Charles Moore on sat 22 mar 03
Recently I stopped in at a gallery in a little foothill town near
Sacramento. I was amazed by the amount of ceramic ware for sale, each piece
or collection of ware bearing the label of the maker. The quality and
pricing varied greatly. There were sculptural pieces for several hundreds
of dollars and hand made utilitarian ware for prices typical of such work
here in California.
At the back of the gallery I found a group of beautifully glazed pieces
laeled "Bill Campbell, PA." Not knowing who the maker was, I picked up some
beautifully galzed salad plates and bought four of them for $11 each. I had
been looking at the gallery as a potential sales outlet. But I realized
that I could not compete in price for my ware because, if the gallery took
50%, I would get about $5.00 per plate and would require packing and
delivering. The friend travelling with me said that the gallery owner said
that she bought the Bill Campbell pieces outright and that Campbell makes
deliveries from Pennsylvania twice a year. That made me wonder if Campbell
cleared even $5.00 per salad plate.
Upon arriving home I noticed that the plates had no maker's name on them
and, more surprising, that each plate was absolutely identical, though the
glaze on each piece was slightly different. Though the glazes were
beautiful, I realized that these were not handmade pieces. My mind return
to several other forms at the gallery--quite large bowls, bowls with
identically pinched rims, etc. I remembered that these pieces had exactly
identical shapes and sizes.
I mention this experience because I think the "China trade" extends far
beyond China to our own shores.
Charles Moore
Sacramento
Snail Scott on sat 22 mar 03
At 10:10 AM 3/22/03 -0800, you wrote:
>Recently I stopped in at a gallery in a little foothill town near
>Sacramento.
>Upon arriving home I noticed that the plates had no maker's name on them
>and, more surprising, that each plate was absolutely identical, though the
>glaze on each piece was slightly different...
>I mention this experience because I think the "China trade" extends far
>beyond China to our own shores.
They may not be made in China, but may be made
by slip-casting, jiggering, or press-molding.
(Was it the little gallery in Colfax, by chance?
The place next door runs a business making ram-
press molds for potters, and pressing the work
as well.) I know a fair number of potters who
throw their higher-end items entirely by hand,
as these items will support a higher price
structure, but mold-make the cheaper pieces to
keep costs down. As you observed, the profit
margin on smaller pieces is slim indeed, and
this is one way that some potters compete with
the import trade.
-Snail
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