[5] Hadley's artistic career began in painting, both oils and watercolors,[6] which she showed in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles.
[9] By the summer of 1940 word of her pottery reached as far as New York City and New England, and orders began rolling in.
She continued to design stoneware for her neighbors and friends, working from her apartment over a horse stable at St. James Court[4] until a backorder of 1000 pieces in 1944 created a need for her own space.
[3] In 2008, the Mary Alice Hadley House on Story Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
[19] In 1947 Hadley was offered to present an exhibit of her work at New York City's America House by the American Craftsmen's Education Council.