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jobs & hobbies: again and again and again

updated sun 26 oct 03

 

Steve Slatin on fri 24 oct 03


As long as it's come up again, let me put my oar in the water.

The rules are relatively simple. If you've been doing it for 5 years,
and you have make a profit in three of them, and the records you have
make it look like a pretty straight deal, it's presumed to be a business
-- IRS usually leaves you alone. If you have lost money in more years
than you made it, the presumption is you're NOT in it for the money, you
are doing it because you like it, and it's a hobby. It is possible for
IRS to challenge the business status of a profitable activity, but they
usually only do it if you're business pattern is weird -- like if you
make only a few hundred in the good years, and write off thousands in
the bad years.

If it's a hobby, the income is taxable, and expenses are subject to the
2% of adjusted gross income threshold (and beyond that, to your entire
return's deductions being itemized). If it's a business, you use
Schedule 'C', and write off every cent of expenses dedicated solely to
making a profit against your gross income.

It's really a problem to show you have a bona fide business only if you
don't have the 3-out-of-5 years taken care of; I.E., during your first
years of trying to make it as a potter, or when switching over from
being a hobby potter.

So how do you demonstrate that you have a bona-fide business, and not a
hobby with occasional sales? It's not all that hard, though it's kind
of
picky. They key point is, though, you must operate as a business.

- Keep track of your hours.

- If anyone works for you, get an EIN.

- Get a tax number for sales tax (if applicable in your state).

- Keep records of costs, and income.

- If feasible, run income and expenditures through a dedicated checking
account, or do all of your purchasing on a business credit card. (Note
-- some banks will let you set up a business checking account under the
umbrella of your personal account. When they do this, they often don't
hit you with big monthly fees. Put all income into the account, even if
you were paid in cash, pay all bills out of it, and it acts as a
simplified bookkeeping device. The IRS calls this the "cashbox method"
of accounting, IIRC.)

- Keep track of your production AND its cost. (Not just the wheel and
the clay -- the electricity and the tools and the chemicals for glazes.)
When you fire, note the number of pots that come out. Keep track of
numbers (this is inventory 101, folks) and sale price. A bad firing?
Note it, and the number of pots destroyed. If you give a pot away in
the hopes of later business, note that it was a promotional
distribution. Why do this? Well, if you're really interested in making
money, you've got to know where the stuff goes, what it brings, and what
it cost. Real business people do this stuff. Be real!

Are you getting annoyed, and preparing to tell me that you didn't take
up
pottery to do this? I understand, but many potters keep records that
are
even more detailed -- how many mugs glazed in tenmoku came out good, and
how many ran and had to be destroyed, probably by the cycle on which
fired ... how many plates in a particular clay body fired flat, and how
many warped ... all that stuff. Write it down in a proper ledger, and
it becomes a business record.

- Calculate the cost of producing items -- at least your biggest selling
mug, say, and your largest platter. You may discover that you are
underpricing some items; making almost nothing. (I've seen people
selling medium-sized mugs for $12 and platters for $18; that platter had
probably 3x as much clay and glaze in it, and took a whole shelf in the
kiln to fire. If the mug is right at $12 the platter should probably be
$35.) Try to adjust the price to 'fit' the actual production cost of
the item. Do you vary prices by how sweet the pieces are? Just a good,
set prices within a range so the entire range income should cover the
entire range cost. (Further note -- this is good business also in that
if someone comes up to you at a craft fair and bugs you about why your
glorious hand-made platters are more than they would be at Target, you
can now explain everything that goes into it. Perhaps you can shame
them into buying a whole set!)

Now you are ready for business planning. You can now set the price of
your entire line to the point where you won't starve (and plan that move
up to a pickup that's only 10 years old). But are you not making much
because you have products you can't sell? Well, how are you trying to
sell them? Try another method (like going through a gallery if you only
do craft fairs, etc.) and see if it works. Keep track of the cost of
making the effort, mileage on vehicles, cost of shipping samples, etc.
That's deductible too, even if it fails. It will only be challenged if
it's unreasonable (like if you take a two week long vacation to
Yellowstone Park and claim you were trying to sell pots, or something
like that). The IRS sees lots of businesses go bad; they just have to
see that it's really a business.

