Karen Sullivan on fri 13 oct 00
I am relatively new to this list, and perhaps this issue has been covered
before...
Some history... I have been working full time making pots for over 16 years,
and I have tried a number of strategies for earning a living from my work,
but it continues to escape me...I tried craft fairs, one of the most
memorable of many significantly miserable experiences was when I was across
the isle from someone who had dixie cups with a string in the bottom/center
so it became a duck call toy when the string was pulled, which he blessed me
with using the entire day...there were many more equally as enjoyable, which
I can list and discuss if asked to do so... I have tried stores, with varied
results...I do a sale at home, my best sale. Being Irish I feel I have a
genetic responsibility to make Irish coffee to entice those who come to the
sale...It also smells like Christmas to smell the hot whiskey in the cold
air (we are speaking So. Calif.'s version of cold here). Also a comment
about my childhood memories of holiday dinners where everything smelled like
bourbon, or whiskey....
I am currently selling at a local farmers market...varied results in an
effort to find the illusive "stream of income" that so many view as a
reality of life. I do live in a relatively small town.
Perhaps my expectations are too high...I do pay for materials and
processing.
I guess I am asking about strategies, which I realize differs significantly
geographically. I do think there is more interest in ceramic objects in the
Eastern United States. How interesting considering my sense of the
importance of West Coast aesthetics and its influence. I would love some
discussion about how effective web sites are in selling work.
I hope I do not sound like I am whining....I figure if ultimately I KEEP
WORKING that sales will improve, I also remember the comment about the
definition of insanity as "doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting
different results." I do try to take advantage of the opportunities that
present themselves...and have taken on interesting projects over the years,
I made the dishes for a restaurant for awhile...All with the spirit of
refining the process and the work.
Feedback and discussion would be appreciated.
bamboo karen
http://www.clayart.fsnet.co.uk.KSullivan.html
Dave Murphy on sat 14 oct 00
Hey Bamboo Karen:
I am surprised to hear you talk like this. You with all the salient advice.
I always read your posts. I don't know how long you have been at it but for
me I can only speak. I think I did every "dog" show in the province. I
would hear things like " this was a great show last year" and other things
like that. I have been producing for about 12 years and have had a decent
bit of success. I could not support a family or anything but I have a new
gas kiln and a new car! I think to be successful as a potter you have to be
a bit of a donkey. Stick with it and sooner or later you will be in vogue.
We used to have a herd of cattle and of course we had the wrong breed but we
loved them and would not change just because of fashion. We waited ten long
hard years but it finally paid off big time. Anybody named Bamboo Karen
probably has neat pots.
Barbara Murphy
Waterloo County Pottery
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada
----- Original Message -----
From: "Karen Sullivan"
To:
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2000 2:15 PM
Subject: marketing work???????? rambling/long/...
> I am relatively new to this list, and perhaps this issue has been covered
> before...
> Some history... I have been working full time making pots for over 16
years,
> and I have tried a number of strategies for earning a living from my work,
> but it continues to escape me...I tried craft fairs, one of the most
> memorable of many significantly miserable experiences was when I was
across
> the isle from someone who had dixie cups with a string in the
bottom/center
> so it became a duck call toy when the string was pulled, which he blessed
me
> with using the entire day...there were many more equally as enjoyable,
which
> I can list and discuss if asked to do so... I have tried stores, with
varied
> results...I do a sale at home, my best sale. Being Irish I feel I have a
> genetic responsibility to make Irish coffee to entice those who come to
the
> sale...It also smells like Christmas to smell the hot whiskey in the cold
> air (we are speaking So. Calif.'s version of cold here). Also a comment
> about my childhood memories of holiday dinners where everything smelled
like
> bourbon, or whiskey....
> I am currently selling at a local farmers market...varied results in an
> effort to find the illusive "stream of income" that so many view as a
> reality of life. I do live in a relatively small town.
> Perhaps my expectations are too high...I do pay for materials and
> processing.
> I guess I am asking about strategies, which I realize differs
significantly
> geographically. I do think there is more interest in ceramic objects in
the
> Eastern United States. How interesting considering my sense of the
> importance of West Coast aesthetics and its influence. I would love some
> discussion about how effective web sites are in selling work.
> I hope I do not sound like I am whining....I figure if ultimately I KEEP
> WORKING that sales will improve, I also remember the comment about the
> definition of insanity as "doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting
> different results." I do try to take advantage of the opportunities that
> present themselves...and have taken on interesting projects over the
years,
> I made the dishes for a restaurant for awhile...All with the spirit of
> refining the process and the work.
> Feedback and discussion would be appreciated.
> bamboo karen
> http://www.clayart.fsnet.co.uk.KSullivan.html
>
>
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>
Cindy Strnad on sat 14 oct 00
Hi, Karen.
I tried yesterday and today to go to your website, but there must be
something wrong with the link. Either that, or your server's been down a
rather long time.
I think you probably just haven't gone to the right shops. I've chatted with
three former shop-owners from CA (they come here for refuge, and we love
them, though we're afraid we may get the whole state one day--like CO), and
they all told me there's fierce competition to "get a potter" in CA.
"We never could get a potter the whole time we were in business. They're
hard to come by."
Now that you write, I wish I'd asked them what part of the state they were
from, and taken more trouble to remember their specifics. At the time, it
seemed interesting, but not relevant to me. Never having been to CA, I don't
have enough of a 'feel' for the geography to automatically see a location in
my mind when I hear the name of a town.
At any rate, keep trying. Visit the galleries and gift shops. If you make
quirky, ethnic pieces, don't try to sell them to a shop-owner in a district
full of neon and smooth Danish styles. Go to the street with the African
shops and the Pier 1. If you make work with smooth, modern lines, then check
out the Danish section. Don't offer your pottery to just anyone. Wait until
you find a shop that seems just right--you want a good home for your babes.
And if your pottery suits the style of the shop, the owner is more likely to
say "Yeeeees! I've found my potter at last!" Well, okay, maybe it
won't happen just like that, but you get the picture.
Someone out there wants your work, if it's good work. Heck, even if it's not
as fully mature as you'd like it to be, someone out there probably still
wants it. When I first started selling, I thought my work was wonderful, and
I had been potting for less than 4 months--total. Clunky, embarrassing
stuff. I still have people who ask me, "Couldn't you make it like this one I
bought 5 years ago?" And I want to say, "No, no, no! Give-it-to-me! I'll
make you a new one, okay? Don't ever tell anyone you bought this from me!"
But they love it, so I can't.
Don't get discouraged, Karen. Someone out there will love your work enough
to support you. Just keep looking.
Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
earthenv@gwtc.net
http://www.earthenvesselssd.com
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