Amid the hustle and bustle of raising a young family and teaching elementary school art, Sara Kharatyan sneaks away to her kiln.
It’s her quiet place; a spot just for her, tucked away in her Parkville home. And what started as a hobby is now padding her family’s bank account in unexpected ways.
“The business idea was really just to kind of hold me accountable,” said Kharatyan, owner of Crown & Heart.
Her early days as an artist-turned-entrepreneur formally began in 2017, though the venture’s seemingly Kansas City-rich name has been with her since birth — derived from her maiden name: Crownheart.
“I realized that it was more than just having accountability. It was my job now,” she added, recalling the day a fellow teacher approached her about starting a job share that empowered her to spend 50 percent of her time teaching art and the other 50…