To put the eyebrows on it, take a small-business seminar or read a book.
Note the mileage and cost in your records. If you're in a rut and can't
get out of the slave-wages level, ask for help. There are groups (SCORE
is one) that do nothing but try to help out small businesses. TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THEM! YOU'RE FOR REAL! YOU'RE A SERIOUS BUSINESSPERSON!

The IRS isn't really out to get small business people. On the other
hand, they rarely understand what it is we are doing. Too often, our
lack of record keeping and documentation stands in mute testimony that
we aren't in it for the money. And if you're not in it for the money,
it's a hobby. And if it's a hobby, the income is fully taxable and the
expenses are subject to the 2% threshold.

REMEMBER YOUR QUARTERLY TAX PAYMENTS! REMEMBER YOUR SELF-EMPLOYMENT
TAXES, TOO-- Steve S., in Sunny Sequim, where it actually was sunny
today, still trying to decide if he's going to "go pro" this year, or
next, or maybe not at all ...

Lois Ruben Aronow on fri 24 oct 03


I have been outspoken on this topic in the past, and I will continue
to be in the future.

>My pottery is our only source of income so it cannot be construed as a
>hobby. When I see someone who has a hubby that is bringing in the money
>that allows the family to have insurance coverage of any sort, pays the
>bills, drives a car newer than 1980, has store bought cloths, buys at
>walmart, can afford to go on vacations or even a movie, I do call that a
>hobby, in drag.=20

This statement is sexist, elitist, and above all, utter lunacy. Most
families today need 2 incomes to get by. This does not negate the
profession of the lesser earning spouse. And having insurance is NOT
a luxury. It is a necessity. And if there are children involved, you
also need life insurance. Placing virtue over financial security is
just plain stupid and selfish. Dropping dead, getting sick, and being
in accidents are NOT things that just happen to other people. =20

>Most peoples definition of "business" is only an extension
>of what the law says it is, not what it really is. The same with a =
hobby.
>The meanings of these words are basically legal terms used for tax =
purposes
>in order to give a performance under the law.

I'm sorry the IRS gave you crap on your horse business. It happens.
Most of us work our asses off creating a paper trail to avoid this
kind of thing, or to deal with it when an audit arises. Home based
businesses are usually at the top of the audit list, so it's best to
be prepared. Keeping the books is just as important as making the
pots. Unfortunately, this is one of the risks one takes when running
their own business.

>Some of you may have competition, but I don't. Just a fact. Nobody has =
what
>I have because I make that so.

When I used to work in television, it was always thought of that
anyone with a signal was competition. Doesn't mater if their
programming was similar or not. If they were on the air, they were
competition. For you to think you have no competition is laughable.
Maybe that's why you are in the financial bind (however virtuous it
may be) you are in. =20

>I do not support Chinese "junk" because I support American business that
>are, and have been distroyed by a foreign country. I will continue to =
call
>it "junk" until all Americans can afford our own products again. When a
>country's work force becomes "service" orientated work force instead of
>a "production" work force, that country is in serious trouble. =
Eventually
>the ones being "served" by that job, will run out and production will =
have
>to come back.

If you are working with Windows Software, or on a Dell Computer, (or
virtually any other software) you are supporting companies that
offshore their support and R & D departments. We live in a global
economy, and if you want to only buy and support american, you better
start weaving your own cloth, growing your own food, and building your
own computer. This says nothing about the american potters who job
their workout to foreign countries to be manufactured, and then pass
themselves off as being potters.

>I say no more. =20

Please don,t because you are embarrassing yourself.



************
Lois Ruben Aronow

www.loisaronow.com
Modern Porcelain and Tableware

The Tattoo is back!

