Kelly Savino on wed 22 dec 10
Tony, this year I pulled out of two holiday group sales I have done every w=
inter.
I often did quite well at the shows, but I needed a change. Maybe I'm getti=
ng antisocial in my old age, I don't know. I have less patience with meetin=
gs and committees, egoes and personalities.
Mostly, though, since Jeff's job went "poof", I've had to rethink my hours-=
per-dollar commitments. For potters who are in this for fun and the social =
connection, group sales are great, but for me, a whole day spent table sitt=
ing at a venue where potters outnumber customers just doesn't make financia=
l sense anymore.
So this year, I went out to the studio and hid three wheels, half a ton of =
clay, tools and what not under three big tables, draped some tablecloths, h=
ung Christmas lights and set up my pots. I did no marketing except for send=
ing out a note on facebook. I made spiced cider, Jeff baked a brie en crout=
e, and I was "open" for a whopping three hours one saturday afternoon -- si=
tting by the wood stove in the studio with my daughter, listening to Norah =
Jones and Yo Yo Ma. My hens stood on the studio porch like the welcoming c=
ommittee.
I made more money in three hours than I did in a whole weekend of guild sal=
e last year (when I was high seller.) Not only that, but people dropped by =
my house in the days after the sale and handed me a couple hundred more... =
the doorbell rang, I walked out and bagged their pots, came back to the kit=
chen with my pockets full. It didn't suck.
Unlike the botanical garden's events, people weren't just wandering through=
to see the sights. Nobody walked past my work to buy from a less skilled p=
otter with garage sale prices. Not many people attended the sale at my stud=
io, but the ones who came were there on purpose and brought their wallets.
BTW Tony -- it's been over a decade since my lactation days. I am not wound=
as tightly as I once was on Clayart, nor am I so adamant in my opinions. O=
n the other hand, as I get older I have less ability to suffer the company =
of boors and bores, on line or in person. (Did I mention I'm getting antiso=
cial?) Time is too valuable to waste on negativity and posturing, whether i=
t's my own or that of others. Sometimes I get weary of the noise of the Ram=
shead pub and have to go sit on the back step for a while with the cat.
But a lot has changed since I was primalmommy the pad pot queen, with cloth=
diapers flapping on the line and little homeschoolers reading in the hammo=
ck.
In fact, I recently inspired some raised eyebrows at the guild, as I was se=
en coming in late at night to unload kilns, holding the elbow of a tall, ha=
ndsome, broad shouldered, deep voiced man in a black pea coat and fedora. A=
few days later when someone got up the nerve to ask me who my "friend" was=
-- I burst out laughing. It was my son Connor.
Time flies, old man... my little boys shave, and drive, and wear shoes the =
size of kayaks. My littlest is twelve, going on thirty.
I, on the other hand, haven't aged a day.
Yours
Kelly in Ohio
...waiting until the dust settles after the holidays to count my pennies fo=
r NCECA. I think I'll need a roommate! (Or by the sounds of it, half a doze=
n...) Who's headed for Tampa this year?
http://www.primalpotter.com
tony clennell on thu 23 dec 10
Ahhhhhhhhhh Kelly: You're finally heeding the advice of the oldest
statesman and his Canadian counterpart the older statesman. You've
discovered The Garden Gate or The Holy Grail of pottery survival. What
has been so great about my Garden Gate this year is that the bills
have been paid by The Ivory Tower and the cash sales of December are
split between Her Knibs and me. Guy buys 4 cups $120! Sheila gets $60,
I get $60. Not a penny this year was on our credit card. Christmas is
paid for and we were able to be generous and we have money in our
personal savings accounts. Last year just coming off the USU thing was
bleak. We had nothing to open on Christmas morning except the ritual
Newcastle Brown Ale that I always toast my late father the Geordie
with.
We stopped supplying two galleries this year. I just can't keep up
with our showroom, teaching and workshops. I'm working today making
cups to send to my workshops in Jan/Feb. People always want my cups at
workshops and I don't have one left in the showroom. I was hoping I
wouldn't have to be in the studio or fire a kiln till sometime in late
Jan. A student I taught some yep 30 years ago in Wiarton just dropped
in and ordered a 12 place dinnerware setting and all the accessories.
