By Anna Guido
Enquirer contributor

OXFORD - Long before developer Donald Trump became the star of his own reality show, local mom Candace Crist was firing up pottery at her small business in this college town.

Now the billionaire Trump is trying to trademark his TV show catchphrase, "You're Fired!," even though it also happens to be the name of Crist's paint-your-own-pottery studio and at least two similar businesses in the United States.

Candace Crist, owner of You're Fired! pottery store in Oxford. (Jeff Swinger photo)

Crist - who has three children and is married to a Miami University associate professor of zoology - said she doesn't plan to challenge Trump on the trademark rights, even though other "You're Fired!" business owners are.

"I'm just pretty much focusing on the business and the mother thing," Crist said. "If Trump brings merchandise into the area that says 'You're Fired!' on it, I only see that as helping to increase awareness of my business."

But if push comes to shove, Crist said she would fight to save the name of her studio, which opened in September 1998.

In NBC's The Apprentice - the reality show in which Trump starred - a group of aspiring young executives vied for a job running one of Trump's companies. The climax of each episode was when Trump told a losing contestant: "You're fired!" The last episode aired Thursday.

USA Today reported recently that Trump has filed trademark applications for commercial uses of the slogan, on everything from slot machines to coffee mugs.

After speaking to a lawyer, Crist said she is confident her studio name will not be in jeopardy even if Trump succeeds in his effort.

"Our history protects us and stands for itself."

Crist bought her business from a friend in 2000. That year, the city's Chamber of Commerce named it Oxford Business of the Year.

Don Norris, an MU associate professor of marketing, has worked with Procter & Gamble, Ford and other companies on promotional strategies. He said it's tough to keep a small business operating in Oxford and that Trump might have met his match in Crist.

In 2003, Crist's studio was featured as one of six successful studios nationally in Popular Ceramics magazine.

The magazine's editor, Michael Harbridge, said Crist has made great strides to reach and educate a younger market about the fired arts, something the hobby ceramic industry has neglected over the years.

Crist refers to her work with young people as a "creative outlet." She hosts parties, plays music and lets customers bring in their own food to munch on.

As for Trump and The Apprentice - she's only seen about 10 minutes of it because she isn't interested in reality shows - Crist said: "I'm in reality. I'm living it."

But the reality of Trump's trademark request is that it's bringing her small business some big exposure.

Local, state and regional media are calling Crist to find out how the national business issue is affecting her livelihood, and customers (up to 75 percent are MU students) are pretty charged up about the connection.

Emily Cernoia, 22, a senior anthropology major from Cleveland, was at Crist's store recently.

"I read about it in our school paper, and I thought it was kind of silly that Trump was trying to coin the phrase," Cernoia said.

Besides, Cernoia added, using the words "You're Fired" in the context of ceramics "is a much more clever spin."

If you go

• You're Fired! is at 6 N. Beech St. in Oxford.

• Telephone: (513) 523-2734.

• Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday and closed Mondays.

• Studio time is $7.50 for the first hour of painting (children under 12 are $5), and $5 for each additional hour (charged in 15-minute increments). Pottery pieces range in price from $4 to $50. Merchandise is ready for pick up about five days after painting.

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E-mail annag376@aol.com