When Geoffrey and Karilon Grainger started selling ceramic fish and only ceramic fish at their small workshop in Marion, naysayers thought the business would never last.

“Someone said to me, ‘You’re going to saturate the whole area,’” said Geoffrey.

But 21 years down the line, the Graingers have found that there are always more fish in the sea and customers to buy them. With the help of his nieces, Geoffrey wants to see his business become bigger and more ef-fish-ent.

A self-taught ceramic artist with a back ground in home decor, Geoffrey said, “I wanted to come up with a new product people could decorate with.”

Geoffrey began creating his ceramic fish using molds of actual catches. Over the years, he has expanded his fish from local varieties to exotic tropical fish.

With niece Caroline now working full-time at the business, Geoffrey is molding a new generation of Grainger potters.

A recent graduate of Simmons College, Caroline has been learning the family trade  the past four summers and now works full-time at Grainger Pottery.

“It’s amazing how quickly she’s taken to it,” said her uncle.

“I could have gone to school in ceramics,” said Caroline. “It’s unbelievable how much there is to know.”

But Caroline’s degree in finance and economics will come in handy as she and her sister Lauren, still an undergraduate, make plans to eventually take the helm.

The business already sells thousands of fish a year through its store and online shop, but the siblings want to see schools of Grainger fish all over the country.

“I’m hoping they can go into wholesale one day,” said Geoffrey. “We want to see our fish from the Northeast down to Florida and then some more.”

Right now the biggest cost is labor as each fish is handmade. It takes up to three weeks to complete a batch, but Geoffrey would like to see the process automatized.

“That’s down the road,” said Geoffrey. “What they need is to know how to do everything.”

For now, Caroline continues to master the fish, and has taken over much of the production.

“I really liked finance and economics,” she said. “But very few people get the opportunity to be taught a trade like this.”

Visit Grainger's website here.