Lili Krakowski on mon 10 sep 07
This is cruel and nasty, but Reality lurks like a footpad, and is going to
get us one way or the other.
Among ourselves we swoon over rare Shinos, weep at the sight of small
celadon plates, go bananas over a glowering Raku. But as Barbara Cowles of
Shop One fame used to say: "The potter comes in raving 'Look, look! A peach
bloom!' The customer comes in with a swatch of cloth and says: 'What do you
have that goes with this?'"
I am not picking on anyone. But someone "volunteered" a few days back, to
be an
example, by posting a sad story about having a bad day at a craft show, a
woman coming in asking for a butter dish, the potter saying "I only make
French butter dishes," the customer going "why?" and the potter saying:
"Because I choose to...."
A government grant allowed three elite universities to make a major study of
how many people know what a French Butter Dish IS. Two doctoral theses are
being presented as I write : "The Ethnography of French Butter Dishes" ;
"The Ethics of French and Other Butterdishes in an Obese Society", and there
probably are more theses in the making. But the upshot of the survey was
that no one except potters and the elite/wealthy have a clue what a FBD IS!
I asked two college educated friends --what is a FBD? One said: I know
what
one is, because you GAVE me one!" The other said, she hadn't a clue.
I explained. "Ah," she said, "I think
I saw something like that in a Williams Sonoma catalog!"
Now 58 years ago when I fell into the claybin, we were a blue collar lot.
I won't go
into history and details., Many at SAC were there on the GI Bill, a number
because
they had disabilities created by the War , and had to change occupations.
Never mind.
We were, we dealt with, we understood the real world where real people
live!
This has changed as "Craft" "CM", ClayArt show me.The craftsmen are much
more
schooled, have advanced degrees once "reserved" for those who wanted to
teach
at college level, and so many, so many, left a far more "sophisticated"
field of activity
to become potters, OR are doing it as a hobby while still maintaining
another career.
Back to FBD. What is the potential of the name? France no longer is the
leader of fashion....No one gives a dam....
Perhaps if one deals with elite shops or art galleries
one deals with customers who would have a clue what a FBD is!
For all I know, some of the shelter magazines, cooking magazines,
will show a FBD on a table featuring a dish of lark tongues steamed in
vintage Pieper Heidsick!
But people who come to Summer outdoor craft fairs rarely are part of that
crowd.
They are regular folk who want a Saturday's amusement, they want
to take the kids for an outing that does not cost much, they need a
shower,wedding,
housewarming, birthday gift--OR, vide Barbara Cowles, supra, there is this
bare spot
on the window sill on the staircase--there WAS a plant, it died, now they
want a pot of some kind.
IF instead of saying FBD,the potter had said: "I make only Summer Butter
Dishes in Summer--which it
is now...." the potential customer might have said: "Summer butter dishes?
What are those?" And the potter could have demonstrated the virtues of the
dish. " Look! The butter does not turn into a nasty glop--it remains nice
and crisp. The flies can't get on it! You can leave it on the table....
If
you eat outdoors or on the patio , in the gazebo and so on, it is SO nice
that the butter is pleasant....A few of these are perfect for herb
butters...I make them in different colors so you can identify the parsley
from the dill, from the basil butter....And you can use them for cream
cheese..."
I happen to love epergnes.I like the things, and I just love the word!
I am one of those who can delight chewing on a particular word for a
day--the
other day it was "Follicle"!
I know no REAL person knows or cares what an
epergne is! When talking about them I call them footed fruit bowls.
Mine are really handy ones, because they are footed colanders,
you can wash fruit in them and
then set'em on the table---the plate underneath (which can be filled with
ice if one wishes) catching drips!
If your venue is the upper middle class circuit of shops and galleries
by all means use million dollar words. Call your casseroles and mixing
bowls "terrines"! Use obscure and fancy names for glazes, glaze effects
etc.
Just remember: regular folk will only be put off as they ALWAYS
are by technical jargon."Teadust", "Sang de boeuf" are fine names.
But most people go with speckled brown and dark red. The late Tom Van Deusen
use to say: "Over $15 it is a vaaaaaaaaase" (pronounced as in French.)
"Under $15
it's a vase (rhymes with "blaze." Prices have risen--the idea remains.
And at this time of year you will sell more large covered jars for making
deer
jerky than for pickling lemons!
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
Earth and Fire Pottery on wed 12 sep 07
Well, to my suprise, I'm becoming a bit of a regular again!
French Butter Dishes are a big seller if you educate your public! As Lili says, this is because most people do not know what they are. I open the conversation with people who are passing by my booth with the question, "Have you ever heard of a French Butter Dish?" They answer one of three ways, 1) No. 2) Yes, my grandmother had one and 3) Yes, I bought one from you.
I find the answer, my grandmother had one, very interesting. My guess is that they were common before refrigeration came along, after which they died out.
The major selling point is soft butter on the counter at all times. (Except late August out here, when it's so hot everything melts). At fairs, I have a table full of them, and only them, in the front left corner of the booth, with signs explaining what they are. If I'm busy with a customer and I see someone looking at the sign with puzzlement, a quick "I'll tell you all about that in a moment" holds them for a few minutes until i can get to them. After I ask the question, and get the usual 'no' answer, I launch into a full explanation along with a demonstration(!), after which, more often than not, I make the sale. This leads to repeat business, after these folks friends find out about it after having a lunch with the new owner. If it is a couple, the line '...and I promote domestic tranquility too, because no one gets blamed any more for not putting the butter back in the frige", evokes an inevitable response: One of the two points to the other, they both smile, and
the sale is made. Good product, requires educating the market.
and, one more comment, if you want to expand your business, make what the customer wants! If they want a specific dish or object, give it a shot! Increase your skills and retirement fund! I've had a large number of requests for casseroles lately, and that hasn't happened out here in a long time. So i'm making them again. If you're not responding to your market, don't complain about not making enough money. Also, make what you sell at fairs. If people can't get enough of your gimcracks, make more. If an item is not selling, ask your customers why?
Then fix it or discontinue it.
that's my experience and my two cents for today. au revoir gregg
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