God, she is one of the most beautiful women I have ever laid eyes on.
Now, she is approaching 50. Good, heavens where has the time gone? So
nice of her to track me down and have memories of my teaching.
Consider painting the Garden Gate and keeping it open more often. Mine
is full service with all the cash registers, credit and hoop la la but
it didn't start out that way and it may well go full circle back to a
fishing tackle box and a sign like Vicki H suggested "Open Most Days
Closed Others".
Off to trim and handle the cups.
Rumour has it Santa got me a cell phone. Apparently now I need one?
What's next? Texting!
Keep up the good fight!
Tony
On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 11:24 PM, Kelly Savino
wrote:
> Tony, this year I pulled out of two holiday group sales I have done every=
=3D
winter.
>
> I often did quite well at the shows, but I needed a change. Maybe I'm get=
=3D
ting antisocial in my old age, I don't know. I have less patience with meet=
=3D
ings and committees, egoes and personalities.
>
> Mostly, though, since Jeff's job went "poof", I've had to rethink my hour=
=3D
s-per-dollar commitments. For potters who are in this for fun and the socia=
=3D
l connection, group sales are great, but for me, a whole day spent table si=
=3D
tting at a venue where potters outnumber customers just doesn't make financ=
=3D
ial sense anymore.
>
> So this year, I went out to the studio and hid three wheels, half a ton o=
=3D
f clay, tools and what not under three big tables, draped some tablecloths,=
=3D
hung Christmas lights and set up my pots. I did no marketing except for se=
=3D
nding out a note on facebook. I made spiced cider, Jeff baked a brie en cro=
=3D
ute, and I was "open" for a whopping three hours one saturday afternoon -- =
=3D
sitting by the wood stove in the studio with my daughter, listening to Nora=
=3D
h Jones and Yo Yo Ma. =3DA0My hens stood on the studio porch like the welco=
mi=3D
ng committee.
>
> I made more money in three hours than I did in a whole weekend of guild s=
=3D
ale last year (when I was high seller.) Not only that, but people dropped b=
=3D
y my house in the days after the sale and handed me a couple hundred more..=
=3D
. the doorbell rang, I walked out and bagged their pots, came back to the k=
=3D
itchen with my pockets full. It didn't suck.
>
> Unlike the botanical garden's events, people weren't just wandering throu=
=3D
gh to see the sights. Nobody walked past my work to buy from a less skilled=
=3D
potter with garage sale prices. Not many people attended the sale at my st=
=3D
udio, but the ones who came were there on purpose and brought their wallets=
=3D
.
>
> BTW Tony -- it's been over a decade since my lactation days. I am not wou=
=3D
nd as tightly as I once was on Clayart, nor am I so adamant in my opinions.=
=3D
On the other hand, as I get older I have less ability to suffer the compan=
=3D
y of boors and bores, on line or in person. (Did I mention I'm getting anti=
=3D
social?) Time is too valuable to waste on negativity and posturing, whether=
=3D
it's my own or that of others. Sometimes I get weary of the noise of the R=
=3D
amshead pub and have to go sit on the back step for a while with the cat.
>
> But a lot has changed since I was primalmommy the pad pot queen, with clo=
=3D
th diapers flapping on the line and little homeschoolers reading in the ham=
=3D
mock.
>
> In fact, I recently inspired some raised eyebrows at the guild, as I was =
=3D
seen coming in late at night to unload kilns, holding the elbow of a tall, =
=3D
handsome, broad shouldered, deep voiced man in a black pea coat and fedora.=
=3D
A few days later when someone got up the nerve to ask me who my "friend" w=
=3D
as -- I burst out laughing. It was my son Connor.
>
> Time flies, old man... my little boys shave, and drive, and wear shoes th=
=3D
e size of kayaks. My littlest is twelve, going on thirty.
>
> I, on the other hand, haven't aged a day.
