elizabeth priddy on tue 14 dec 99
I was aware of this, but it didn't even pass
through my consciousness that they might want
it for a food surface! Matt glazes are not
what I consider ideal food surfaces and they
specifically asked for a true matte surface.
I have a few satin matte glazes that I use for
food dishes, but I have found that customers
won't consider the matte ones at all for food.
Anyone else have any marketing experiences with
matte versus shiny glazes they would like to
share? I am very interested in others'
experiences with this.
People tend to shy away from orange in general,
but sunny yellow orange is my favorite color.
I don't think I am a "normal" consumer, though.
I painted some tiger lilies on some of my tiles
once and they were the last to go. Tiger lilies
have to be orange per my vision, but that didn't
matter to q public...
---
Elizabeth Priddy
email: epriddy@usa.net
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
Clay: 12,000 yrs and still fresh!
On Mon, 13 Dec 1999 15:28:29 Wade Blocker wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>
>Velvet Underglazes carry a warning that unless they have a clear glaze on
>top they are not foodsafe. Mia in sunny but chilly ABQ
>
--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
The Buchanans on wed 15 dec 99
I will join the Beautiful-orange-no sales Club. BUT the recipe
stays in my file until fashions change. I waited the market out
until my lovely butter yellow is in style again and some day the
trends will turn to orange sherbet and I'll be ready. If newbies
want a clue about what colors are selling ,check the wall paper
sample books or ask your local furniture dealer what he saw
at market. If it doesn't match the decor, no matter how beautiful
it is, it doesn't sell.
-----Original Message-----
From: elizabeth priddy
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 6:42 AM
Subject: orange, matte v/s shiny marketing
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I was aware of this, but it didn't even pass
>through my consciousness that they might want
>it for a food surface! Matt glazes are not
>what I consider ideal food surfaces and they
>specifically asked for a true matte surface.
>
>I have a few satin matte glazes that I use for
>food dishes, but I have found that customers
>won't consider the matte ones at all for food.
>
>Anyone else have any marketing experiences with
>matte versus shiny glazes they would like to
>share? I am very interested in others'
>experiences with this.
>
>People tend to shy away from orange in general,
>but sunny yellow orange is my favorite color.
>I don't think I am a "normal" consumer, though.
>
>I painted some tiger lilies on some of my tiles
>once and they were the last to go. Tiger lilies
>have to be orange per my vision, but that didn't
>matter to q public...
>
>
>---
>Elizabeth Priddy
>
>email: epriddy@usa.net
>http://www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
>Clay: 12,000 yrs and still fresh!
>
>
>
>
>
>On Mon, 13 Dec 1999 15:28:29 Wade Blocker wrote:
>>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>
>>Velvet Underglazes carry a warning that unless they have a clear glaze on
>>top they are not foodsafe. Mia in sunny but chilly ABQ
>>
>
>
>--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
>Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
Jeff Campana on wed 15 dec 99
I think on the whole, potters tend to like browns, yellows, oranges and
reds. the consumer, on the other hand, at least here in Wisconsin, tend to
really go for the blues. I think potters are not generally impressed by
blues because blue is the easiest color to get, being availible from iron,
cobalt and I'm sure many other ways(I have class in 10 ,min don't have time
to think) All i know is that in the christmas sale we had last week, i sold
every peice of woo's blue before a single ash glazed, shino, or wood fired
piece.
Cheers,
Jeff
elizabeth priddy wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I was aware of this, but it didn't even pass
> through my consciousness that they might want
> it for a food surface! Matt glazes are not
> what I consider ideal food surfaces and they
> specifically asked for a true matte surface.
>
> I have a few satin matte glazes that I use for
> food dishes, but I have found that customers
> won't consider the matte ones at all for food.
>
> Anyone else have any marketing experiences with
> matte versus shiny glazes they would like to
> share? I am very interested in others'
> experiences with this.
>
> People tend to shy away from orange in general,
> but sunny yellow orange is my favorite color.
> I don't think I am a "normal" consumer, though.
>
> I painted some tiger lilies on some of my tiles
> once and they were the last to go. Tiger lilies
> have to be orange per my vision, but that didn't
> matter to q public...
