Antoinette Badenhorst on thu 6 oct 05
Some while ago I heard that Magdalena Undundo sells her pots at $50 000 =
a
piece. Is that a fact? I can't say, but if it is true then it means that =
I
can sell my work at the same price.? Wrong. I do make similar pieces =
just as
good, but I did not fill the niche first and I do not have the name
recognition. Will it be the same with paintings, singers, speakers and =
for
that purpose commercial furniture makers? Yes! yes! yes! We need to quit
thinking of how they do it and find ways for ourselves to market and =
better
ourselves. Let's get the lesson here: This is a package that sells not =
an
individual piece of pottery. John Baymore, you were spot on with your
description of how the work of art gets extended by the food. If you =
talk to
people in the food industry, you will find that they prefer a plain old
china dish above "works of art". They need a canvas for their food. =
With
that I am off for the weekend.
See you next week.
=20
Antoinette Badenhorst
105 Westwood Circle
Saltillo MS, 38866
www.clayandcanvas.com
=20
Jason Truesdell on thu 6 oct 05
I'm not really a food industry professional, but there are some cultural
differences in European-influenced cuisine and, say, Japanese food
presentation. One German guy thought it was rather strange that I was
plating a dish with hijiki and polenta on top of a Japanese plate with a
clearly contrasting (though color-compatible) rough-geometric pattern;
apparently, for him, the plate should be the canvas, unless, perhaps, the
item topping it is quite plain-looking. Of course, I think Italians would
have yet another opinion, where hand-painted ceramic-ware is more highly
regarded for food than in France or Germany.
When serving Japanese food, the choice of plate or bowl noticeably affects
the perception of taste. I'm sure this is true for Western food as well, but
Japanese in particular strongly believe this.
Accordingly, I try to use plates or bowls whose shape or design complements
the food. Whether it's $10 or $100 or even $500 doesn't matter so much. For
me, I don't place as sharp a dividing line as a lot of Americans do on
"functional" vs. "decorative" pottery. If I buy pottery, I intend to use it.
I probably would not serve a 2 year old child off of a $100 plate, but I
can't bear the thought of a piece of pottery merely gathering dust as I
become older and older; I buy pottery so that I may live with it. It's not
there just to fill up space.
My customers buying more expensive pieces (the most expensive items I carry
are around $300-500, all from Japanese artists) tend to buy these items for
someone else as a gift. A small number of the higher-priced pots are
purchased for personal collections, but most Americans seem afraid to be
self-indulgent.
I suppose the same is probably at least partially true for me; I think the
most expensive single piece that I've bought for myself, and not for resale,
is probably about $100-$150. Those pieces, however, do see use.
I believe that the people buying "expensive" items appreciate the aesthetic
and the craftsmanship that went into these pieces. If I have to explain why
they are priced as they are, there's no way I can win that customer. The
first response to a piece of pottery is an emotional, gut reaction. The
piece speaks to you or it doesn't. I've seen $2000 pots whose price made
complete sense to me, and $2000 pots that didn't strike a chord with me at
all.
But pottery is also a conversation between the customer and the potter. It's
not just marketing (though I'm sure that helps); it's a kind of dialog that
forms over time. If you can sell a lot of pots at $25, would you sell enough
of the same design at $30 or $50 to make a living? Would it help you improve
your craft? If you sold the same pieces for $200, would enough people buy
them to cover your needs? If not, then wait until you get better and your
customer base becomes larger. If you'll sell enough, then make $200 pots and
figure out what it will take to make pots worth $500.
One of my potters makes the same basic forms over and over again, on a
kickwheel. The glaze he uses in almost all of his pieces, a Mashiko-style
persimmon (kaki) glaze, has wild variations in his gas kilns. Every time I
ask him about a piece the price is different. The pricing is essentially
tiered; the best examples of his work are the most expensive. He can't
guarantee he'll get another one just like that, so he prices them to adjust
to the rarity of the spectacular. I don't mind this, because I can recognize
the difference in quality between one piece and another, but for a
department store buyer or something, that kind of variation would be
maddening.
Of course, I tend to buy items not necessarily for their flawlessness; I
often buy them because they are interesting, and they speak to me. I
sometimes prefer to buy a pot for $50 that has some charisma than a
technically spectacular $200 pot. The reasons for the quality difference may
be clear, but again, every purchase is a kind of dialog; if it speaks to me,
and I can afford (or cost-justify, if for resale) it, I'll get it.
Jason Truesdell, Principal
Yuzu Trading Co. LLC
Phone: 206-274-4575
Fax: 206-260-7401
Wholesale: http://www.yuzutrade.com/
Buy online at http://www.yuzumura.com/
My Blog: http://blog.jagaimo.com/
Community: http://moriawase.com/
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Antoinette
Badenhorst
Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 9:27 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Something else to consider in pricing @ $600
Some while ago I heard that Magdalena Undundo sells her pots at $50 000 a
piece. Is that a fact? I can't say, but if it is true then it means that I
can sell my work at the same price.? Wrong. I do make similar pieces just as
good, but I did not fill the niche first and I do not have the name
recognition. Will it be the same with paintings, singers, speakers and for
that purpose commercial furniture makers? Yes! yes! yes! We need to quit
thinking of how they do it and find ways for ourselves to market and better
ourselves. Let's get the lesson here: This is a package that sells not an
individual piece of pottery. John Baymore, you were spot on with your
description of how the work of art gets extended by the food. If you talk to
people in the food industry, you will find that they prefer a plain old
china dish above "works of art". They need a canvas for their food. With
that I am off for the weekend.
See you next week.
Antoinette Badenhorst
105 Westwood Circle
Saltillo MS, 38866
www.clayandcanvas.com
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