultimately were married. After finishing her immigration paperwork, they moved to his hometown of Harper.
Isaac got a teaching certificate at Bethel and became an art teacher at Cheney. Karina became an ESL translator. He continued to make pottery and sold it at farmer’s markets on weekends. “People started knocking on our doors, wanting a pot for a wedding or special event,” Shue said.
“Our dream was to have a gallery and a store,” he said. One day while out for a drive, they noticed a ‘For Sale’ sign on a house Shue’s grandfather had built outside of town. They made an offer, but they had to sell their house in town. “Within three days, we had a contract,” Shue said.
They bought the house, remodeled the detached garage, and used that as a gallery. They had an open house before Christmas and 500 people came through. This became an annual event. The Shues went on to build another larger building to serve as their gallery and opened the business full-time.
They named their business Gallery Mostaza, a Spanish word for mustard. This is based on the Christian parable that says that large goals can be met with a tiny bit of faith, even the size of a mustard seed.
In addition, the word “taza” means mug, which is a primary item they produce.
“One year a friend asked for a clay pumpkin, and I thought that was an odd request,” Shue said. These would prove so popular that they now have an annual pumpkin patch stocked with hundreds of clay pumpkins — and they sell out.
Gallery Mostaza is open year-round and hosts three special events: A farmers market-type event in April, pumpkin patch in September, and Christmas in December. The shop is open until Christmas eve.
The Christmas event features mugs, bowls, angels, Christmas boxes, ornaments, lanterns, candles, and much more. “We’ll prepare more than 3,000 items each year,” Shue said.
“People line up an hour before opening,” Shue said. Their handmade snowflake mugs sold out in five minutes. The Shues have shipped products coast to coast and as far away as Australia and Dubai.
It’s exciting to find this business near the rural community of Harper, population 1,313 people. Now, that’s rural.
Isaac and Karina have a son Xavi and a baby daughter Natalia. For more information on the business, see www.gallerymostaza.com.
Service. It’s a fundamental part of Isaac and Karina Shue’s lives. They are making a difference by using their creative skills to serve others.