>
> ---
> Elizabeth Priddy
>
> email: epriddy@usa.net
> http://www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
> Clay: 12,000 yrs and still fresh!
>
> On Mon, 13 Dec 1999 15:28:29 Wade Blocker wrote:
> >----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> >
> >Velvet Underglazes carry a warning that unless they have a clear glaze on
> >top they are not foodsafe. Mia in sunny but chilly ABQ
> >
>
> --== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
> Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
David Hendley on thu 16 dec 99
| ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
| I have a few satin matte glazes that I use for
| food dishes, but I have found that customers
| won't consider the matte ones at all for food.
|
| Anyone else have any marketing experiences with
| matte versus shiny glazes they would like to
| share? I am very interested in others'
| experiences with this.
I am amazed at the number of people who buy whole sets
of dishes covered with matt glazes.
In the 70's and 80's my studio-mate sold dozens and
dozens of sets.
Just thinking about the sound of a fork scraped across a
plate makes my skin crawl. Knives made marks on the glaze.
Worst of all, these low-silica matts are always crazed.
You can't see it without magnification, but you will know
it when they are stained and make a dull clunking sound
when tapped.
I can't imagine that many of these people have used these
dishes and are still happy with them after 20 years.
When I have someone ask me for matt dishes, I demonstrate
the silverware sound and marking, and that usually convinces
them it's not a good idea. But, some people still want it.
--
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com/
Ray Aldridge on thu 16 dec 99
At 10:07 PM 12/15/99 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I will join the Beautiful-orange-no sales Club. BUT the recipe
>stays in my file until fashions change. I waited the market out
>until my lovely butter yellow is in style again and some day the
>trends will turn to orange sherbet and I'll be ready. If newbies
>want a clue about what colors are selling ,check the wall paper
>sample books or ask your local furniture dealer what he saw
>at market. If it doesn't match the decor, no matter how beautiful
>it is, it doesn't sell.
I have to disagree with this view, to some extent. It's my opinion that if
you are making strong work, you can sell it, even if it goes against
current trends in "interior decor." It's a matter of finding the right
customer.
"Interior decoration" is a sterile and esthetically bankrupt approach to
making one's environment beautiful. Someone who changes her home to look
like a home she saw in a magazine, without reference to her own interior
affinities, is not the likeliest customer for an artist doing original
work. I know that every artist has experienced the horrific sensation that
her work is only being purchased because it goes with the new shag, but
this is not the market where strong artists should be competing for
business. We should be trying to find the market where people who value
their own perceptions more than some editor's idea of "decor" are looking
for pieces that speak to them personally. We should be selling work that
is so impressive that a person who acquires it will be moved to create a
decor appropriate to its display, and not the other way around.
As I've said before, one of my favorite books is _A Pattern Language_.
Alexander's take on "interior decoration" is that it's intended to please
guests and not the people who live in the home. The great irony is that
these professionally decorated homes are the dullest homes to visit. Far
more interesting are homes which have slowly collected a bunch of
idiosyncratic stuff that express the personalities of the people who live
there. And that's where artists come in.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
Janet Kaiser on fri 17 dec 99
Firstly what some potters do not appreciate, is the reluctance of people to
believe a matt glazed pot is waterproof! It may sound silly, but I have had
to explain this so often to customers, that I often advise new makers to at
least "shiny glaze" the inside of pots to help their initial slow sales. It
usually works a treat, especially if a "clean" colour like white or cream
for functional ware.
Secondly, the public also have a feeling that matt is going to stain! Fat
and grease would "disfigure" the surface. Of course some of the matt glazes
of the seventies (dolomite especially) have not stood the "test of time". We
have mugs, jugs and bowls which we no longer use, simply because they look
rather yuck inside. OK they are twenty-odd years old, but I usually like to
use pots until they are broken, not because I am embarrassed by the
appearance.
Orange is a difficult one... It brings memories of student days to me...
Orange plates with a black greek-key design around the outside. Seconds from
the Portmeirion shop, now right at the bottom of the plate stack. Definitely
not my favourites and probably with a high cadmium content! Yes... that
scare was well publicised in the UK. People threw out a lot of red and
orange pots in the early '80s.
