Want to make your own ceramic Christmas tree? Here's how

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- A Lenoir City man and retired nuclear engineer has a holiday hobby he's sharing with others.

Mark Sundie has turned his ceramic passion into practice, and it's attracting people from all over East Tennessee.

"I've been doing ceramics since I was 14. So it's always been a passion with me," said Sundie.

He owns Depot Ceramic Shop in Lenoir City where he sells the popular Christmas trees.

"They're a very big comeback," said Barbara Campasino.

Campasino travels an hour and a half from Chattanooga.

"Every single Thursday. I have to be in the hospital not to get here," laughed Campasino, "I usually do homemade gifts for everybody so I decided to do this for all my children and grandchildren in the family."

People have created 550 trees this holiday season.

"My mother-in-law gave me one years ago and it broke," explained Campasino "And the only way to get one of these is to come to a place like this or be extremely expensive and see if you can locate one."

"I started my collection with my grandmother's. I'm up to 24 in my collection," said Kristi Hall, a Lenoir City resident.

For Hall it was her antiques that inspired her to begin making them.

"Once you really get started in it, it's addicting," said Hall.

"This is my day to have fun. I don't let too many things interrupt my day. I've made wonderful friends up here also," said Campasino.

"You also have the satisfaction knowing you made it yourself. There is nothing like a homemade gift," explained Sundie.

Most of the trees cost less than $50 to create.

The Depot Ceramic Shop is located at 481 Leeper Parkway, Unit 2. Check out their Facebook page here.