susanford on fri 29 may 98
Ok, this is what's been bugging me. How do you run a
pottery as a business? Do you incorporate? Declare as a
home based business? How do you declare the sales for the
IRS?
I'm trying to get an idea on how potters deal with the
business end of things. Not as fun as throwing by a long
shot, but I'm ready to start a pottery business of my own
and need some idea on how it's done.
Susan
---
Susan K. Ford
Norman, Oklahoma
http://www.clueless.norman.ok.us/sf/rerhome.htm
clennell on thu 19 feb 04
Sour Cherry Pottery
> Hey Tony, have you ever thought of doing a workshop
> on "The Business of pottery"?
>
> Bet you'd have a full house.
>
> Earl K...
> Bothell, WA, USA
Dear Earl: Somehow the business of pottery is the least popular course in a
art school. The students at Sheridan School of Craft and Design hate the
business course cause it takes them away from the studio. A business prof
teaches them, not a potter. I have proposed one specifically for pottery and
not the other media- glass, fibre and furniture for next year- 2 hours once
a week for 7 weeks which will mean they will have received a total of 14
hours of business instruction in a 3 year craft program. I went to
university for 6 years to study Business Administration with a major in
Marketing and the administration think it can be done in 14 hours.
Is it any wonder why so few are in the field of their dreams a couple of
years after art school?
cheers,
Tony
P.S Remember to keep your business outta other peoples noses.
Earl Krueger on fri 20 feb 04
On Thursday, Feb 19, 2004, at 15:19 US/Pacific, clennell wrote:
> Sour Cherry Pottery
>
> I went to university for 6 years to study Business Administration
> with a major in Marketing
Aaaahhhh !!! The lens has come into focus !!!
Have you all noticed how subtle Tony's marketing can be?
Have you noticed that he starts out his posts to Clayart
with the name of his business, even before the quotes of
previous posts? This is not by chance, or whimsy.
The man thinks business. Thinks marketing.
Those who aspire to make a living from their pottery would
do well to spend time studying Tony's methods.
As for his artistic abilities? Well, I'm not qualified to judge.
You decide.
Earl K...
Bothell, WA, USA
Krista Peterson on fri 20 feb 04
>Dear Earl: Somehow the business of pottery is the least popular course in=
a
>art school. The students at Sheridan School of Craft and Design hate the
>business course cause it takes them away from the studio.
Hello Tony,
Maybe the business part of the education should be more of a project rather=
than a class where you sit in a stuffy room and watch someone blather on. =
Potters are doers, we choose to work in clay because we like to dive in and=
work with our hands. My attempts at learning the business part of my craft=
included running the school clay club. We organized pot sales and since we=
were promoting ourselves and our work we were more likely to put the time =
into organizing it. Other projects could involve writing a grant, for real.=
You could have grant writers speak to your students. There could be intern=
ships where ceramic students work with a grant writer for a semester or 2 a=
nd at least get introduced to that aspect of the art world. What about the =
museum side of art? What about the non profit side of art? I think these ty=
pes of study should be required. I know how hard it is to balance studio ti=
me with the other classes. I probably spent 3/4 of my time in the studio wh=
en I was going to school. And I would have spent ALL of my time there if I =
could have! But it's SO important to get the practical side of our craft so=
that we can keep doing it. Anyways, keep up the good work!=20
Take care=20
Krista Peterson
-----Original Message-----
From: clennell
Sent: Feb 19, 2004 3:19 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: The Business of Pottery
Sour Cherry Pottery
> Hey Tony, have you ever thought of doing a workshop
> on "The Business of pottery"?
>
> Bet you'd have a full house.
>
> Earl K...
> Bothell, WA, USA
A business prof
teaches them, not a potter. I have proposed one specifically for pottery an=
d
not the other media- glass, fibre and furniture for next year- 2 hours once
a week for 7 weeks which will mean they will have received a total of 14
hours of business instruction in a 3 year craft program. I went to
university for 6 years to study Business Administration with a major in
Marketing and the administration think it can be done in 14 hours.
Is it any wonder why so few are in the field of their dreams a couple of
years after art school?
cheers,
Tony
P.S Remember to keep your business outta other peoples noses.