The Matching the Decor Theory is true to a degree, but I must say that
speaking from a gallery perspective (see the horns?) I am never surprised
at the tastes of individuals. If people live in a carefully neutral home,
suddenly "have a rush of blood to the head" (as my mother would have said)
and buy what they consider to be totally outrageous... Well, this may be to
relieve the monotony and give a splash of colour... It may be the "true
self" breaking out... Who knows? Certainly one can no longer bet that a
"little old lady" is going to choose a pale and pretty pot. Thankfully at
the end of the 20th century we are now beyond that preconception!
And people are always open to advice... Like when someone is trying to find
a green vase to "match" their sitting room, I will often point out that if
they chose a complimentary colour they would be better advised. After all,
no one can "carry" a colour perfectly in their mind's eye, only something
approaching a match. After they then approximate which "green" they think
their room is, I show them an appropriate "red" (peach through orange
through red to purple) rather than a similar green.
In the UK we tend to have a lot of patterns and colours in our homes.
Probably to cheer us up on grey days in the winter when it never gets really
light, like today! Again, this often means that a "plain pot" makes a lot
more impact than a highly decorated one. Which reintroduces the idea that
colour must "match" in some way, However, the rediscovery of Clarice Cliff
and her work has also opened people to brightly coloured "gaudy" ceramics
again. Most people over 60 hate it because it was being thrown out when they
were setting up home and they got this "rubbish" until they could afford
better. Just as most people approaching 50 do not like psychedelic oranges,
pinks and greens, because they associate these colours with those
embarrassing photos of kipper ties, flared trousers and flower-power of
their mis-spent youth! I guess that the under 20s love orange... Just wait a
couple of years, until they have more money to spend on "luxuries".
Of course the way to push everyone towards orange is to make a stunning BLUE
and orange (or any other personal hard-to-sell colour favourite)
combination! >g<
Janet Kaiser -- currently showing orange pots too!!
The Chapel of Art, Criccieth, GB-Wales
Home of The International Potters' Path
http://www.the-coa.org.uk
postbox@the-coa.org.uk
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I will join the Beautiful-orange-no sales Club. BUT the recipe
>stays in my file until fashions change. I waited the market out
>until my lovely butter yellow is in style again and some day the
>trends will turn to orange sherbet and I'll be ready. If newbies
>want a clue about what colors are selling ,check the wall paper
>sample books or ask your local furniture dealer what he saw
>at market. If it doesn't match the decor, no matter how beautiful
>it is, it doesn't sell.
>>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>I was aware of this, but it didn't even pass
>>through my consciousness that they might want
>>it for a food surface! Matt glazes are not
>>what I consider ideal food surfaces and they
>>specifically asked for a true matte surface.
>>
>>I have a few satin matte glazes that I use for
>>food dishes, but I have found that customers
>>won't consider the matte ones at all for food.
>>
>>Anyone else have any marketing experiences with
>>matte versus shiny glazes they would like to
>>share? I am very interested in others'
>>experiences with this.
>>
>>People tend to shy away from orange in general,
>>but sunny yellow orange is my favorite color.
>>I don't think I am a "normal" consumer, though.
>>
>>I painted some tiger lilies on some of my tiles
>>once and they were the last to go. Tiger lilies
>>have to be orange per my vision, but that didn't
>>matter to q public...
>>Elizabeth Priddy
Chris Schafale on fri 17 dec 99
>From my perspective, I'll disagree with you on this one, Ray. I
think of myself as a craftsman, not an artist. What is true for me
may not be true for you, but I don't make one of a kind,
"impressive" statements -- I make bowls, baking dishes, mugs,
things that people will be living with day after day. And just as I
don't expect them to change the way they eat or the way they hold a
mug in order to fit my idiosyncratic artistic vision, I don't expect
them to change their decor. Personally, I feel absolutely no need to
have everything match in my home, and I don't do trends. However, if
others do, and if it's important to them, I'd better pay attention,
because these folks are my bread and butter. I don't want to limit
my audience to only those people who are willing to redesign their
lives to accomodate my work. I want to reach ordinary folks, ones
who might not buy "art", but who are attracted to a well-designed,
functional piece of pottery that they can imagine using in their
home. Yes, I grit my teeth when a customer says she can't use my
lovely tan/rust pots because her kitchen is done in green and mauve,
but that's her prerogative. It's my job to either educate her about
the beauty of eclectic decor, or to find glazes that will go with
green and mauve. (I absolutely, uncategorically refuse to make mauve
pots, so the field is free for the rest of you.)