Lois Ruben Aronow on sat 25 oct 03


Thanks, Steve, for one of the most articulate and informative posts on
running a small business I have seen anywhere. I do all these things,
and it STILL made me think. =20

Your section on pricing should be read and re-read. I learned the
hard way - am still learning - and my prices went up dramatically
after my first year of reporting as a small business person and
keeping track of my expenses. Potters should also consider how much
work goes into a piece in addition to materials. And no, raising my
prices didn't affect sales one bit. =20

>The IRS isn't really out to get small business people. On the other
>hand, they rarely understand what it is we are doing. =20

That is so true. Record keeping is not as time consuming if you
record your expenses and profits as they come in. A simple spread
sheet will do - Excel is excellent. It comes with basic business
spreadsheet templates that are completely customizable. Quickbooks is
also great - albeit expensive - especially if you have employees or a
bigger business.

As far as the IRS goes, it is my understanding that the "3 year rule"
is in place because the government is under no obligation to
underwrite a failing business.

************
Lois Ruben Aronow

www.loisaronow.com
Modern Porcelain and Tableware

The Tattoo is back!

Barbara Rathbun Hood on sat 25 oct 03


Steve,
I am just one of the lurkers who value info just as you posted. Thanks for
passing on such key points. It was a plethora of helpful advice for anyone
starting a business or for those running one in a slipshod fashion. Oh, and where
exactly do you live to see the sun so rarely?

Barbara
Jipsy in the "Burg"
Jipsy2000@aol.com

Alex Solla on sat 25 oct 03


I would like to add one thing to Steve's fine dicourse on Jobs/Hobbies... get a CPA. The amount you will save will more than pay for their costs. They can help you with all aspects of tax laws and deductions and record keeping. A one hour meeting with mine saved me close to $5000 our first year. Cost me $300. Seems expensive compared to our local H&R Block folks, but they were totally different animals. As Tony C keeps saying... you get what you pay for.

Making pots because you like to... that's nice.
Making pots to make money.... that can be tough. Give yourself a break and spend as much time devoted to learning to be a business as you did learning your craft. It will pay off in spades!!!

cheers,
Alexander Solla

Cold Springs Studio
4088 Cold Springs Road
Trumansburg, NY 14886


Steve Slatin wrote:
As long as it's come up again, let me put my oar in the water.

The rules are relatively simple. If you've been doing it for 5 years,
and you have make a profit in three of them, and the records you have
make it look like a pretty straight deal, it's presumed to be a business
-- IRS usually leaves you alone. If you have lost money in more years
than you made it, the presumption is you're NOT in it for the money, you
are doing it because you like it, and it's a hobby. It is possible for
IRS to challenge the business status of a profitable activity, but they
usually only do it if you're business pattern is weird -- like if you
make only a few hundred in the good years, and write off thousands in
the bad years.

If it's a hobby, the income is taxable, and expenses are subject to the
2% of adjusted gross income threshold (and beyond that, to your entire
return's deductions being itemized). If it's a business, you use
Schedule 'C', and write off every cent of expenses dedicated solely to
making a profit against your gross income.

It's really a problem to show you have a bona fide business only if you
don't have the 3-out-of-5 years taken care of; I.E., during your first
years of trying to make it as a potter, or when switching over from
being a hobby potter.

So how do you demonstrate that you have a bona-fide business, and not a
hobby with occasional sales? It's not all that hard, though it's kind
of
picky. They key point is, though, you must operate as a business.

- Keep track of your hours.

- If anyone works for you, get an EIN.

- Get a tax number for sales tax (if applicable in your state).

- Keep records of costs, and income.

- If feasible, run income and expenditures through a dedicated checking
account, or do all of your purchasing on a business credit card. (Note
-- some banks will let you set up a business checking account under the
umbrella of your personal account. When they do this, they often don't
hit you with big monthly fees. Put all income into the account, even if
you were paid in cash, pay all bills out of it, and it acts as a
simplified bookkeeping device. The IRS calls this the "cashbox method"
of accounting, IIRC.)

- Keep track of your production AND its cost. (Not just the wheel and
the clay -- the electricity and the tools and the chemicals for glazes.)
When you fire, note the number of pots that come out. Keep track of
numbers (this is inventory 101, folks) and sale price. A bad firing?
Note it, and the number of pots destroyed. If you give a pot away in
the hopes of later business, note that it was a promotional
distribution. Why do this? Well, if you're really interested in making
money, you've got to know where the stuff goes, what it brings, and what
it cost. Real business people do this stuff. Be real!

