A pottery studio owner whose clients include Hollywood stars has canceled plans to open a second location after allegations were made against her.
Allison Carroll, 46, runs Rainbows Pottery Studio in Boston’s wealthy Back Bay neighborhood. The location is full of frilly decor, brightly painted ceramics and charming hand-painted window displays.
The studio has been frequented by celebrities such as Zendaya and her fiancé, Tom Holland, who have posed for a picture in front of the business with Carroll. Actor Chris Evans has also been pictured with Avengers-themed pieces from the studio.
But Carroll has been mired in controversy since a Boston Globe article published in February outlined allegations against her.
Carroll allegedly created a toxic work environment, harassed customers, mocked a former employee for his sexuality and employed a sex offender.
Carroll denied the allegations when approached by the Boston Globe, saying that comments she is accused of making were ‘doctored.’
Accusers reportedly backed up their claims with screenshots of text messages.
Carroll was due to open a second studio in Nantucket in April, but those plans have now been put on hold.
Allison Carroll, 46, owner of Rainbows Pottery Studio, will not be opening a second pottery studio in Nantucket due to backlash over allegations
Carroll’s business, Rainbows Pottery Studio, is located in Boston’s wealthy Back Bay neighborhood. It has been visited by Zendaya and Tom Holland, who are pictured with Carroll
Chris Evans was seen with Avengers-themed ceramics from the studio
The businesswoman had leased space at 1 Cambridge Street, a building in the city’s center. But the property’s owner, Mike Cotton, received ‘countless emails’ telling him not to allow the studio to open there, Carroll told the Nantucket Current.
‘We jointly decided, for the safety of the property and my family, it wasn’t a good idea to move forward after the countless emails they received from supposed community members,’ she told the outlet.
‘This was my life dream and it’s devastating not only for me and my family, but also the community would’ve loved what we were going to bring.’
One of Carroll’s former employees, Ethan Stoehr, told the Globe that Carroll sued him in court after accusing him of stealing and demanded his $670 paycheck back in 2024.
In a January TikTok, Stoehr also revealed text messages sent to him by Carroll and her daughter, Maggie, who works for her mother’s company.
Maggie reportedly texted: ‘Ahahha shut up fata**, nobody wants to hear you speak ever. Make sure to clean the skin that overlaps, which is everywhere. We all know how sweaty that p*** is. We saw it on your nasty forehead, wonder what the fat disgusting jiggly a** holds.’
Carroll later sent a Salt Bae gif, where Nusret Gökçe was edited to be wearing fairy wings, seemingly to make fun of Stoehr’s sexuality. She captioned the gif: ‘Ethan!!!!!!!’
Maggie replied: ‘How’s your p***y holding up you f**?’
Former employee, Ethan Stoehr, claimed Carroll and her daughter made fun of his sexuality and that the owner accused him of stealing and took him to court
Despite the colorful and cozy decor, former customers said they had unpleasant experiences
The alleged harassment was also pointed at customers. Madison Parrott was celebrating her birthday at Rainbows in January when she reportedly heard Carroll berate an employee.
Parrott went outside with the worker, telling her that Carroll shouldn’t be talking to her employees like that, she told The Globe.
Carroll then came outside to confront Parrott, refusing to allow her back into the studio, which caused the 26-year-old to write a one-star review.
Parrott’s boyfriend reportedly later confronted Carroll via text about their experience before she responded.
‘Does your prostitute need a box of tissues??’ she reportedly messaged. ‘Let me guess your favorite position is missionary?’
She then reportedly asked him to have Parrott remove her bad review, ‘before I teach you a big lesson in life,’ The Globe reported.
Wendy Ji visited Carroll’s business in 2021, and after an unpleasant experience trying to coordinate pickup of their pottery pieces, she also wrote a one-star review, she told The Globe.
Carroll replied to her Google review and claimed Ji had made ‘derogatory’ comments, which caused the woman to take to TikTok to ask people to ‘hold this lady accountable for her action.’
Carroll (pictured) reportedly took one former customer, Wendy Ji, to court, claiming she threatened her and got charges pressed against her after she left a one-star review
Zendaya (right, in white) was seen enjoying the studio around October 2024
She’d come to regret the video as Carroll sued her for $75,000 for emotional distress and claimed Ji had threatened to have a ‘gang member kill her and her family.’
It led to criminal charges against Ji, and the charges were eventually dropped after Ji took down her video and wrote Carroll an apology for her review.
Perhaps the most serious controversy surrounding Carroll was her employment of and decade-long association with Andrew Giampa, a convicted sex offender.
Multiple women accused Giampa of harassing them, including Lauren Hayden, a 32-year-old attorney in Texas, who said the sex offender had threatened to rape and kill her in 2021 while she was a student working at a bakery near Carroll’s pottery studio.
Giampia also pleaded guilty to assault and battery in 2017 after groping a woman on the Boston subway, and he broke the terms of his probation by violating a restraining order filed by a different woman.
Carroll has said that she never witnessed Giampia’s improper behavior and told the Globe that she was unaware of his sex offender status until outrage began swirling online in January.
She also told the publication that she fired Giampia in November of last year and has cut him out of her life.
Despite the roadblock the businesswoman faced trying to open a second location in Nantucket, she still plans to open another satellite studio elsewhere, according to social media posts.
The Daily Mail has contacted Carroll for comment about the second studio.