Chris
>
> I have to disagree with this view, to some extent. It's my opinion that if
> you are making strong work, you can sell it, even if it goes against
> current trends in "interior decor." It's a matter of finding the right
> customer.
>
> "Interior decoration" is a sterile and esthetically bankrupt approach to
> making one's environment beautiful. Someone who changes her home to look
> like a home she saw in a magazine, without reference to her own interior
> affinities, is not the likeliest customer for an artist doing original
> work. I know that every artist has experienced the horrific sensation that
> her work is only being purchased because it goes with the new shag, but
> this is not the market where strong artists should be competing for
> business. We should be trying to find the market where people who value
> their own perceptions more than some editor's idea of "decor" are looking
> for pieces that speak to them personally. We should be selling work that
> is so impressive that a person who acquires it will be moved to create a
> decor appropriate to its display, and not the other way around.
>
> As I've said before, one of my favorite books is _A Pattern Language_.
> Alexander's take on "interior decoration" is that it's intended to please
> guests and not the people who live in the home. The great irony is that
> these professionally decorated homes are the dullest homes to visit. Far
> more interesting are homes which have slowly collected a bunch of
> idiosyncratic stuff that express the personalities of the people who live
> there. And that's where artists come in.
>
> Ray
>
>
> Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
> http://www.goodpots.com
>
>
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, NC
candle@intrex.net
The Buchanans on fri 17 dec 99
H... Ray, I'm not even pretending to make ART. I make good
functional pottery and one of the functions is color. A casserole
or serving dish sells if it complements the buyers dinnerware.
A tooth brush holder or soap dish adds a color accent in the bath.
I only make beautiful color glazes so I don't care which one I use.
Just trying to make a living doing what I love. Judi
-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Aldridge
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Thursday, December 16, 1999 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: orange, matte v/s shiny marketing
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
At 10:07 PM 12/15/99 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I will join the Beautiful-orange-no sales Club. BUT the recipe
>stays in my file until fashions change. I waited the market out
>until my lovely butter yellow is in style again and some day the
>trends will turn to orange sherbet and I'll be ready. If newbies
>want a clue about what colors are selling ,check the wall paper
>sample books or ask your local furniture dealer what he saw
>at market. If it doesn't match the decor, no matter how beautiful
>it is, it doesn't sell.
I have to disagree with this view, to some extent. It's my opinion that if
you are making strong work, you can sell it, even if it goes against
current trends in "interior decor." It's a matter of finding the right
customer.
"Interior decoration" is a sterile and esthetically bankrupt approach to
making one's environment beautiful. Someone who changes her home to look
like a home she saw in a magazine, without reference to her own interior
affinities, is not the likeliest customer for an artist doing original
work. I know that every artist has experienced the horrific sensation that
her work is only being purchased because it goes with the new shag, but
this is not the market where strong artists should be competing for
business. We should be trying to find the market where people who value
their own perceptions more than some editor's idea of "decor" are looking
for pieces that speak to them personally. We should be selling work that
is so impressive that a person who acquires it will be moved to create a
decor appropriate to its display, and not the other way around.
As I've said before, one of my favorite books is _A Pattern Language_.
Alexander's take on "interior decoration" is that it's intended to please
guests and not the people who live in the home. The great irony is that
these professionally decorated homes are the dullest homes to visit. Far
more interesting are homes which have slowly collected a bunch of
idiosyncratic stuff that express the personalities of the people who live
there. And that's where artists come in.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
tgschs10 on sat 18 dec 99
Chris,
Do you really thing this statement of yours is true "Interior decoration" is
a sterile and esthetically bankrupt approach to
making one's environment beautiful." Personally, I have met very good
artist [potters] whose homes are esthetically an abomination and decorators
whose homes are beautiful. It is one thing to write a beautiful phrase and
another to write a meaningful poem or story. There is a genius of
organization as there is a genius of creation. We need not denigrate those
with other gifts, I am often reminded when accessing this listserver of
Meyer-Briggs book Gifts Differening. We all have different gifts not
necessarily better gifts.
