Wayne Seidl on fri 1 jul 05
Well, Tony, I wasn=92t going to go there, but since you mentioned me
by name....
It's too bad that there is such a cultural difference in language.
While it can be quite amusing (and I have truly exploited that at
times here on the list) language is oftentimes more an indicator of
"feeling" or "attitude" of the person writing.
I'm troubled by your comment, Tony, that "you don't sell needs, you
only sell wants". It may just be a cultural language difference
here. I have no "wants". I can pretty much afford to buy whatever
I "want" within reason. Needs? Well, that's another story. Basic
needs, like a roof over my head or food on the table, yeah, those
are taken care of too. But "needs" go deeper. =20
I "need" to surround myself with pots. Pots that take my breath
away, pots that I would be content to hold and fall asleep holding,
pots that bring joy and beauty to a sometimes drab, mundane life.
And I "need" people. People who think in terms of pots, making
them, looking at them intently, holding them, caressing them (yeah,
even those jugs you warned me not to go near. I do not think of
potters and pots as a "want to be around" thing. For me, being
involved with pots and potters is a need, a soul satisfying "need".=20
With product, a "need" can be more important that a "want". =20
For Christmas last year, I made three sets of three large nested
bowls. The smallest in the set was about 14 inch diameter. The
largest about 20 inches. I gave one set to a mother, another to her
daughter, and the third to a daughter in law of the same family.
Large mixing bowls are not common here, except in plastic or (god!)
stainless steel. A large nested set is almost unheard of (no one
here has large kitchens, the houses tend to run small, maybe 1300
square feet). They did not want those bowls, they "needed" them.
The mother told me a few months ago how satisfying it was "to sit
crosslegged on the couch, with a huge bowl between my knees, eating
popcorn and crying into the bowl watching a movie". The daughter
commented on how nice it was to be able to tuck a bowl into the
crook of her arm and mix up a batch of brownies while walking across
the kitchen.
Don't discount "needs", Tony. You'll get a lot more business that
way. Just my 2=A2.
Wayne Seidl
who has one of Tony and Sheila's bowls on my counter, filled with
Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses. I smile every time I grab one, and
run my finger across his "whoopie" in the middle (so there! :>)=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of
clennell
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005 9:31 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Showing your jugs
snip for space
Clayarts accountant e-mailed me and said she lusted after my jug but
didn't
need another "pitcher'. In Canada a pitcher hangs on the
wall(cultural
language). I informed Bonnie that I don't sell needs, I only sell
wants.
Nothing I make is a need to have.
The funny thing about jugs that I usually mention when
demonstrating. I make
this vase form and just before I pull the lip I tell everyone that
what I am
about to do will decrease the value of this pot by 50%. You can have
a vase
in every room but you only need the one jug in the kitchen. A jug is
a
kitchen pot and not a livingroom pot except of course in our house.
My jug is about 16 inches tall and by no means would it fit in
anyones frig
and you're paying to much to put it away in the frig. It is a vase
destined
for a bouquet of beautiful flowers. I just happpen to love the jug
form over
that of a vase because it to me offers the most of the human body
parts lip,
neck, throat, shoulder, arm, belly, foot and I have even at times in
my
juvenile moments added a butt crack.
My shelf of teapots numbers 9. Do I need another one? Oh, yeah! Liz
W's
teapot is the daily work horse- it drips all over the place. Just
kidding
Liz- just wanted to make sure the ole girl didn't drift off on me.
Pots are
an obsession for me. There are so many more pots out there that I
just need
to have in the company of my home.
Show your jugs in every room! Fill them with flowers. Don't go
there,
Wayne!
Cheers,
Tony
Tony and Sheila Clennell
Sour Cherry Pottery
4545 King Street
Beamsville, Ontario
CANADA L0R 1B1
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com
http://www.sourcherrypottery.com/current_news/news_letter.html
Lee Love on sat 2 jul 05
On 2005/07/02 0:22:25, wjsvt@sover.net wrote:
>
> I'm troubled by your comment, Tony, that
> "you don't sell needs, you
> only sell wants". It may just be a cultural
> language difference here.
It is a language/cultural difference. Wants are dictated by
the 2 year old in us all. (Just look at T.V. commercials and what they
appeal to.) Needs depend upon more intrinsic values. If we are ever
going to break out of the mindset of seeing the citizen as only a
consumer, we need to go beyond the 2year old in us all.
As creative people, if we only think of ourselves as producing
commodities for consumers, we will always be behind the eight-ball,
trying to make ends meet. This ethic is based on ever lower prices,
and squeezing the most work possible out of the producer.
Beauty may not be an inherent aspect of all societies, but is is
inherent in every healthy civilization.
Don't be a consumer. Be a creator!. Inspire your patrons
to be creative. The pot is not completed until they use it in their
home. (I think Hamada said this.)
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
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