Northern Indiana Clay Alliance

Category: Guild Also called: NICA; Northern Indiana Clay Center; indianaclay.org Last checked: 2026-10-13

What it is

The Northern Indiana Clay Alliance (NICA) is a nonprofit membership organization for the clay community of northern Indiana and southern Michigan (Michiana). Its stated mission is “to develop, strengthen, and advance the Northern Indiana clay community through support, education, scholarship, and documentation.” The About page says NICA “was established in the fall of 2022 with full 501c3 non-profit status.” It runs the Michiana Pottery Tour, keeps a member artist directory, hosts mixers and exhibitions, and in October 2026 opened the Northern Indiana Clay Center, an 8,000 sq ft building at 118 South Main Street in downtown Goshen.

Who it’s for

Working ceramic artists who want to be found, show, and sell; students and teachers of ceramics; and collectors and supporters (Membership page). The Clay Center adds classes for the general public.

Why it’s listed

This is the alliance’s own WordPress site. It prints published membership tiers, a named executive director and board, a street address, phone and hours, dated news posts, and a dated class calendar. It is not a directory card.

• Membership (Membership page, checked 2026-10-13): Artist $250/year (member directory listing, first access to regional exhibition and teaching opportunities, a place in the Spring Clay Tour, Ruthmere Showcase and Holiday Sale, possible Michiana Pottery Tour participation by host invitation, marketing support); Friend of NICA $100/year; Student / Teacher $50/year. Every tier gets a quarterly newsletter, invitations to artist mixers and networking events, discounted workshop fees, at least 10% off supplies, classes and workshops, and professional development opportunities. Memberships renew on the join date.
• Michiana Pottery Tour (news post dated Sep 21, 2026): the 15th annual tour ran September 26–27, 2026, with more than 50 ceramic artists at ten stops across northern Indiana and southwest Michigan, free admission. NICA says it returns more than $120,000 annually to participating artists. Trevor Daugherty is named as NICA’s Executive Director.
• Clay Center (Clay Center page and news post dated Oct 2, 2026): grand opening Friday, October 2, 2026, 5–9pm, at 118 S. Main Street, Goshen. The 8,000 sq ft building dates to 1898. NICA describes it as offering “community-facing programming, studio space to rent, and a full-service clay supply operation,” as a $1.5 million project supported by a $300,000 READI 2.0 Arts & Culture Grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Indiana Arts Commission.
• Classes (homepage calendar, checked today): Introduction to Wheel Throwing | Holiday 2026, Wednesdays November 4 – December 16, 2026, 6:30–8:30pm, taught by Eric Kaufmann, $250 ($225 for members); Surface Decoration and Handbuilding | Holiday 2026 (same Wednesdays); Fall Break Kids Camp, October 20–22, 2026.
• Contact (Contact page, checked today): 118 South Main Street, Goshen, Indiana; 574-290-2529; hello@indianaclay.org. Hours Tue–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 10am–3pm; classes Wednesday evenings.

Official URL

https://www.indianaclay.org/

About: https://www.indianaclay.org/about/

Membership: https://www.indianaclay.org/membership/

Programs: https://www.indianaclay.org/programs/

The Clay Center: https://www.indianaclay.org/clay-center/

Clay Center grand opening (Oct 2, 2026): https://www.indianaclay.org/2026/10/02/clay-center-grand-opening/

Michiana Pottery Tour 15th year (Sep 21, 2026): https://www.indianaclay.org/2026/09/21/michiana-pottery-tour-celebrates-15-years/

Intro to Wheel Throwing, Holiday 2026: https://www.indianaclay.org/series/introduction-to-wheel-throwing-holiday-2026/

Contact: https://www.indianaclay.org/contact/

(Canonical first-party site checked 2026-10-13. Every cited URL returned HTTP 200 to curl with a browser User-Agent.)

Location

Northern Indiana Clay Center, 118 South Main Street, Goshen, Indiana (the 2026 news post gives the ZIP-less address “118 S. Main Street”; the homepage calendar adds “Suite 2”). 574-290-2529, hello@indianaclay.org. Tue–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 10am–3pm. The Michiana Pottery Tour runs at member studios across the region.

This is a regional membership alliance (guild). Since October 2026 it also runs a clay center with classes and supply sales.

Notes

• Category is Guild: a 501(c)(3) member organization with paid membership tiers, a member directory, a regional tour, and member shows. The new Clay Center adds classes, rentable studio space, and clay supply, so there is some studio/supplier overlap. Membership and the tour are the core of the site, so it is listed as a Guild.
• First Indiana listing on Clay Plaza. Away from Monday’s IA / NC / TX and Friday’s ID / AK / OH.
• Founding year of the tour conflicts on the site: the About and Programs pages say the tour was born in 2011; the Sep 21, 2026 news post says founded in 2012. Not resolved; both are first-party.
• No member count is stated. No street ZIP code is printed on the Contact page.
• Not affiliated with Clay Plaza.
• No Clay Plaza contact, purchase, cart action, registration, or publication action was taken.
• First-party logo saved beside this listing as northern-indiana-clay-alliance.png (vertical NICA logo, the site’s og:image from wp-content uploads, PNG 800 × 800).

FAQ

Q: What is the Northern Indiana Clay Alliance?
A: A 501(c)(3) membership nonprofit, established in fall 2022, that supports ceramic artists in northern Indiana and southern Michigan through the Michiana Pottery Tour, an artist directory, shows, mixers, and the Northern Indiana Clay Center in Goshen.

Q: How much does membership cost?
A: $250 a year for Artist, $100 for Friend of NICA, and $50 for Student / Teacher (checked 2026-10-13). All tiers get at least 10% off supplies, classes, and workshops.

Q: When is the Michiana Pottery Tour?
A: The final Saturday and Sunday of September each year. The 15th tour ran September 26–27, 2026, with more than 50 artists at ten stops, free admission.

Q: Does NICA offer classes?
A: Yes, at the Northern Indiana Clay Center. For example, Introduction to Wheel Throwing runs Wednesdays Nov 4–Dec 16, 2026, $250 ($225 for members).

Q: Where is it?
A: 118 South Main Street, Goshen, Indiana. Phone 574-290-2529. Open Tue–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 10am–3pm.