Tom Sawyer
Orlando, Fl
tgschs10@msn.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Schafale"
To:
Sent: Friday, December 17, 1999 2:54 PM
Subject: Re: orange, matte v/s shiny marketing
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> >From my perspective, I'll disagree with you on this one, Ray. I
> think of myself as a craftsman, not an artist. What is true for me
> may not be true for you, but I don't make one of a kind,
> "impressive" statements -- I make bowls, baking dishes, mugs,
> things that people will be living with day after day. And just as I
> don't expect them to change the way they eat or the way they hold a
> mug in order to fit my idiosyncratic artistic vision, I don't expect
> them to change their decor. Personally, I feel absolutely no need to
> have everything match in my home, and I don't do trends. However, if
> others do, and if it's important to them, I'd better pay attention,
> because these folks are my bread and butter. I don't want to limit
> my audience to only those people who are willing to redesign their
> lives to accomodate my work. I want to reach ordinary folks, ones
> who might not buy "art", but who are attracted to a well-designed,
> functional piece of pottery that they can imagine using in their
> home. Yes, I grit my teeth when a customer says she can't use my
> lovely tan/rust pots because her kitchen is done in green and mauve,
> but that's her prerogative. It's my job to either educate her about
> the beauty of eclectic decor, or to find glazes that will go with
> green and mauve. (I absolutely, uncategorically refuse to make mauve
> pots, so the field is free for the rest of you.)
>
> Chris
>
> >
> > I have to disagree with this view, to some extent. It's my opinion that
if
> > you are making strong work, you can sell it, even if it goes against
> > current trends in "interior decor." It's a matter of finding the right
> > customer.
> >
> > "Interior decoration" is a sterile and esthetically bankrupt approach to
> > making one's environment beautiful. Someone who changes her home to
look
> > like a home she saw in a magazine, without reference to her own interior
> > affinities, is not the likeliest customer for an artist doing original
> > work. I know that every artist has experienced the horrific sensation
that
> > her work is only being purchased because it goes with the new shag, but
> > this is not the market where strong artists should be competing for
> > business. We should be trying to find the market where people who value
> > their own perceptions more than some editor's idea of "decor" are
looking
> > for pieces that speak to them personally. We should be selling work
that
> > is so impressive that a person who acquires it will be moved to create a
> > decor appropriate to its display, and not the other way around.
> >
> > As I've said before, one of my favorite books is _A Pattern Language_.
> > Alexander's take on "interior decoration" is that it's intended to
please
> > guests and not the people who live in the home. The great irony is that
> > these professionally decorated homes are the dullest homes to visit.
Far
> > more interesting are homes which have slowly collected a bunch of
> > idiosyncratic stuff that express the personalities of the people who
live
> > there. And that's where artists come in.
> >
> > Ray
> >
> >
> > Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
> > http://www.goodpots.com
> >
> >
> Light One Candle Pottery
> Fuquay-Varina, NC
> candle@intrex.net
>
Ray Aldridge on sat 18 dec 99
At 04:54 PM 12/17/99 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>From my perspective, I'll disagree with you on this one, Ray. I
>think of myself as a craftsman, not an artist. What is true for me
>may not be true for you, but I don't make one of a kind,
>"impressive" statements -- I make bowls, baking dishes, mugs,
>things that people will be living with day after day. And just as I
>don't expect them to change the way they eat or the way they hold a
>mug in order to fit my idiosyncratic artistic vision, I don't expect
>them to change their decor. Personally, I feel absolutely no need to
>have everything match in my home, and I don't do trends. However, if
>others do, and if it's important to them, I'd better pay attention,
>because these folks are my bread and butter. I don't want to limit
>my audience to only those people who are willing to redesign their
>lives to accomodate my work.
Me neither-- but it's a useful ideal to strive for sufficient expressive
power that you can cause people to disregard their pre-existing biases
against a given color. After all, a red and brown pot, in actual fact,
isn't going to look bad in a green-and-mauve cupboard, so it's not a matter
of arrogantly insisting that my ideas of proper decor is superior to my
customer's ideas. I just want to be so good that they're tempted to buy a
pot that they aren't sure will "match their decor," (which in my opinion is
a pretty silly concern.) Like you, I get the stuff I like, and put it in
my house and the hell with Martha Stewart and the color-coordinated horse
she rode in on.
