Add whimsy to your bathroom with a custom sink.

In Chester, a lovely coastal village along the Lighthouse Route, dreams are pursued, old traditions cherished, neighbours are close friends and people live with whimsy in their hearts and in their homes.

It's the ideal location for an artist. Not only is the rural scenery stimulating, but the population appreciates fine quality work. This is the case with custom-made sinks from Paula MacDonald's Pottery Studio.

"Sinks are to houses what shoes are to women," says custom sink owner Ann Barry of Marriott's Cove, just down the road. "For me it's like a signature in a house. I don't want to spend a lot of money making everything look beautiful. I'd rather spend it on a couple of things that are quite unique."

Ann's house (once her aunt's) is more than 100 years old. She renovated it to suit her lifestyle. She calls her décor "Cottage Style" with a blend of old and new; the treasured furniture passed down in her family and the new pieces she's added.

"My place is on the water so I wanted a sink with a water scene," she says. "I call one sink, "a walk on the beach" and the other, "under the sea." She says likes that she can take her concepts to Paula, who will in turn create from them.

"She reads people," says Ann. "For the walk on the beach I gave her shells. I love my sinks."

Gail Fraser, another fan and a customer, says she is in and out of Paula's studio all the time. Gail chose two sinks-one with tropical fish and a nautilus shell tucked in the sand to put in her cottage, aptly named "The Nautilus House." The second sink has a Greek key design with a custom-made iron stand in place of a vanity.

One woman from British Columbia asked for a Western wildflower motif. After a little research online and e-mails back and forth they came up with a pattern to her liking. Another client flew from Ontario to meet Paula and choose her sink in person.

Paula MacDonald began her pottery career in 1981, working out of her home. She trained in Fine Art at Marietta College in Ohio, at the Museum of Fine Art School in Boston, and studied Art History at Boston University. Her father grew up in Chester so she'd made many visits over the years. She moved to Chester in 1988.

"I've always loved Chester," she says. "There's a great exchange of ideas here. Being a gallery owner, I'm in contact with a lot of artists; many are friends."

Paula makes functional pottery, dinnerware, vases, lamps, planters, even door knobs for cabinets. She began making sinks when a friend couldn't find just what she wanted in ready-made.

Since then she hasn't looked back. Her sinks are in homes right across Canada and some in the United States and Germany.

Paula's sinks, which start at $475, are made of earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. White earthenware, with clear glaze, gives a finished sink a shade of warm white. Porcelain is a white clay fired to a higher temperature which limits the palette for design to blues and greens. Stoneware is a brown clay which gives the sink a more earthy look.

"I start with the wedge of clay, center it on the wheel and open it just like any pot, except it's much heavier, much thicker, it's a massive piece" she says.

To make a sink, it takes 18 pounds of clay. Once it's shaped and trimmed Paula allows the clay to dry. If it's an earthenware sink, she paints an original design directly on the clay before firing it. This design can be a request from a client or one of Paula's own choice-from lupines to sailboats, seashores to fishes, to abstracts.

The sink is then fired in the kiln, which fires the motif directly into the clay. She adds a glaze which is like a glass coating to protect the sink and the painting. It's fired once more and ready for sale.

Paula says she couldn't be happier throwing sinks in Chester.

"Every day I am designing," she says. "Whether I'm making the form, decorating, glazing; every step of the way I am making design decisions. This is the creative part of you that you really need to use to enjoy your work. I get to use it all the time."