>
>
> Yours
> Kelly in Ohio
>
> ...waiting until the dust settles after the holidays to count my pennies =
=3D
for NCECA. I think I'll need a roommate! (Or by the sounds of it, half a do=
=3D
zen...) Who's headed for Tampa this year?
>
> http://www.primalpotter.com
>
Lee Love on thu 23 dec 10
On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 10:24 PM, Kelly Savino
wrote:
> Tony, this year I pulled out of two holiday group sales I have done every=
=3D
winter.
>
> I often did quite well at the shows, but I needed a change. Maybe I'm get=
=3D
ting antisocial
>in my old age, I don't know. I have less patience with meetings and commit=
=3D
tees, egoes
> and personalities.
When working with these groups, you need to pick and choose.
Much can depend on just a couple people driving things. Jean and I
helped start the Longfellow League of Artists (LOLA) crawl a couple
years back and I have been treasurer since the beginning (funny,
because I am as far away from a CPA as you'd ever imagine.) When
Jean and I go to meetings, we see our main goal of keeping people on
the agenda. Many people participate to socialize. We don't. We are
there to organize. We help with the work and let folks socialize at
the end, when we usually leave. LOLA is doing pretty good now, so I
am going to be more peripherally involved.
I started working with the folks at the Artists Circle.
http://www.artistscircle.org/ They revived Art At Saint Kates and got
their start Art At Ramsey and Art At Highland. The core of the
Artists Circle are 3 women. Their meetings are pretty impressive,
they run down the agenda in blazing speed, handing out assignments
left and right. Makes your head spin.
LOLA seems to be getting too big and it is not juried.
I've been thinking about organizing a juried Art Fair in my
neighborhood and my experience with the Artists Circle has taught me
some things that would help me if I decided too. First off, start off
with a small core of strong people.
> Time flies, old man... my little boys shave, and drive, and wear shoes th=
=3D
e size of >kayaks. My littlest is twelve, going on thirty.
You won't believe it when the grandkids arrive. Primal Grandma!
--
=3DA0Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mingeisota.blogspot.com/
=3D93Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel
the artistry moving through and be silent.=3D94 --Rumi
Robin Wolf on thu 23 dec 10
Kelly,
I just read your post, and had to agree with all you said. I am fairly new
to being a "real" potter, i.e.: one who is intent on making at least a majo=
r
portion of my living at what makes me content and happy. And I am making
progress toward that end.
I tried the public thing; and found out that there are many individuals tha=
t
want to be Supervisor and collect the accolades as others collect the
calluses. The days spent being a part of the many that makes the minimum
are days that I cannot afford to waste. As the holidays neared and I still
had a good stock of inventory, I chose to clean the house and studio, set u=
p
my display shelves in the front room, put an ad in the local paper,
Facebook-ed and emailed my friends, families and cronies to come enjoy
Spiced Cider and cookies fresh from the oven. I walked away with a very
pleasant pocket full of sales. Like you, there were not truckloads of
customers, just a limited number of VERY good serious customers. These are
customers that will do business again. And again. My modest home and
studio were comfortable for them, and it was comfortable for me to welcome
them into my personal space. An experience for me that was very unlike
sitting in public spaces trying to be an Artist.
I like my farm life; I like being by myself in the quiet and serenity of my
studio. I like seeing the fields change, hearing the coyotes howl in the
night, and see the hawks & eagles hunt on the creeks and river. Making
decisions that are for "me-one" is new to me, I have spent a lot of my time
riding that proverbial white horse to the rescue & benefit of others.
Pottery has helped me to find what makes me happy, what brings contentment
to my heart, and a reason to park the white horse.
I will always be that individual that rails at intentional ignorance and
arrogance, and I absolutely agree with your statement "Time is too valuable
to waste on negativity and posturing, whether it's my own or that of
others". Thank you for being a (needed) sane voice.
Robin Wolf
Robin Wolf Pottery
Kingfisher, OK
405.368.0919
www.robinwolfpottery.com
"Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the
artistry moving through and be silent." - Rumi
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