My work is strictly functional, too, but the colors are derived from what I
perceive to be the needs of the forms and decorative treatments, and not
from the annual list of "hot colors."
When I was a fairly raw journeyman potter, I restricted my glazes to a deep
jade-green celadon and a shiny opaque white, for several years. I didn't
get rich, but I seemed to sell as well as those potters of about my skill
level who followed trends. The upside to hewing your own path is that,
having never been part of a trend, you don't get stranded when the trendly
tide flows in a different direction. I knew a potter, long ago, who got
stuck with several hundred turquoise mugs he made to take advantage of a
trend-- and unfortunately, so many other potters attempted to jump on the
same bandwagon that pretty soon he couldn't give away those mugs. The
public grew sick of blinding turquoise with remarkable speed.
I want to reach ordinary folks, ones
>who might not buy "art", but who are attracted to a well-designed,
>functional piece of pottery that they can imagine using in their
>home. Yes, I grit my teeth when a customer says she can't use my
>lovely tan/rust pots because her kitchen is done in green and mauve,
>but that's her prerogative. It's my job to either educate her about
>the beauty of eclectic decor, or to find glazes that will go with
>green and mauve. (I absolutely, uncategorically refuse to make mauve
>pots, so the field is free for the rest of you.)
>
Hey, I just came up with a pale purple I like a lot. It's going to look
spiffy over touches of pink slip, with black accents. Unfortunately, the
only purple in the current list of hot colors for next year is "Royal Plum."
I guess I'm screwed again.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
Ray Aldridge on sat 18 dec 99
At 04:55 PM 12/17/99 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>H... Ray, I'm not even pretending to make ART. I make good
>functional pottery and one of the functions is color. A casserole
>or serving dish sells if it complements the buyers dinnerware.
>A tooth brush holder or soap dish adds a color accent in the bath.
>I only make beautiful color glazes so I don't care which one I use.
> Just trying to make a living doing what I love. Judi
It's a tough job, and I don't mean to say that you're wrong in your
approach. The only reason for making pots is the pleasure it gives maker
and buyer, so whatever pleases you is fine.
I make strictly functional stuff too, and I can only hope it turns out to
be Art some day.
But it's just my personal opinion that the motivation for choosing a
particular decorative effect should properly proceed from the needs of the
pot itself rather than from the most popular colors in the home furnishings
department, because these are ephemeral. Most people get new bath towels
now and then, but they probably aren't going to throw away a beautiful
toothbrush holder, even if it's glazed in last year's colors. By following
trends, you run the risk of eventually diminishing the pleasure a buyer
takes in his purchase, because the only constant with fashion is that it is
always changing. That's why, I'm told, the basic black dress is worth a
substantial investment, becaue, being outside of fashion, it lasts.
I try to have a range of colors available, and certainly I make more of the
colors that sell, like any businessperson should, and I tend to drop colors
that don't sell. But there's something to be said for striving after
eternal beauty, even if we never get there.
I don't make bright orange glazes myself. But there's no good reason, in
my opinion, why the right potter couldn't sell bright orange pots to the
right customer, even if it's not a currently fashionable color. It just
has to be right for the pot.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
Ray Aldridge on mon 20 dec 99
At 08:00 PM 12/18/99 EST, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Do you really thing this statement of yours is true "Interior decoration" is
>a sterile and esthetically bankrupt approach to
> making one's environment beautiful."
Yes, I do believe it's true, but I should have elaborated on what I meant.
When I spoke of "interior decoration" I meant the practice of hiring
someone to come into your home and "redecorate" rooms, basing esthetic
decisions solely on the decorator's view of what is currently fashionable
in home decor and (and this is the worst thing about it) without reference
to the history and preferences of the people who will live there. That's
bad, in my opinion.
I don't mean to tar all decorators with the same broad brush. I'm sure
that there are many who function as talented enablers of their customers'
own idiosyncratic tastes, and I have no quarrel with this service-- it
could be very valuable in the right circumstances.
