Vince Pitelka on sun 15 dec 96
I know that many of you on the list have big Christmas sales that are very
successful, but you and others may enjoy hearing of my experience this
morning. David McBeth (UT Martin) and I arrived at the Ron Meyers/Michael
Simon Christmas sale in Athens GA this morning at about 8:30, and when they
lowered the ribbon at 9:00 and the croud of over 100 people surged forward
towards the studio, I was in the first wave, and QUICKLY selected an armload
of great pots before the shelves were completely empty, which occured at
approximately 9:10. This is no exaggeration. It is a shame they did not
have a lot more wares, because there was absolutely nothing left for other
customers that would arrive later in the day. Every good potter should be
so lucky.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@Dekalb.Net
Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville TN 37166
Brooks Burgess on mon 16 dec 96
At 11:24 AM 12/15/96 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I know that many of you on the list have big Christmas sales that are very
>successful, but you and others may enjoy hearing of my experience this
>morning. David McBeth (UT Martin) and I arrived at the Ron Meyers/Michael
>Simon Christmas sale in Athens GA this morning at about 8:30, and when they
>lowered the ribbon at 9:00 and the croud of over 100 people surged forward
>towards the studio, I was in the first wave, and QUICKLY selected an armload
>of great pots before the shelves were completely empty, which occured at
>approximately 9:10. This is no exaggeration. It is a shame they did not
>have a lot more wares, because there was absolutely nothing left for other
>customers that would arrive later in the day. Every good potter should be
>so lucky.
>- Vince
>
>Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@Dekalb.Net
>Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
>Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville TN 37166
>
>While I agree that everyone one else should be so lucky, I also miss the
good old days. You see, Ron was my teacher when I was an undergrad and back
int those late 70's days people would "make the rounds" going to several
local potters studio sales before pointing the car north to tour more sales
in the region. Each studio that one visited would have spiced cider and
homemade treats. I was a chance to visit with potter / artist friends and
mentors and take care of your shopping list at the same time.Nowadays it is
such a feeding frenzy that no one can "visit". In fact, there really isn't
even a chance to "shop" cause if you walk past it it will be gone. No one is
picking out a favorite pot that really speaks to him. Instead its grab
anything at a bargain and then make trade among the customers. Oh well, Im
happy for Ron and Michael that they are getting the recognition and fame
they deserve, but the grab and go mindset sure dampens the holiday spirit.
Brooks Burgess
David McBeth on tue 17 dec 96
While Vince's report of our visit to the Meyers/Simon Christmas sale was
very accurate he left out a very unimportant detail.
While driving home to Tennessee we stoppped at a Burger King in north
Georgia, (Adairsville, I think) for lunch and were joined by Tammy Wynette
and her traveling troupe of merry wanderers.
Sorry country music folks, the Georgia Museum of Art and the pots were
much more exciting.
David McBeth, MFA
Associate Professor of Art
330C Gooch Hall
Division of Fine and Performing Arts
University of Tennessee at Martin
Martin, TN 38238
901-587-7416 office
901-587-7415 fax
901-587-5724 home
http://fmc.utm.edu/~dmcbeth/dmcbeth.htm
Vince Pitelka on tue 17 dec 96
>>While I agree that everyone one else should be so lucky, I also miss the
>good old days. You see, Ron was my teacher when I was an undergrad and back
>int those late 70's days people would "make the rounds" going to several
>local potters studio sales before pointing the car north to tour more sales
>in the region. Each studio that one visited would have spiced cider and
>homemade treats. I was a chance to visit with potter / artist friends and
>mentors and take care of your shopping list at the same time.Nowadays it is
>such a feeding frenzy that no one can "visit". In fact, there really isn't
>even a chance to "shop" cause if you walk past it it will be gone. No one is
>picking out a favorite pot that really speaks to him. Instead its grab
>anything at a bargain and then make trade among the customers. Oh well, Im
>happy for Ron and Michael that they are getting the recognition and fame
>they deserve, but the grab and go mindset sure dampens the holiday spirit.
>Brooks Burgess
Brooks -
There is much truth to your post, but I think that I may have misrepresented
the tone of the Meyers/Simon sale. Although the shelves were stripped
within ten to fifteen minutes, I cannot characterize it as a feeding frenzy.
People did make their choices quickly, but you should have seen the joy on
the faces of all the customers as they admired their selections. Most of
the customers were people that know Michael and Ron personally, and there
was a lot of socializing. Before and after the sale, there were coffee and
cakes on the veranda of Ron's home. The sense of comraderie was strong - a
large collection of pottery makers and afficionados, hoping to purchase a
few pieces from two of their favorite artists for bargain prices.
I do not think that the experience was diminished by the fact that this work
was in such demand. In fact it made it so much more exciting, and the sense
of satisfaction that much greater. I drove 200 miles to get there, and it
was worth it.
The situation you describe, where customers casually migrate from one sale
to another sounds charming. I have done the same thing many times. But can
you really find anything negative to say or think about the fact that these
two artists have come to a point where their work is in such demand? I'd
say it was the best of all worlds - good food, good comraderie, beautiful
setting, a high sense of excitement, and great work in great demand.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@Dekalb.Net
Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville TN 37166
gail@matra.com.au on wed 18 dec 96
We potters are a funny lot, aren't we? We complain, complain, complain when
sales are slow, that the public doesn't appreciate our work. Then complain
of a "feeding frenzy" when sales are good. We get depressed when there are
no orders on the books, then complain when we've got a stack of orders to fill.
Enjoying the fruits of my annual Christmas sale and looking forward to a
holiday!
..............................................................
Gail Nichols gail@matra.com.au
SODA GLAZE CERAMICS http://www.matra.com.au/~gail/
Sydney, Australia
..............................................................
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