logan johnson on tue 25 apr 06
Hey Gang,
A customer came in today looking for Bonsai planters. He told me he belonged to a Bonsai club & they were looking for a place that made them. Naturally I told him "I would be more than willing to give it the ol' college try." I found some really nice designs on the web I could reproduce. But, I would REALLY like to know more about the specifics of the planters rather than just copying pics from websites. This way I'd know why I'm doing a particular style of pot a certain way. From what the gentelman says people in his club are VERY particular about tools & such. They buy the tools online from japan & are very picky. Can anyone suggest any websites that could tell me what types of pots are out there , Why certain pots are certain sizes, any history about bonsai planters in general or any other info I might need to know?
My "vast" knowledge of bonsai can be placed on the head of a pin. I've seen them at the fair, a few nurserys That's it. Can anyone help a Bonsai dummy?
Thanks,
Logan
Logan Johnson
Yakima Valley Pottery & Supply
719 W Nob Hill Blvd. Ste C
Yakima, WA 98902
509.469.6966
www.audeostudios.com
"Carpe Argillam!!"
Linda Ferzoco on wed 26 apr 06
Hi Logan,
I do bonsai too and have collected some information
about pot making.
This site is of one of the premier bonsai pot sites:
http://www.tokoname.or.jp/bonsai/
One pays quite a bit to put dirt into these things!
We put decidious trees into glazed pots and evergreen
trees into unglazed pots. This site has the
traditional sizes but those precise sizes don't matter
that much.
In this country, there are a couple of potters who do
bonsai. Here are some photos of their traditional and
non-traditional styles, both prized.
http://www.bonsai-nbf.org/nbf/potcomp2001/potterywinners.htm
Sara Rayner's site:
http://www.redwing.net/~daalms/
Jim Gremel's site:
http://www.jimgremel.com/
And someone has written a book about bonsai potters
that I didn't know about:
http://www.whitehorsepottery.com/Bonsai%20Potter%20Book.htm
Good luck with this endeavor,
Linda Ferzoco
--- logan johnson wrote:
> Hey Gang,
>
> A customer came in today looking for Bonsai
> planters. He told me he belonged to a Bonsai club &
> they were looking for a place that made them.
> Naturally I told him "I would be more than willing
> to give it the ol' college try." I found some
> really nice designs on the web I could reproduce.
> But, I would REALLY like to know more about the
> specifics of the planters rather than just copying
> pics from websites. This way I'd know why I'm doing
> a particular style of pot a certain way. From what
> the gentelman says people in his club are VERY
> particular about tools & such. They buy the tools
> online from japan & are very picky. Can anyone
> suggest any websites that could tell me what types
> of pots are out there , Why certain pots are
> certain sizes, any history about bonsai planters in
> general or any other info I might need to know?
> My "vast" knowledge of bonsai can be placed on the
> head of a pin. I've seen them at the fair, a few
> nurserys That's it. Can anyone help a Bonsai
> dummy?
> Thanks,
> Logan
>
>
> Logan Johnson
> Yakima Valley Pottery & Supply
> 719 W Nob Hill Blvd. Ste C
> Yakima, WA 98902
> 509.469.6966
> www.audeostudios.com
> "Carpe Argillam!!"
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> 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.
>
Elizabeth Priddy on wed 26 apr 06
I can offer you a marketing strategy:
Bonsai people love their trees. They keep them for
decades. And buying them a new pot is very important
to them. They keep the old ones like treasures for
new trees down the road.
If you offered to be a guest listener at one of their
meetings regarding the qualities they look for in a
pot, porosity, color, shape, etc. They would bring
you what they want in pictures and actual pots for you
to look at. And as each local group has regional and
species specific preferences, you would learn more
valuable information this way than a generic web
search. (Of course, if you like doing it, you can
diversify and sell from a website, but you would have
cool testimonials and pictures if you start local)
And you would have built a niche market for yourself
in one night of effort. Take notes, make drawings,
take orders and pictures, and schedule another night
to bring the pots to them or to have a studio night
for them to come and choose from what you made. They
might even bring friends or buy for their compadres
that can't get there. Possibly offer a discount for
club members, but remember that these people are used
to paying high dollar for their pots. 100+ is not
unusual for a really nice home/pot for their tree.
And a custom order starts with a $50 set-up fee, take
a breath and read that again and internalize it so
that you can say it without any hesitation and a big
smile like you are doing them a favor for offering the
service in the first place. You see, you need to make
a special tombo for measuring, a rib for the
decorative edge, and documentation of it all in case
anything should happen to the one of a kind piece you
are making for their tree/companion.
Compliment their trees and remember not to call them
plants.
I am giving my son, Logan, a bonsai tree that he can
keep as a pet for the rest of his life. I am
researching to find the most beautiful to me. I have
a preference for dwarf pine, that I can prune to the
shape of a strange hurricane-shaped tree in our yard
next to the marsh so that wherever he goes, he can
have a 3-d version of home. I am making it out of
black raven clay from georgia kickwheel and firing it
to vitrification, as porosity is not a good thing for
bonsai pots appropriate to this tree. Mine will be
low and kidney shaped and I will plant grass seed in
the soil to immitate the marsh with blue glass pebbles
at the edges to imitate the marsh. Yuuummmmmmm. See
how sentimental and convoluted bonsai people are! I
am also eying a crepe myrtle but I am not sure I
believe that it will work, although as I understand
it, any tree can be retrained to grow small. I pruned
and shaped a 12 foot crepe myrtle for 8 years but then
I had to move. It is still the prettiest myrtle on
that street, but the new tenants have let it grow
suckers on the bottom and it is killing me not to stop
and cut them off.
Good luck with it.
E
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
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Patrick Cross on wed 26 apr 06
You might try Lotus International in Athens, GA. I used to work there at
their nursery side of the business. They also supply all the 'hard'
materials for Bonsai. This is a HUGE place...they carry everything
imaginable for Bonsai....and beyond...some of those urn shape containers
that a family of four could live in comfortably. The nursery was about 20
minutes outside of Athens and the warehouse was in an industrial park area
in Athens. I don't know if there is a web site or not.
Patrick Cross (cone10soda)
On 4/26/06, logan johnson wrote:
>
> Hey Gang,
>
> A customer came in today looking for Bonsai planters. He told me he
> belonged to a Bonsai club & they were looking for a place that made
> them. Naturally I told him "I would be more than willing to give it the =
ol'
> college try." I found some really nice designs on the web I could
> reproduce. But, I would REALLY like to know more about the specifics of =
the
> planters rather than just copying pics from websites. This way I'd know =
why
> I'm doing a particular style of pot a certain way. From what the gentelma=
n
> says people in his club are VERY particular about tools & such. They buy =
the
> tools online from japan & are very picky. Can anyone suggest any website=
s
> that could tell me what types of pots are out there , Why certain pots
> are certain sizes, any history about bonsai planters in general or any
> other info I might need to know?
> My "vast" knowledge of bonsai can be placed on the head of a pin. I've
> seen them at the fair, a few nurserys That's it. Can anyone help a Bon=
sai
> dummy?
> Thanks,
> Logan
>
>
> Logan Johnson
> Yakima Valley Pottery & Supply
> 719 W Nob Hill Blvd. Ste C
> Yakima, WA 98902
> 509.469.6966
> www.audeostudios.com
> "Carpe Argillam!!"
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________________=
_____
> 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.
>
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