But I fear these are the exceptions, and frankly, I believe that many
decorators are a pox and a plague, the franchise fast food operators of
home beautification. Still, I understand what you're saying, that many
times a professional decorator can create a more beautiful space than a
person who doesn't attempt to make their space beautiful, and even when a
person of dubious taste does make the attempt, the result is often less
than beautiful. I don't care. A self-made space is always more
interesting to me than one decorated from abstract impersonal principles.
It's more saturated by the personality of the dweller, and I will always
find people more interesting than drapes, however beautiful. Other people
will feel differently about this, and more power to them.
Honesty compels me to admit that I probably wouldn't say these things if I
thought a lot of interior decorators were reading the list. After all,
they buy a lot of expensive pots for their clients.
Ray
Aldridge Porcelain and Stoneware
http://www.goodpots.com
John Rodgers on mon 20 dec 99
Popular colors come and go, but basic decorating sense hangs around forever.
I'm an ex-house builder/contractor and I still have an interest in it and the
decorating that is done to make a home attractive and comfortable. I now do
pottery and other clay work as well as paint some and I relate it to the
decorating.
I like to watch the Lynette Jennings show. The lady has style and class, and
she brings forth a lot of good exposure to many different architectural styles
and methods of decorating. Plus occasionally you get to see some interesting
pottery work.
Recently she made a remark that really struck home.....and an artist painter on
a painting show said almost the same thing..
"When it comes to painting, or decorating, both complimentary colors,
contrasting colors, and the values of each, must be considered in decorating
design. To identify the complimentary colors simply look at your primary color
of choice on a color wheel. The colors on the wheel to each side of the primary
color are the complimentary colors. The color directly opposite the primary
color of choice is the primary contrasting color. Colors to either side of the
primary contrasting color are complimentary contrasting colors."
Not being trained as an artist, I never really understood about the way this
worked until these remarks were made, and in that moment it became very clear.
Now, armed with this understanding, it became very easy to talk to a potential
pot buyer about their color considerations, because surely from all the
choices for primary, complimentary, contrasting colors there is a way to relate
a finished pot to their color needs, a way to connect the color of the pot to
the colors in their home.
Sometimes, helping the customer to see through different eyes can help a great
deal.
Even to coaxing them to buy an orange pot!!
John Rodgers
Birmingham, AL
The Buchanans wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I will join the Beautiful-orange-no sales Club. BUT the recipe
> stays in my file until fashions change. I waited the market out
> until my lovely butter yellow is in style again and some day the
> trends will turn to orange sherbet and I'll be ready. If newbies
> want a clue about what colors are selling ,check the wall paper
> sample books or ask your local furniture dealer what he saw
> at market. If it doesn't match the decor, no matter how beautiful
> it is, it doesn't sell.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elizabeth priddy
> To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
> Date: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 6:42 AM
> Subject: orange, matte v/s shiny marketing
>
> >----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> >I was aware of this, but it didn't even pass
> >through my consciousness that they might want
> >it for a food surface! Matt glazes are not
> >what I consider ideal food surfaces and they
> >specifically asked for a true matte surface.
> >
> >I have a few satin matte glazes that I use for
> >food dishes, but I have found that customers
> >won't consider the matte ones at all for food.
> >
> >Anyone else have any marketing experiences with
> >matte versus shiny glazes they would like to
> >share? I am very interested in others'
> >experiences with this.
> >
> >People tend to shy away from orange in general,
> >but sunny yellow orange is my favorite color.
> >I don't think I am a "normal" consumer, though.
> >
> >I painted some tiger lilies on some of my tiles
> >once and they were the last to go. Tiger lilies
> >have to be orange per my vision, but that didn't
> >matter to q public...
> >
> >
> >---
> >Elizabeth Priddy
> >
> >email: epriddy@usa.net
> >http://www.angelfire.com/nc/clayworkshop
> >Clay: 12,000 yrs and still fresh!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >On Mon, 13 Dec 1999 15:28:29 Wade Blocker wrote:
> >>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> >>
> >>Velvet Underglazes carry a warning that unless they have a clear glaze on
> >>top they are not foodsafe. Mia in sunny but chilly ABQ
> >>
> >
> >
> >--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--
> >Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
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