Are you getting annoyed, and preparing to tell me that you didn't take
up
pottery to do this? I understand, but many potters keep records that
are
even more detailed -- how many mugs glazed in tenmoku came out good, and
how many ran and had to be destroyed, probably by the cycle on which
fired ... how many plates in a particular clay body fired flat, and how
many warped ... all that stuff. Write it down in a proper ledger, and
it becomes a business record.

- Calculate the cost of producing items -- at least your biggest selling
mug, say, and your largest platter. You may discover that you are
underpricing some items; making almost nothing. (I've seen people
selling medium-sized mugs for $12 and platters for $18; that platter had
probably 3x as much clay and glaze in it, and took a whole shelf in the
kiln to fire. If the mug is right at $12 the platter should probably be
$35.) Try to adjust the price to 'fit' the actual production cost of
the item. Do you vary prices by how sweet the pieces are? Just a good,
set prices within a range so the entire range income should cover the
entire range cost. (Further note -- this is good business also in that
if someone comes up to you at a craft fair and bugs you about why your
glorious hand-made platters are more than they would be at Target, you
can now explain everything that goes into it. Perhaps you can shame
them into buying a whole set!)

Now you are ready for business planning. You can now set the price of
your entire line to the point where you won't starve (and plan that move
up to a pickup that's only 10 years old). But are you not making much
because you have products you can't sell? Well, how are you trying to
sell them? Try another method (like going through a gallery if you only
do craft fairs, etc.) and see if it works. Keep track of the cost of
making the effort, mileage on vehicles, cost of shipping samples, etc.
That's deductible too, even if it fails. It will only be challenged if
it's unreasonable (like if you take a two week long vacation to
Yellowstone Park and claim you were trying to sell pots, or something
like that). The IRS sees lots of businesses go bad; they just have to
see that it's really a business.

To put the eyebrows on it, take a small-business seminar or read a book.
Note the mileage and cost in your records. If you're in a rut and can't
get out of the slave-wages level, ask for help. There are groups (SCORE
is one) that do nothing but try to help out small businesses. TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THEM! YOU'RE FOR REAL! YOU'RE A SERIOUS BUSINESSPERSON!

The IRS isn't really out to get small business people. On the other
hand, they rarely understand what it is we are doing. Too often, our
lack of record keeping and documentation stands in mute testimony that
we aren't in it for the money. And if you're not in it for the money,
it's a hobby. And if it's a hobby, the income is fully taxable and the
expenses are subject to the 2% threshold.

REMEMBER YOUR QUARTERLY TAX PAYMENTS! REMEMBER YOUR SELF-EMPLOYMENT
TAXES, TOO-- Steve S., in Sunny Sequim, where it actually was sunny
today, still trying to decide if he's going to "go pro" this year, or
next, or maybe not at all ...

______________________________________________________________________________
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org

You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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wayneinkeywest on sat 25 oct 03


Just adding my $0.02.
According to my CPA (who has saved me literally thousands in taxes) the
easiest way to prove business vs. hobby is to go apply for a taxpayer
Identification number. Simple form filled out and submitted to the IRS. I
believe you can even do it online at http://www.irs.gov. Alternately, you
can apply for a tax number from your state's Department of Taxes or Revenue,
or business services.
Then you are not questioned as often/as strenuously by the Gub. They'll
leave you alone (more or less), even with a string of early year losses.
But your CPA will help with that.
Wayne Seidl

> I would like to add one thing to Steve's fine dicourse on Jobs/Hobbies...
get a CPA. The amount you will save will more than pay for their costs. They
can help you with all aspects of tax laws and deductions and record keeping.
A one hour meeting with mine saved me close to $5000 our first year. Cost me
$300. Seems expensive compared to our local H&R Block folks, but they were
totally different animals. As Tony C keeps saying... you get what you pay
for.
>
> Making pots because you like to... that's nice.
> Making pots to make money.... that can be tough. Give yourself a break and
spend as much time devoted to learning to be a business as you did learning
your craft. It will pay off in spades!!!
>
> cheers,
> Alexander Solla
>
> Cold Springs Studio
> 4088 Cold Springs Road
> Trumansburg, NY 14886
>
>
> Steve Slatin wrote:
> As long as it's come up again, let me put my oar in the water.
>
> The rules are relatively simple. If you've been doing it for 5 years,
> and you have make a profit in three of them, and the records you have
> make it look like a pretty straight deal, it's presumed to be a business
> -- IRS usually leaves you alone. If you have lost money in more years
> than you made it, the presumption is you're NOT in it for the money, you
> are doing it because you like it, and it's a hobby. It is possible for
> IRS to challenge the business status of a profitable activity, but they
> usually only do it if you're business pattern is weird -- like if you
> make only a few hundred in the good years, and write off thousands in
> the bad years.

