Meet our vendors and find out why we're not your average wedding expo.
Valley Wed is a unique wedding show offering couples a handpicked selection of exceptional wedding pros in Western Mass. It's designed especially for couples that want to go their own way, but they don’t want to go it alone.
Meet Jena Sujat, owner of Pinch in downtown Northampton.
When did you start your business and why do you do what you do?
When I purchased Pinch ten years ago, I wanted to continue its tradition of carrying local and national artisans. I also hoped it would fulfill my hope to have a career uniting my analytical ability and love for the arts – that I could make a living doing something I love.
In my first year, I received a note from a new artist I had started ordering from, thanking me for my support of her business. That's when I realized that not only was I fortunate to have succeeded in finding work I love, but that I was doubly fortunate by helping others do what they love, too.
What is your very favorite part of your job?
Displaying new pottery when it comes in, and doing new window displays. It’s important to me to display each artisan’s work as best as possible and to show our customers the array of each artisan’s work. I have a talent at making pleasing compositions, and really enjoy going back into the shop the next day to look at the new displays again.
What do you want couples to know about your business?
I’d like clients to feel excited about what they’re purchasing from us, and by only two degrees of separation from the person who made it. I hope people leave Pinch feeling we’ve been friendly, kind, helpful and knowledgeable. Having a registry with us is a personal experience and we love discussing with each couple’s friends and family the pieces they’ve chosen, so when someone makes a purchase off their registry, they also feel excited about it.
Actually, that’s another favorite part of my work at Pinch – showing a couple’s friends and family the pieces that couple chose. I’m able to say things like, “They really liked the robin’s egg blue glaze Tiffany Hilton works with,” and, “They know they might not get everything they registered for, but I know this Judy Jackson set of ramekins was one of their favorites.”
What would make you feel great knowing you had accomplished for your client?
The best compliment I could hear is that the couple and their friends and family had a good time shopping at Pinch – that they felt taken care of and proud of the choices they had made.
What's something every couple needs to know about putting together a wedding registry?
What comes to mind is that the wedding registry experience can feel like a loving one. It has often felt that way for us at Pinch, and I think for the couples and their families, too. That might sound funny, but I’ve heard couples talk after the wedding about how happy it makes them every time they use Lucy Fagella’s mugs for their morning coffee or how much they enjoy serving salad in a Spencer Peterman wooden bowl.
They talk about feeling connected not only to the small, local business of Pinch, but also to the person who made each piece. On the one hand, they might have to wait longer for their custom dinnerware to be made, but on the other hand, it was made especially for them! Couples feel proud and happy about the pieces they received from their registry, and good knowing their friends and family also felt proud about their gifts. All of this makes it feel very loving.
Share two things you are proud of…professionally and personally.
I'm really proud of having great relationships with both customers and staff.
Personally, I'm proud of my new kitchen; of creating a space for all the pottery and pieces from various artists I've collected over the years. When I look around my house, I see a lot of friends!
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Meet our vendors and find out why we're not your average wedding expo.
Valley Wed is a unique wedding show offering couples a handpicked selection of exceptional wedding pros in Western Mass. It's designed especially for couples that want to go their own way, but they don’t want to go it alone.
Meet Tiffany of Tiffany Hilton Pottery, co-creator of Valley Wed
and maker of beautiful handmade pottery and dinnerware. When did you start your business?
I started in 2005, working part-time as a potter and part-time as a librarian. In January of 2015 I made the leap into being completely self-employed. Making a living as a potter is no easy task - but I am positive that it is exactly what I am meant to do!
What is your very favorite part of your job?
My absolute favorite part is trimming a bowl or plate and taking pride in my craftsmanship. I enjoy envisioning that pot in another persons hands, knowing it has the potential to bring joy to others - knowing it will go out into the world and be part of someone's life. When working directly with a couple on their wedding registry I get to make pots specifically for people, in the shapes and glazes that they have chosen. It's a very rewarding experience.
Another favorite part of the registry process is when a couple is first deciding on what size dishes and bowls they may want and how many they might need. While they may perhaps be in a small apartment at the time of my asking, I prompt them to envision their lives three years from now, perhaps hosting their first Thanksgiving or a big pot luck celebration. This may be the first time they have ever thought about that and it's fun to see their faces light up as they visualize their future together...sharing meals with family and friends and using handmade dishes that they got years ago from a little potter in a big studio in Northampton, MA. 
Charley Freiberg Photography
What do you want couples to know about you and your business?
When meeting with a couple to discuss a handmade wedding registry, I want them to leave my studio knowing that I have ten years of experience doing gift registries and that each and every piece of pottery is handmade with lots of love. I want them to trust that I am running a successful, professional studio and that their pottery will be well crafted with food safe, durable glazes they will use for decades to come.
