# @centralmichiganlife on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdCSootoK3G
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70261408-centralmichiganlife-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/4693b2535c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-08T18:06:37.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Central Michigan Life (@centralmichiganlife) — https://gondola.cc/centralmichiganlife

## Caption

After nearly a year away, Painted Turtle is back in Mount Pleasant, but getting there was anything but easy.⁠
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The pottery studio was forced to close after the Sept. 15, 2025, downtown fire damaged the business. Owner Isabelle Steffke said rebuilding meant starting over, finding a new location and even considering leaving Mount Pleasant, a place where she had built a community around her business.⁠
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Now, customers and community members are finally walking through the doors again, bringing back the connections that made the business more than just a pottery studio.⁠
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“But to have people come back, that really meant everything,” Steffke said. “It just makes you kind of tear up a little bit. It’s nice that people care.”⁠
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✍️ Makayla Herrick⁠
📸 Jasmine Brookins⁠
⁠
#lifeatcentral #mountpleasant #studentjournalism

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 357
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## Tags

lifeatcentral, studentjournalism, mountpleasant

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