Norman van der Sluys on sat 25 oct 03


Lois, Earl, and other "hobbyists,

I realize that the tone of Bunny's post was a little shrill, but so were
the negative responses to it. I can sympathize with her feelings of
frustration as perhaps you cannot, living in an urban environment with a
multitude of opportunities and options at hand.

There are areas in this country where such opportunities do not exist,
and employment other than that of a seasonal nature is hard to come by.
Fringe benefits are non-existent in such jobs. Employers also tend to be
prejudiced against those with education in their background.
Fortunately it costs a lot less to survive in these regions - for food
and housing especially, if my experience in rural West Michigan is
typical. There is a market for my "luxury product," however, it too is
seasonal

It is insulting to have people from "The City" refer to your means of
livelyhood as a hobby, which they often do because they cannot imagine
it is possible to survive on less than $20,000 or $30,000 a year, much
less $10,000. You might be surprised at the number that do.

I don't think Bunny feels that her poverty is virtuous so much as she is
reacting to the notion that, because she is poor, she is somehow
inferior or even irresponsible. This is an attitude that confronts her
often in everyday life, I am sure, and it is reinforced by cultural
concepts that an individuals worth can be measured in monetary terms.

When you speak of insurance (I assume you refer to health insurance) as
being a necessity you should understand that this necessity is beyond
the reach of some 43 MILLION Americans, as is life insurance. Food,
clothing, and shelter are more important. Dropping dead, getting sick,
and being
in accidents are facts of life that must be accepted by the poor as well
as the rich, but the poor have no option but to try and survive in spite
of adversity.

To suggest that those of modest circumstances have chosen their lot and
could choose otherwise if they really cared is so out of touch with
reality as to be humorous, except for the fact that it is such a common
attitude among the apparent mainstream in this country today.

Two final thoughts: Rather than taking Bunny's outcry as a personal
attack, realize how fortunate you are to have the advantages you do, and
recognize that those less advantaged do suffer and are no less worthy as
human beings because of their circumstances. Rather than taking the
term hobby as an insult, think of it in terms of being an amateur - in
the full sense of the word. An amateur is one who does something out of
love. Many of the human triumphs in the fields of art literature and
science have been produced by amateurs. It is no insult.

Lois Ruben Aronow wrote:
>
> I have been outspoken on this topic in the past, and I will continue
> to be in the future.
>

>
> >I say no more.
>
> Please don,t because you are embarrassing yourself.
>


--
Norman van der Sluys
Benona Pottery
Near the shore of Lake Michigan looking forward to February, when I will
begin to be subsidized by the Social Security Administration

Steve Slatin on sat 25 oct 03


I'm not a CPA myself, but that's an excellent point. It will also help
to convince the IRS that you're legitimately chasing a profit, if they
question you, and the cost of the CPA's consultation is a "Professional
Service" fully deductible on your Schedule 'C'.

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Alex Solla
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 5:35 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Jobs & Hobbies: again and again and again

I would like to add one thing to Steve's fine dicourse on
Jobs/Hobbies... get a CPA. The amount you will save will more than pay
for their costs. They can help you with all aspects of tax laws and
deductions and record keeping. A one hour meeting with mine saved me
close to $5000 our first year. Cost me $300. Seems expensive compared to
our local H&R Block folks, but they were totally different animals. As
Tony C keeps saying... you get what you pay for.

