In recent weeks, Rainbows Pottery Studio, located on Newbury Street, Mass., has become a TikTok sensation, but not for its seemingly family-friendly DIY pottery. The store and its owner have been the center of numerous online complaints about a former employee’s alleged harassment of customers. 

The pottery store is well-known among Boston residents and Emerson College students for its colorful creations, which are frequently displayed outside the studio. But after a number of viral videos describing uncomfortable experiences with the owner, Allison Carroll, and former employee Andrew “Drew” Perez Giampa went viral on TikTok, hundreds more came forward to share their experiences on social media. 

The videos validated concerns of several college students who have said they had uncomfortable and unpleasant experiences with Rainbows and the Giampa. 

Some of the stories shared on social media came from customers and former employees who were propositioned by Giampa and were yelled at or sued by Carroll. Currently, more than 250 videos appear under #rainbowpottery on TikTok.

Many of the videos question the overzealous approach of Giampa. Some described their interactions with him as “uncomfortable,” “awkward,” and “flirtatious” at times, with several videos showing lengthy text threads of Giampa repeatedly reaching out to customers after meeting them. 

Criminal charges filed against Giampa placed him on the sexual offenders list in October 2024 as a level three offender, the highest risk classification. 

In one instance, Giampa identified himself as a photographer and asked if he could take pictures of Mia Torrillo, a freshman business of creative enterprises major, and Sidney Schmitt, a freshman interdisciplinary studies major, on Tremont Street around 9 p.m. 

“He had a really weird vibe and energy to him,” Schmitt said. “He started by asking if we wanted pictures and said, ‘I’m a photographer. I’m really good at taking pictures.’” 

According to Torrillo and Schmitt, Giampa asked the girls where they were from, where they went to school, and other personal questions. 

“He said, ‘I live in the neighborhood, and if you ever need anything, let me know … if you ever need alcohol or a place to stay,’” Schmitt said.

The two said they have avoided walking by the studio since.  

According to Joseph J. Plaud, a forensic clinical psychologist who specializes in treating sexual offenders, Giampa’s propositions are common for such offenders. 

“A grooming process generally … attempts to establish some kind of shared experiences,” Plaud said. “Buy things for the individual, provide emotional support, a number of techniques where the offender can get into the circle of trust for the potential victim.”

Schmitt said it was “weird” to see additional stories, some of which she felt seemed worse than her conversation with Giampa.

“We were lucky it was just a brief interaction,” she said. 

As the outrage on TikTok grew through early February, angry rhetoric spread to Carroll, who employed Giampa for a number of years before the online outbursts. 

“When I first met this employee, many years ago, I felt very sorry for him because he was homeless and struggling with addiction, mental health, and feeling accepted,” Carroll said in a written statement to The Beacon. “I gave him an opportunity to turn his life around, and he did for quite some time.” 

It is unclear exactly how long Giampa was employed at Rainbows. Carroll told the Boston Globe and employees that she had known him for 10 years. 

Carroll also told The Beacon that Giampa was fired in July 2023. This contradicts freshman visual and media arts major Audrey Linder Portela’s experience, when she stopped outside Rainbows last October. 

“[Giampa] walked out of the store holding a cardboard box of pottery and was asking me and my friends to come back tonight for a singles night event they were hosting in the studio,” Portela said. 

Ethan Stoehr, a senior at Boston University, worked at Rainbows for six weeks during the summer of 2023. 

Stoehr recalled a hostile work environment that included outbursts from Carroll and an unprofessional relationship with her employees. 

Stoehr claimed that Carroll tended “to flip on her employees on a moment’s notice.”

“When I walked in on my first day, [Giampa] was introduced to me as Allison’s son,” Stoehr said. “I’m still not sure if they’re legally related.” 

Stoehr’s relationship with Rainbows ended abruptly after Carroll demanded that he return his most recent paycheck of $670. 

“I knew she would turn on me eventually,” he said. 

Stoehr said he received threatening texts from Carroll for almost a year regarding the deposited check. 

“Ethan if this isn’t in my Venmo within the next 15 minutes I’m calling the Police,” “Trust that,” “Don’t fuck with me,” Carroll wrote across three consecutive messages reviewed by The Beacon. 

This harassment continued for over a year, Stoehr said, when Giampa walked into Stoehr’s new place of employment and told him he was going to tell Carroll he had found him. 

Stoehr also received a court summons at his new workplace, stating that he would face Carroll in court regarding the paycheck. Stoehr won the case and was not required to repay anything to the studio or Carroll. 

“‘I never needed your money, I’m just so happy I wasted your time, Ethan,’” read a text message from Carroll to Stoehr that was verified by The Beacon. “‘You’re the only one that got away with your lies, you filthy animal.’” 

The texts took a turn over time, with Carroll’s daughter targeting Stoehr’s sexual orientation. “Ethan!!! How’s your pussy holding up, you fag?” one text read. 

Stoehr referred to Giampa as Carroll’s “henchman.” The Boston Globe reported that Giampa was rehired for a short time in 2025. “Walking my dog, getting groceries, things like that,” Carroll said to the Globe. 

Carroll told The Beacon that she was unaware of his sexual offender status during his return.

But Stoehr maintained that Carroll is also at fault. 

“She knew about his status and his criminal behavior, and she still chose to have him here on Newbury Street when he cannot control himself for even 30 seconds,” he said. “She did know about it.” 

Carroll told The Beacon that Giampa’s charges were filed after his employment at Rainbows ended, and that he will be given “no more chances.”  

Still, some Emerson students say they will not be able to view the studio in the same way.

Torrillo recalled Rainbows’ advertisement of discounted pottery painting for anyone who had an uncomfortable experience with Giampa and “online bullying and harassment.” 

“You hired a sex offender who is clearly not trying to get better and gave him a second chance to remain, doing these creepy things, approaching women, minors, while employing him and paying him,” Torrillo said. “And you said, ‘Here’s a discounted pottery day?’” 

Plaud, the expert on treating sexual offenders, said that offering sexual offenders a second chance can be beneficial to society, and even to the offenders themselves. 

“Most sex offenders don’t reoffend … and to be back in their community and have social support, community, a job, a place to … have friends and have other ways to draw support, that actually reduces recidivism,” he said. 

But Plaud also acknowledged that putting a sexual offender in an environment similar to the one in which they acted on their first offense is a “risk-relevant behavior.” He defined this as “any environment, individuals, circumstances, or situations an individual returns to … that might make further abuse more likely.”

“Think about it like an alcoholic who works at a bar,” he said. 

Avary Amaral contributed to this report.