___________________________________________________________________________=
___
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.=
com.
logan johnson on fri 20 feb 04
Tony,
I took three business and marketing courses over nine months before focusing on my pottery and I would say that any business course would help and one specifically designed for potters would have been great. I would have killed for your 14 hour course. Give 'em a lot of homework!
By the way, are you willing to be adopted. You can sleep with our rottweiler and I promise she won't poop in the back of your truck. :-)
Logan
< I went to university for 6 years to study Business Administration with a major in
< Marketing and the administration think it can be done in 14 hours.
< Is it any wonder why so few are in the field of their dreams a couple
< of years after art school?
< cheers,
Logan Johnson Audeo Studios
www.audeostudios.com
"Carpe Argillam!!"
Vince Pitelka on fri 20 feb 04
> Dear Earl: Somehow the business of pottery is the least popular course in
a
> art school. The students at Sheridan School of Craft and Design hate the
> business course cause it takes them away from the studio. A business prof
> teaches them, not a potter.
Tony -
I think that is the problem. Business profs have a very abstract,
generalized veiw towards business that has little to do with the realities
of studio pottery business. A pottery business course needs to be taught by
a potter with some business experience. That is the only way to draw
students into the subject matter.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Office - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 x111, FAX 615/597-6803
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Ivor and Olive Lewis on sat 21 feb 04
Dear Tony,
You say <<..I went to university for 6 years to study Business
Administration with a major in Marketing and the administration think
it can be done in 14 hours....>>
Having nailed your credentials to the mast for yourself may I suggest
that there might be an opening for you to devise and operate a course
of commercial study delivered via the Web.
You might not be in a position to present anything other than a
certificate of participation but I'm sure making the necessary
knowledge and skills available would be appreciated by many people,
after the event of formal institutional instruction in arts and
crafts.
You might be astounded at the response and it could, once the bugs
are ironed out, turn into a nice little earner.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia.
.
> Is it any wonder why so few are in the field of their dreams a
couple of
> years after art school?
> cheers,
> Tony
> P.S Remember to keep your business outta other peoples noses.
>
>
______________________________________________________________________
________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Donald Burroughs on sat 21 feb 04
I agree Tony.I think that art schools colleges or universities (esp.)think
that business fundamentals are somehow the whoring of ones' art. Why when I
went to school we were not even able to take one course in the commerce
faculty as an academic elective.This still stands today. I dearly love my
old alma mater, but I do feel they have to step back and realize that not
all artists have a natural salesmanship skills. Besides these are not
enough to build a sophisticated network in the gallery world and even to
run a day-to-day operation nowadays. I recently took a workshop featuring
Peter Powning who works in clay,glass, and metal. He had some sound advice
and suggested Robin Hopper's book entitled "Stayin Alive" which features
Powning and other clay/glass artists experiences and advice regarding the
business of art.I know I plan to buy this text.
Donald Burroughs
On the web @ http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~donaldo
You can preview the new look @...http://www.vitreousart.com
Cheryl Weickert on sat 21 feb 04
Tony,
While drawing up the plans on teaching these classes it would help a bunch
of us if you put it in book form and sold them to the rest of us who need
help!!!
Cheryl in snowy, blowing MN
On Thu, 19 Feb 2004 18:19:35 -0500, clennell wrote:
I have proposed one specifically for pottery and
>not the other media- glass, fibre and furniture for next year- 2 hours once
>a week for 7 weeks which will mean they will have received a total of 14
>hours of business instruction in a 3 year craft program. I went to
>university for 6 years to study Business Administration with a major in
>Marketing and the administration think it can be done in 14 hours.
>Is it any wonder why so few are in the field of their dreams a couple of
>years after art school?
>cheers,
>Tony
>P.S Remember to keep your business outta other peoples noses.