Making pots because you like to... that's nice.
Making pots to make money.... that can be tough. Give yourself a break
and spend as much time devoted to learning to be a business as you did
learning your craft. It will pay off in spades!!!

cheers,
Alexander Solla

Steve Slatin on sat 25 oct 03


I'm happy to have been able to give a little back to ClayArt. I live on
the northern side of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington -- in an area
known as the "rain shadow" because we're supposed to duck the heavy rain
of the Pacific coast and the fog of the Puget Sound. This last week,
though, we've seen some torrents. I bet 'Tig' -- new to Port Orchard --
had some memorable moments.

-- Steve S

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Barbara
Rathbun Hood
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 4:47 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Jobs & Hobbies: again and again and again

Steve,
I am just one of the lurkers who value info just as you posted. Thanks
for
passing on such key points. It was a plethora of helpful advice for
anyone
starting a business or for those running one in a slipshod fashion. Oh,
and where
exactly do you live to see the sun so rarely?

Barbara
Jipsy in the "Burg"
Jipsy2000@aol.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.

Lois Ruben Aronow on sat 25 oct 03


>It is insulting to have people from "The City" refer to your means of
>livelyhood as a hobby, which they often do because they cannot imagine
>it is possible to survive on less than $20,000 or $30,000 a year, much
>less $10,000. You might be surprised at the number that do.

I am not surprised - I know loads of those people. And the way I
understood it, Bunny was not from "the city", and I found it very
insulting to those of us who are. No one should have to justify where
they live, or what they do, or why. Likewise, no one of us should be
judged by it. =20

>When you speak of insurance (I assume you refer to health insurance) as
>being a necessity you should understand that this necessity is beyond
>the reach of some 43 MILLION Americans, as is life insurance. Food,
>clothing, and shelter are more important. Dropping dead, getting sick,
>and being in accidents are facts of life that must be accepted by the =
poor as well
>as the rich, but the poor have no option but to try and survive in spite
>of adversity.

I agree that it is tragic that so many people are without health
insurance. But there is insurance available to self employed people
and to artists that is somewhat affordable. IMHO, you can't afford to
be without it if you are raising a family. One will be forced to make
the choice between a food and health care for a sick child (or sole
breadwinner). So in that case, health insurance is just as important
as food and shelter. And yes, the above mentioned craftspeople I know
who make under $30,000 have health insurance. Having a "real" job
doesn't guarantee health insurance, by the way. Many corporations
only pick up part of the tab, which is true in our case, and many
small businesses don't offer it at all. Each family must be
responsible for what they can afford, but it is important to be
responsible about it. =20
>
>Two final thoughts: Rather than taking Bunny's outcry as a personal
>attack, realize how fortunate you are to have the advantages you do, and
>recognize that those less advantaged do suffer and are no less worthy as
>human beings because of their circumstances. =20

No one said she was less worthy. It was quite the opposite - Bunny
implied that those who has a second source of income were less worthy
as artists, which is complete and total bull.

I do take it personally that she applied her statement only to women
who have working spouses. She didn't appear to have a problem with
male potters who have working wives. =20

>Rather than taking the term hobby as an insult, think of it in terms of =
being an amateur - in
>the full sense of the word. An amateur is one who does something out of
>love. Many of the human triumphs in the fields of art literature and
>science have been produced by amateurs. It is no insult.

It IS indeed an insult to those of us who work day in and day out,
making pots and trying our darndest to run a business. I have been
working 7 days a week 8 solid hours a day preparing for a major craft
show, all the while raising 2 kids under the age of 7. (Not to
mention holiday orders for my retail and gallery clients). Yes, I
have a husband, but remember, he has a "real" job and much of the
child care still falls on me, especially because he travels on
business regularly.=20

Another personal goal of mine is to educate my children that what I do
is indeed a job. Daddy goes to the office; Mommy goes to the studio.
It is VERY important to me that my children grow up to respect that
all disciplines of art - writing, poetry, pottery, painting - are
very legitimate career choices. I've had people virtually ignore me
until they saw my work in a retail store - THEN I was worthy of a
conversation. These are the reasons it is personal for me.

And yes, I do it for love. I have often said I would be making pots
with Play Doh on the kitchen floor if that was my only option. =20


************
Lois Ruben Aronow

www.loisaronow.com
Modern Porcelain and Tableware

The Tattoo is back!