Jennifer F Boyer on wed 11 dec 02
I don't pay much attention to "color trends" but I know there
are years when the public becomes more receptive to certain
colors. I've been trying to introduce green into my glaze
palette for YEARS! Before this year it was always a dismal
failure (sales-wise) although green is one of my favorite
colors.
This year I tried green again and it's sailing off the shelves.
Who knows why. Maybe Martha Stewart gave green the thumbs up!
;-). But I've been told that green is "in" and I'm not arguing.
At my last show, when I introduced the green glaze I had certain
people zero-ing on the green pots. They'd look at me and mumble
"....I'm a ....GREEN person...." Like it was a cult or something.
I think this color issue has a different angle based on if you
are a production potter or a one-of a kind potter. I'm the
former. I have customers who have been buying my work for
themselves or a certain relative for YEARS(some for decades).
These people rattle off a long list of what they've bought, when
I run into them at the grocery. I'm not making my living on one
time buyers but on repeat buyers. If I'm lucky enough to have
these kind of customers, I have to accept that they care about
whether the large piles of pots they own "go" with other parts
of their decor...they tell me what commercial dinnerware they
have and why my serving pieces go with it. They bring wallpaper
samples to my show booth....they agonize over whether cousin
Ellie is a "green" person or a "blue" person, dismayed that they
haven't seen her kitchen.
I don't mind! Remember the grade school exercises where you had
to write a poem using certain tight rules? The structure
produced some great poetry. I think it's fun to try to produce
good pots within certain criteria dictated by the buyers who
keep me making pots. It's challenging.
Of course I have my limits and will NOT try to develop a glaze
for one customer based on their curtains or something....
Take Care
Jennifer still glazing...will this season ever END??
ccpottery@BELLSOUTH.NET wrote:
>
> In reply to this and others .....
>
> 'Did I hear you right, "This is the heart of making a living at pottery or
> any other product ... make what people will want" Ouch.'
>
> OUCH??
> I am hardly stating some startling new economic theory here!
> Clayarters have complained about how hard it is to make a living
> with pottery ... I was simply offering a clue.
>
> Color Trends are not a big mystery. They are decided on years ahead of time.
> The paint companies tell the furniture people who tell the fabric people who
> tell the fashion people ... does anyone think it is just a marvelous
> co-incidence that you can get drapery that compliments your sofa???
>
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jennifer Boyer mailto:jboyer@adelphia.net
Thistle Hill Pottery Montpelier VT USA
http://www.thistlehillpottery.com/
Never pass on an email warning without checking out these sites
for web hoaxes and junk:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/
http://snopes.com
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
| |
|