Krista Peterson on sat 21 feb 04
I have been obsessed with this subject ever since my last year of college when I realized
that I would have a large debt upon graduation and no marketable skills to make enough money
to pay it back. I can fire just about any kiln and am skilled in many aspects of ceramics because I spent as much time as possible in the studio. Now, maybe that was a mistake but I felt since I was going to school to learn about ceramics that I should focus on that as much as possible. There are not enough teaching jobs in art and even less in ceramics to be pushing all students in that direction. I also wonder if there is enough of a demand for pottery to support even half of the potters that want to make their living making it. What other ways can a potter or ceramic artist make a living and stay in their field? ANd I don't want to hear about marrying well, I didn't go to college to find a husband, I went to become a ceramic artist. This is a real problem and I believe there is a solution to it.
I've probably said this before but I think that colleges could be more diverse in the career paths that they offer their art students. I remember one of my professors was getting involved in ceramic restoration and I wonder now if he is offering to teach his students this skill. This is one path, maybe not a lot of demand for that either but I see the field of ceramics like a farm where there are several small, diverse sources of income. Like I wrote in response to Tony that I haven't seen posted yet. What about grant writing, non profits, public art, museum skills. I think I've said this before too, that I think the best example of an art school was the Bauhaus.
I realize that there is a lot of things to learn to be a potter and that a college can't cover it all in 4-6 years of study but I think that they could start to show students the different aspects of the art world more than they do. Like glaze and clay calculation classes can't teach a student EVERYTHING about how clays and glazes work but they give you enough information so that a student could has the tools to find out what he/she needs to find out. They at least know where to look after completing those courses.
Take care
Krista Peterson
-----Original Message-----
From: Donald Burroughs
Sent: Feb 21, 2004 4:29 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: The Business of Pottery
I agree Tony.I think that art schools colleges or universities (esp.)think
that business fundamentals are somehow the whoring of ones' art. Why when I
went to school we were not even able to take one course in the commerce
faculty as an academic elective.This still stands today. I dearly love my
old alma mater, but I do feel they have to step back and realize that not
all artists have a natural salesmanship skills. Besides these are not
enough to build a sophisticated network in the gallery world and even to
run a day-to-day operation nowadays. I recently took a workshop featuring
Peter Powning who works in clay,glass, and metal. He had some sound advice
and suggested Robin Hopper's book entitled "Stayin Alive" which features
Powning and other clay/glass artists experiences and advice regarding the
business of art.I know I plan to buy this text.
Donald Burroughs
On the web @ http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~donaldo
You can preview the new look @...http://www.vitreousart.com
______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Hendrix, Taylor J. on sun 22 feb 04
Uh Ivor:
I'm already enrolled in his course. I'm also enrolled in your
mind-sintering, numbing, dissolving ceramic theory class (which I love).
I'm still waiting for you two yarbirds to send me last semester's
certificates in the mail.
The only class these days (or un-class if you prefer) that I'm sorry I
ever enrolled in is the "When do the fumes stop" class, if you get my
meaning (nudge, nudge) the answer to which is, unfortunately, "never, my
dear Virginia."
Taylor, in Waco
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ivor and
Olive Lewis
Sent: Friday, February 20, 2004 6:00 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: The Business of Pottery
Dear Tony,
You say <<..I went to university for 6 years to study Business
Administration with a major in Marketing and the administration think
it can be done in 14 hours....>>
Having nailed your credentials to the mast for yourself may I suggest
that there might be an opening for you to devise and operate a course
of commercial study delivered via the Web.
You might not be in a position to present anything other than a
certificate of participation but I'm sure making the necessary
knowledge and skills available would be appreciated by many people,
after the event of formal institutional instruction in arts and
crafts.
You might be astounded at the response and it could, once the bugs
are ironed out, turn into a nice little earner.
Best regards,
...
Ivor and Olive Lewis on mon 23 feb 04
Thanks Taylor,
We seem to be ploughing a furrow which is taking us down to bedrock.
I was beginning to wonder if I was going off track but checked myself
by looking in a back issue of Ceramics Technical no 14.
Before I got to "Mind numbing" I thought you were going to say
"Ceramics Design Course". But I think that has the same attributes
anyway.
Having fun with Cinema 4D V6. Superb Forms from Splines and Nurbs!!.
Wafer thin clay with no collapsing!!
Good to hear from you again.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
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