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Hiring Studio Potters Question


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Hello all!

 

I'm posting on behalf of Farmhouse Pottery. We make stoneware out of our workshop in Woodstock, Vermont. We are looking for more studio potters to come join our team. We've had some trouble finding potters with production experience to apply. I've seen a lot of applications from ceramics hobbyists, but our current need is more potters that are ready to start production ASAP.

 

Does anyone have any advice on how to find potters with production experience? (Not just limited to the New England area, but it does help!)

 

Here is the job posting in case anyone wants to refer a friend. Thanks for any help!

 

https://www.farmhousepottery.com/pages/studio-potter

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This is a hard thing to find as most who have these skills will have there own business to work in or will want to have one.

It takes years to learn these skills and the incentive to work for others than yourself after putting in that time  learning will be hard person to find especially to come to your location.

There have been a few posts looking for potters with throwing skills over time here-try putting an ad in ceramics monthly magazine to reach a broader audience .

Production throwers that hire out are far and few between .

I'm speaking from experience.

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I agree with Mark. Anybody with the level of skill and wide assortment of employable attributes you request in the job posting is probably running their own business.

 

Have you considered taking on an apprentice from high school or college and training them to be the potter you want? I worked in my friend's studio for a couple years when I was first introduced to clay, starting from no experience, and if she had been open to letting me collaborate on some designs I would have stayed forever instead of branching out on my own.

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In my local area, there is a fairly large studio that employs a few production potters. Not sure how many are full-time employees, but I know for sure some work on a part-time or as-needed basis, and operate their own studios too. They do production work for some occasional extra money. Also, none of the employees are expected to make replicas of the owner's work. They make their own work, which is glazed and fired in the studio's glazes/kilns. But the employees have their own initial stamps, so they "get credit" so to speak for their work. Also, it seems like this all involves very loyal and family-like relationships. Not at all like standard employer/employee relationships.

 

Like others here I find it hard to see a capable potter wanting to work full-time making another person's designs. However, I do know a terrific potter who spent about a year at the beginning of her career making 100 mugs per day in a production environment. She gained a lot of valuable skill and experience, but she had to move on.

 

Maybe you could frame your job offer as a platform for young potters to learn how to work in a production environment, and move on to their own studios after a couple of years. This might be more realistic than expecting to find permanent employees who already have production experience.

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Guest JBaymore

didn't anyone else see the prices of the items on the website for these folks?   are they incredibly high or am i still so out of touch?  and why do we try to give color to out customers?

 

 

Not incredibly high.  Some items...... out of line for the nature/quality of the work... but a lot..... seems fine to me.

 

best,

 

................john

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I agree the prices seem reasonable to me. Remember that pricing is a very individual matter. Don't set your own prices based on one other person's prices. Lots of other market conditions to consider for your own prices.

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To me, asking for the ability to stand for 8 hours a day for 40 hours a week is beyond off-putting. Production work is one thing, but a factory-type environment that is hard on body and soul is another altogether.  Old Lady, I agree w/you---I think many (not all) of the prices are ridiculous, for what appears to be simple tourist trade or commercial catalogue items (the nature of...). 

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You mentioned hobbyists in such a way I think you might want to revisit some of your applications. A lot of potters spend years, if not decades as part timers around a day job and then transition later in life to full time professionals after they are through buying nice cars, houses and college tuitions.   

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Ha Ha, its all a matter of perspective.

 

There's the price I want to get and there is the price I can get. Finding product fit I think is one of the biggest challenges to this business as a living. I can not even imagine trying to support a large multi-employee company with hand thrown/built pottery revenue, shudder.

 

Most pull this off with studios on your own property (no rent) and a meal of top ramen occasionally. Ya got to respect a shop that not only pulls it off at their level but their current problem is not having enough pottery to sell at those prices.

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found out something that might be significant.  there is a magazine, Country Living,  that put one of their pots in their April issue. in a section called the general store,  curated goods.  

 

how do i get into that magazine? <_<  

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That an online mail order buy and sell shop in vermont as well-the magazine may be part of this business.

Either way its a whole sale product-you can go do a wholesale gift show anywhere in the east I'm sure Oldlady if you want top mass produce something.

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I don't have much to contribute to address the original question, but I think the work is simple and beautiful. Got a marketing email from Serena and Lily today and I'd swear it's the same line. Nice work and great to see people building a larger business.

 

The one point I'd make, that may be contrary to what others have posted, is that, like any other profession, there are a likely lot of people who have the skills to make beautiful things, but either aren't good at the business end, or just don't want to manage a business. I think Heath ceramics in the Bay Area employees production potters. It seems like it could be a great opportunity for someone who wants steady income but does t want the added hassle and stress that goes along with running a business.

