Chris Schafale on sat 3 jan 04
As I wrote before Christmas, I'm exploring the idea of starting a community
pottery studio in my small town. It would be a teaching studio, small retail
space, maybe small pottery supply business. One idea is to have
"memberships" that would entitle folks to come in and use the equipment
when there are no classes going on, in exchange for a monthly fee. Possibly
we could also create a few "mini-studios" for people who want their own
space. Anyone have any idea what a reasonable price for either of these
options would be? Think small town, bedroom community for a larger metro
area, not dirt-poor but mostly not wealthy. The price would include the use of
equipment, but clay and firing would be separate. I'm thinking maybe $50 a
month? Comments?
Chris
--
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, USA
(south of Raleigh, NC)
www.lightonecandle.com
NEW email: chris at lightonecandle dot com
(insert the @ and . as appropriate)
Simona Drentea on sun 4 jan 04
<pottery studio in my small town. It would be a teaching studio, small retail
space, maybe small pottery supply business. One idea is to have
"memberships" that would entitle folks to come in and use the equipment
when there are no classes going on, in exchange for a monthly fee. Possibly
we could also create a few "mini-studios" for people who want their own
space. Anyone have any idea what a reasonable price for either of these
options would be? Think small town, bedroom community for a larger metro
area, not dirt-poor but mostly not wealthy. The price would include the use
of
equipment, but clay and firing would be separate. I'm thinking maybe $50 a
month? Comments? >>
A place I took classes near Colorado Springs was very much like you describe.
It was in an artsy enclave under 1/2 hr from the Springs, which is about
500K people. They had a small retail shop in the front, very similar to what you
describe. They charged $150/month & firing fees were over & above that. They
had a slab roller, kilns, raku kilns, a few wheels, no pug mill & no
extruder. Renting space did allow you to have your work in the retail space. Also, I
checked into a coop about 3 years ago in Co Springs, I never physically went
to the place & they are out of business now, but they sounded very similar.
They had a retail space & I think they said you had to do a shift in the retail
space if you rented out space there. Their fees were quite similar, it was
around $100/month (sorry I don't have the exact notes anymore), they did
include 2 firings in your fee I think. They also wanted a bunch of $$ up front,
first & last months rent + a one time setup type fee of $100. Not sure why they
went closed their doors.
I'm no expert, but I felt they were both too expensive. Keep in mind, I have
no idea how much it costs to rent the building location & maintain the
equipment, I am coming at this from a prospective renter's perspective. But I only
had to do a little math to see that I could buy my own kiln for less than 1
years fees. Financial resources aren't really an issue for me, so I just didn't
feel the value was there. I can easily buy a wheel (if I even want one) &
kiln, my concern is more about what the HOA's & the neighbor's are gonna say.
There is a 3rd place I know of, in the artsy community I described, that uses
a punch card system. You buy a card for a certain $ amt that has a certain
number of punches & you can go in & use all of the equipment during business
hours. It worked out to about $20/visit & there wasn't a set amount of time for
the visit. If you came when they opened you could stay all day. Or maybe
you just come in to do a firing, it's up to you. You didn't use their
materials (clay, glaze, etc) & you didn't get shelf space & of course you had to truck
your wares back & forth. Personally, this system appealed more to me, as I
have a lot of space at home & would prefer to do most of my work here. The
drawback is that you can only go when they're open & since I don't usually wake
up 'til noon, my time would be more limited. Of course if i could manage to
drag myself outta bed b4 noon...the possibilities would be endless :-) I did a
cursory look at their equipment, but I need to go back & get the full tour.
THis place is a school & so I think they have more equipment & more space than
the others. They also have a large retail space & studio space available. I
believe the retail is only for people who actually rent studios though. I
also really liked the head of the ceramics program there. I think that's
something to keep in mind...are you a people person? Do people generally like you &
get along with you? I sure wouldn't want to rent space from someone I didn't
like.
In Mpls, I took classes at a JUNIOR high school that was outfitted so
beautifully, I wish I could've rented space there. I was told it rivalled the U of
M's facility.
Hope this helps a little,
Simona - (yes, even newbies do contribute) in Colorado
wayneinkeywest on sun 4 jan 04
Chris:
A lady in town just started one (similar to what you propose) here.
Haven't been in to see here yet, but her
advertised rates for the studio are $15/hour, $120./ month. This allows
wheel
and slab roller and extruder use, and some type of kiln access I would
imagine,
since they have four kilns. The price is based on going rates in THIS area,
YMMV. Don't know how she handles the clay issue. Others in the same
situation have required buying THEIR clay, so that it all fires the same.
$50/month seems a bit "low-end" to me, considering the cost of liability
insurance alone.
Wayne Seidl
Key West FL
> As I wrote before Christmas, I'm exploring the idea of starting a
community
> pottery studio in my small town. It would be a teaching studio, small
retail
> space, maybe small pottery supply business. One idea is to have
> "memberships" that would entitle folks to come in and use the equipment
> when there are no classes going on, in exchange for a monthly fee.
Possibly
> we could also create a few "mini-studios" for people who want their own
> space. Anyone have any idea what a reasonable price for either of these
> options would be? Think small town, bedroom community for a larger metro
> area, not dirt-poor but mostly not wealthy. The price would include the
use of
> equipment, but clay and firing would be separate. I'm thinking maybe $50
a
> month? Comments?
>
> Chris
Linda on sun 4 jan 04
----- Original Message -----
From: "Simona Drentea.
>One idea is to have
> "memberships" that would entitle folks to come in and use the equipment
> when there are no classes going on, in exchange for a monthly
The place we have here in town charges $5 an hour to use the equipment. Clay
and firing fees are extra.
One can buy a membership for $40 a year which gives you a shelf on which to
put your stuff. You also get some free hours with the $40 fee.
I don't recall a monthly option.
I haven't been there in awhile as I am auditing classes at a local college.
I can work all I want for $200 a semester, clay and firing included.
It feels like a bargain.
Linda
Krista Peterson on sun 4 jan 04
Chris,
The going rate here in Portland is around $100-$150/month and may or may not include firings. Take into consideration that Portland is kind of pricey. As for the materials and clay, usually the members get together and place an order with a supply shop or sometimes the common materials like feldspar and silica etc are provided and the members are responsible for the more expensive stuff like the oxides. You'll probably have to try different approaches to the coop situation to see what works for your community.
Krista Peterson
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Schafale
Sent: Jan 3, 2004 6:09 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: shared studio space -- what's it worth?
As I wrote before Christmas, I'm exploring the idea of starting a community
pottery studio in my small town. It would be a teaching studio, small retail
space, maybe small pottery supply business. One idea is to have
"memberships" that would entitle folks to come in and use the equipment
when there are no classes going on, in exchange for a monthly fee. Possibly
we could also create a few "mini-studios" for people who want their own
space. Anyone have any idea what a reasonable price for either of these
options would be? Think small town, bedroom community for a larger metro
area, not dirt-poor but mostly not wealthy. The price would include the use of
equipment, but clay and firing would be separate. I'm thinking maybe $50 a
month? Comments?
Chris
--
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, USA
(south of Raleigh, NC)
www.lightonecandle.com
NEW email: chris at lightonecandle dot com
(insert the @ and . as appropriate)
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