What's the best compliment you could hear about your work?
My clients often tell me how much they love eating from their handmade pottery every day. The best is when a family member calls me to say they had dinner at so and so's house and just loved all the pottery - and can they add to their collection for a holiday or anniversary gift?! Repeat customers and recommendations are the best compliment!
Clients often send me notes after their wedding and they say it best: “We are so glad we chose to have our wedding gift registry with Tiffany. First, because it was important to us to have locally hand-made gifts and because we are so impressed with Tiffany’s beautiful pottery. Second, because the personal touches Tiffany included as part of the registry service created human connection and community around the gift giving and wedding celebration. And finally, because now, everyday we eat dinner and drink coffee and share meals with friends and family around this love-filled pottery, each piece with it’s own story. It’s really special to us and we are grateful to the potter and the gift-givers alike!” – Meg & Joey 
John Polak Photography
Can you share one true gem of advice for couples?
I think people are really craving human connection these days. Eye contact, hand holding...the gift of being present. The addition of meaningful, handmade objects into your life and home can change how you share meals and time with friends and family. Don't be in a hurry, enjoy your tea or coffee - and make time to be present with those you love.
Show us two things you are really proud of…professionally and personally.
This oval bowl and serving platter are two pieces I'm very proud of...but hopefully my best work is yet to come!
Charley Freiberg Photography
My puppy Stella spends the days with me at the studio and brings me loads of joy! 
Valley Wed is a curated style of wedding show; one that focuses on real relationships with the best wedding vendors the Pioneer Valley has to offer. We want to connect you with the top wedding professionals in Western Massachusetts to help you plan one of the most important days of your life.
You're not cookie cutter. Neither are we.
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Meet Tiffany Hilton, a professional potter and co-coordinator of Valley Wed.
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What is your favorite memory from your wedding?
The ceremony was very meaningful to me and I still have very clear memories of it 12 years later. We passed our wedding rings around in a little basket so that everyone in attendance could offer a special blessing and wish for everlasting love. One of our readings was from Rumi and included the following line: ”A circle of lovely quiet people becomes the ring on my finger.” I remember all our guests surrounding us in the garden, looking at us with such love – and I recall Tim and I looking back at all of them as our rings went around and came back to us and we continued with our vows and exchange of rings.
“A circle is the symbol of the sun and the earth and the universe, of wholeness and perfection and peace, the rings you are about to give and receive this day are symbols of the endless love into which you enter as husband and wife.”
Is there one picture from your own wedding you couldn’t live without?
My mother was a photographer and art teacher and offered to photograph our big day. Several other family and friends sent us pictures as well. There is one of Tim and I after our ceremony, and after some traditional family photos had been taken…where we both were more relaxed and glowing with happiness – and it’s one of my favorite photos from our wedding.
If I had to do your wedding over again what would you do differently?
What would you keep exactly the same?
We had a low-budget wedding of $5,000. We rented a barn for $500, had a somewhat organized pot-luck wedding with 75 guests, hired wait staff and a bartender, and our biggest expense (and top priority) was having great live music. We hired The Bag Boys who had a regular weekly gig at our favorite bar in Cambridge, MA. They were so experienced and professional and easy to work with. We asked them to play something in the garden before the ceremony and then to move inside the barn after the ceremony for some great bluegrass, old time and western swing. I had absolutely no worries about the music or timing of anything – and trusted that they had everything under control. Our guests loved them! If I had to do it all over again I would definitely hire a great live band with lots of experience.
What do you love most about your work?
I love making something useful, durable and beautiful that will become part of people’s daily lives. I love meeting a couple who are inquiring about a handmade wedding registry with Tiffany Hilton Pottery and starting the conversation with them – asking them how they envision dining and entertaining in their married life. It is often the first time someone has asked them to envision hosting Thanksgiving dinner together in a year or two – how many place settings would they need? It’s very exciting to play a small part in their grand wedding celebration and to meet or speak with a couple’s family and friends through the wedding gift registry process.
What makes you different from other professionals in your field?
Lots of professional potters make plates, bowls and cups – but many of them don’t want to offer full wedding registry options. It takes an additional level of organization and experience to produce a large order within a certain time frame. I have been offering wedding registries for over ten years and am proud to have my work appreciated in this day-to-day way.
At 9am each day you are...
...usually enjoying a cup of black tea in a handmade mug made by myself or one of my potter friends…while I finish up some emails and get ready to start my day in the studio!
A charity you support:
Food Bank of Western MA. I often will host a raffle during my studio sales and holiday events to raise money for hunger awareness issues and our local food bank. I also contribute many bowls to the Amherst Survival Center Empty Bowls project and dinner each spring.
What's your motto in life?
“Work hard and be nice to people.”
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