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 Heath ceramics is slip cast and tile possibly some jiggered wares but not free form thrown wares. Thats much easier to find workers who can be taught those skills.

Throwing is entirely a different deal.

​Only once in my 43 years have I met a thrower who only threw for others full time. He was looking for work full time.His last job was health insurance and boarding costs paid .Even with that  he had to move on as the work was so boring after years .He was in the west  when I met him but had that job in the east the year earlier.

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Mark, thanks for clarifying re Heath. I would swear I saw some marketing material from them showing potters throwing, but it makes much more sense that it would be slipcast. I like their product, but the durability of the glazes drives me nuts--totally different topic I know!

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Wow, your studio is exceptionally beautiful. I admire the simple yet elegant presentation and timeless style of your work.

 

I'm not sure if I will actually be of any help, but I live close to the Ohio river and in the early 1900's we were home to some of the largest pottery's in the United states. Some members of my family worked in these pottery's years ago. There were wheel throwing production potters employed up and down the Ohio river at one time. To throw on the wheel you would have to ask  your supervisor a few times and eventually they would let you try. Getting a job throwing was rather simple, you were given one shot at throwing, if you showed promise and could keep up with the other production potters after three days you had a job that paid well. If you failed to produce enough ware you were sent back to the assembly line. I think this goes to show some average people were cut out for it and some were not. You didn't a masters degree in fine arts to work in the pottery. The production potter did not design a freaking thing, nor did they want a production potters input until you had held that position for years. Production wheel thrown pottery jobs are nonexistent at any of the local pottery's that are currently in business. A prototype design may still  be hand thrown by a master potters hand and even that concept is getting tossed as the 3D printers are getting better.  Everything is all about modern production methods.

 

To sum it up throwing at the pottery was just another job that paid a little better than some of the other jobs. The jobs were filled by numerous people trying to make a better living wage, some made it and the majority never had the opportunity to try again.  Would it fly in today's society?

Absolutely, I would say average people still need jobs and it could work if you are willing to deal with the sheer numbers of the people it will take to find one good potter looking for a steady pay check.

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Guest JBaymore

Would it fly in today's society?

Absolutely, I would say average people still need jobs and it could work if you are willing to deal with the sheer numbers of the people it will take to find one good potter looking for a steady pay check.

 

BUT....... you are competing with this: 

 

best,

 

.......................john

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I love John's comments; you are the Simon Cowell of pottery. I mean that in a good way as you know what you are talking about.

 

That would be one of the modern methods of production that they use locally at the pottery's and exactly why you wont see a production wheel throwing potter at one of our factory's. 

 

Farmhouse Pottery is marketing and selling artisan hand made pieces and just like any potter on this forum selling pottery it's sold because it is truly hand made. It's not better in most cases than commercial pottery and it's not marketed that way. Your buying it because it was never touched by a jiggering machine, but you know that.

 

Maybe this is a better way...

 

It would take a substantial and unrealistic amount of capital to scale up any artisan pottery business.

 

There were 100's of local pottery's who tried to stay with the old ways and they are no longer in business. Their down falls were for many reasons, unions, new technology, horrid factory conditions, styles change and you have to constantly reinvent good timeless design. Our remaining pottery's with production equipment have been hanging from a thread more than once.  The three main pottery's that I know of that can compete in a national market all use modern methods of production. Two of those three are owned by the same family company and provide decent paying jobs in our area. The third has a large interest with the Chinese and makes pottery with imported Chinese designed and manufactured jiggering machines. The only thing USA about it is it's location.

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Guest JBaymore

I love John's comments; you are the Simon Cowell of pottery. I mean that in a good way as you know what you are talking about.

 

:)  :):)  

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There once was a ceramic production place in our area in the early 80's-thrown master forms then all slip cast fired to cone10. They had about 20 employees and sold to department stores -it all blew up as the 3 owners got tired of managing people. Lasted less than a decade.You could hire and train slip folks pretty easy.

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Or do what I did (for now). I do not throw porcelain, but I know a lady who is very good at it. So I supply the clay, she throws and dries to green ware: I pick it up and pay her. I rarely use her services, but it is an option in lieu of employees.

Nerd

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found out something that might be significant.  there is a magazine, Country Living,  that put one of their pots in their April issue. in a section called the general store,  curated goods.  

 

how do i get into that magazine? <_<  

By sending a small gift basket of your wares to the editor of Country Living!  :-)

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