Since I was wide awake at 4:30 I decided to head to the studio and load a couple of small pots in the tiny test kiln and get them bisqued today. After breakfast I have to make some feet for a jar and then probably spend the rest of the day decorating before I have to start on dinner.
The repair man is coming at 3 to hopefully get my Vent a hood working with the replacement switches. Since I don't know if he'll show on time or how long it will take him to complete the job, dinner is just going to be something simple like nachos. We changed last night's dinner plan and went out for Mexican instead and I'm not going to complain about having margaritas two nights in a row.
Jim is going out after breakfast and will pick up a small folding table so I can get my photo setup started in the guest bedroom soon. By the time the priority mail boxes that I ordered yesterday, arrive in two weeks, I should have enough pots finished and photographed and start listing them on Etsy in time to take advantage of the Christmas buying season.
One of the marketing suggestions I read a while back, was that is was better to stagger your Etsy listings rather than put too many things up at one time. That way your work is seen daily in the Etsy search listing by those shoppers looking for your type of work or product, instead of getting buried deep down in the list. It's a good idea to read those little Etsy marketing hints. From all I've read, it takes a while to build a clientele there. It seems to be a slow but steady process for those who stick to it and promote their work elsewhere and point people to their Etsy store. Having a good customer list is of great benefit. Unfortunately, I'm dealing with totally new work, and my small customer list in recent years consists only of people living three thousands miles away who purchased my soda/salt fired pots and may have no interest in the earthenware.
Since my production in retirement is so meager, especially with our kids and relatives all too happy to take pots off my hands, and do, I'd be happy to just sell enough to keep a few shelves free on my ware cart at any given time. At my age I'm not interested in packing and hauling pots off to shows, so Etsy is a good choice. I haven't checked local shops and galleries so that may be another option. Every time we go to Ashland it's to do food shopping or have dinner and there never seems to be time to check out the galleries, or they're closed when we get there. Next time we go in, I'm going to make a day just for that, and have a list of shops and galleries and check those out before we do anything else.
We have a lot of potters here in the Rogue valley now, but when I asked one of the members where people are selling these days, she said that a large number of them mainly sell at the big, yearly Clayfolk show at the Armory. I did that and other shows when I was younger, but don't find the idea of working on committees all year to get a slot in the show is something I'm interested in any more. In fact, I get exhausted just thinking of the prospect of packing and hauling pots and sitting all weekend at a show! These days I'm happy and thriving on a much slower pace; and for me it's a very good thing. It's taken me almost 74 years to slow down and I rather like it.
Time to turn the kiln up.
The repair man is coming at 3 to hopefully get my Vent a hood working with the replacement switches. Since I don't know if he'll show on time or how long it will take him to complete the job, dinner is just going to be something simple like nachos. We changed last night's dinner plan and went out for Mexican instead and I'm not going to complain about having margaritas two nights in a row.
Jim is going out after breakfast and will pick up a small folding table so I can get my photo setup started in the guest bedroom soon. By the time the priority mail boxes that I ordered yesterday, arrive in two weeks, I should have enough pots finished and photographed and start listing them on Etsy in time to take advantage of the Christmas buying season.
One of the marketing suggestions I read a while back, was that is was better to stagger your Etsy listings rather than put too many things up at one time. That way your work is seen daily in the Etsy search listing by those shoppers looking for your type of work or product, instead of getting buried deep down in the list. It's a good idea to read those little Etsy marketing hints. From all I've read, it takes a while to build a clientele there. It seems to be a slow but steady process for those who stick to it and promote their work elsewhere and point people to their Etsy store. Having a good customer list is of great benefit. Unfortunately, I'm dealing with totally new work, and my small customer list in recent years consists only of people living three thousands miles away who purchased my soda/salt fired pots and may have no interest in the earthenware.
Since my production in retirement is so meager, especially with our kids and relatives all too happy to take pots off my hands, and do, I'd be happy to just sell enough to keep a few shelves free on my ware cart at any given time. At my age I'm not interested in packing and hauling pots off to shows, so Etsy is a good choice. I haven't checked local shops and galleries so that may be another option. Every time we go to Ashland it's to do food shopping or have dinner and there never seems to be time to check out the galleries, or they're closed when we get there. Next time we go in, I'm going to make a day just for that, and have a list of shops and galleries and check those out before we do anything else.
We have a lot of potters here in the Rogue valley now, but when I asked one of the members where people are selling these days, she said that a large number of them mainly sell at the big, yearly Clayfolk show at the Armory. I did that and other shows when I was younger, but don't find the idea of working on committees all year to get a slot in the show is something I'm interested in any more. In fact, I get exhausted just thinking of the prospect of packing and hauling pots and sitting all weekend at a show! These days I'm happy and thriving on a much slower pace; and for me it's a very good thing. It's taken me almost 74 years to slow down and I rather like it.
Time to turn the kiln up.
No comments:
Post a Comment
COMMENTS WELCOME: