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Just Dreaming ...


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So the large log cabin style home next door to me is for sale. It got me thinking/ pipe dreaming. It comes with 10.5 acres. And a professional chef kitchen.

 

I imagine opening up a studio to make my work, have workshops, maybe open studio time the way Neil does, a gallery room for art, daily fee drop in studio time for those not taking classes ( equipped with supplies to make paintings or slab work) , the land is there to build an anagama and also to have art fairs, the property is next door to a gun club so it could possibly be zoned commercial. It also have enough space to hold curated art shows. This area is in desperate need of something for people to do ... A safe place for teens to create art and not get into trouble, some coffee pots and used art book exchange.

 

The total cost to get the anagama, supplies, house, etc wheels, bisque kilns, the property, etc.... About 460k. I brought this idea up to my husband and he completely ignored me and shot down the idea like it was too far fetched. I wish there was a grant of some kind to start up a community art center.

Has anybody else had dreams like this that felt too big to be taken seriously?

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That is my 10-year goal of sorts. The trick is building it up.

 

A year ago I had no clue if my studio would be successful or flop. I didn't know if there would be much interest in pottery classes or if I would be able to reach out and find them.

 

Now I have a small but growing community. The safety net is getting stronger. In another year, I feel my business model can be shown to be nontraditional but still robust. So I could go to a bank and show the revenue streams are strong enough to support my ideas. That I am not just a crazy person.

 

---

 

For you, cut away the parts beyond the beginning. An anagama kiln, not matter how well funded, won't happen overnight. Focus on the work space and wheels only.

 

 

too often even the small dreams don't get taken seriously

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Nothing wrong with dreaming. I hope to one day have some 10+ acres(of woods) in the mountains so I can have a small wood kiln and a bigger electric kiln. Haul my pots down the mountain via pack donkey and sell them at the market.  :rolleyes: But really. I hope to have my own cabin/studio when I retire with my wife and tons of grandchildren (so I don't actually get time to pot).

 

 

EDIT: I agree with what mark said below though. 

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My advice is start slow-460K of debt is just to daunting . 

I think potters need to go slow and not get into mountains of debt. 

Just the opposite only get what you can afford . Now as you are in the property business maybe renting it out as a chefs school as the loan pays down makes more sense. 

I will always suggest getting debt free is at the top of the list then you can move ahead with more options.

I'm with him as a pottery school is a pie in the sky idea as far as making money.

 

PS I have an acre and its enough maintain you will not like 10 acres when you are older.

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Guest JBaymore

.........the land is there to build an anagama .................

 

There is a woodfirer's standard joke................

 

"What is the best woodkiln to fire?"

 

 

 

 

 

....................................." The one that someone ELSE paid to build and owns."

 

best,

 

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

 

PS:  Anagama are "be careful what you wish for" kilns.

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Has anybody else had dreams like this that felt too big to be taken seriously?

 

Never, some dreams just take longer to bare fruit than than others.

 

Just be patient and don't get in over your head to quickly.

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Dreams are what get you out of bed. Dreams are what get you to make the 100th Spoon rest for the day. Dreams are what get you up at 4am to drive to an art festival and set up your booth. Dreams are what wake you up at 3am to sneak down to the studio and work through that new design you just can't stop thinking about. Dreams are what get you to ignore dinner so you can package up yet another box to ship out due to arrive before Christmas.

 

What would we do without dreams.

 

It's the cold as nails spreadsheet of goals and business plan that keep those dreams rooted and not floating away into the ether. Build your dream one day at a time, don't give up but don't jump too far ahead in the game or the whole thing could go poof. I always keep the phrase, "do you want fries with that" running in the back of my mind. It keeps me focused when the dreaming draws me away from the business at hand.

 

T

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I have always dreamed big: most of which have come to pass. However, I have always been realistic about the time and effort it would require to make them come to pass.Bill Gates had a dream. Andrew Carnegie had a dream. Thomas Edison had a dream. In 1604, a boat load of pilgrims landed with big dreams. I am old enough to remember when this country had a dream of putting a man on the moon.

When I was 21, I had a dream of opening a construction company: it went belly up in less than two years. I had a dream, and more energy than wisdom. When I was 40, I opened a construction company again: I still had the dream. In ten short years it grew to one of the largest in the county. Now at 60+, the down turn in the construction industry turned out to be a benefit. I had been working 60-70 hour weeks for decades; living my dream. Dreams are good; but they require hard work and a willingness to risk all. At 21 I knew I would succeed; at 40 I knew I could fail. At 21 I would attempt anything; at 40 I was much more selective. At 21, I knew I would be in demand; at 40, I knew I could be replaced. At 60+: I realize the price that is paid to obtain our dreams.

"All things are possible to them that believe..."

Nerd

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"Good dreams don't come cheap
You've got to pay for them
If you just dream when you're asleep
There is no way for them
to come alive
to survive"

--from There Only Was One Choice by Harry Chapin

 

This song tell a story of some of the choices Harry went through to make a career in music. He gave everything (and died too soon).

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I wrote an paper in Junior collage art class in 1971 about my dream in art.

I forgot about this one page paper for decades and found it in the late 80's early 90's.

It said what would be great is to take pottery into cites and come home with the money from selling it.

I found that that was exactly what I was doing without ever thinking about it again.

Turns out I made much of my life out of this dream -at least 1/2 to 2/3rds of my income from just such ventures.

I bought property built kilns dove around the planet and have had a good life from just such a dream.

Dreams are powerful stuff

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Guest JBaymore

Win the lottery, and wood fire until the money runs out.  :P

 

How do you make a small fortune as a wood fire potter?

 

 

 

........................................wait for it..............................

 

 

 

Start with a large fortune.  ;)   (bada-bing!)

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Guest JBaymore

I have always dreamed big: most of which have come to pass. However, I have always been realistic about the time and effort it would require to make them come to pass.Bill Gates had a dream. Andrew Carnegie had a dream. Thomas Edison had a dream. In 1604, a boat load of pilgrims landed with big dreams. I am old enough to remember when this country had a dream of putting a man on the moon.

When I was 21, I had a dream of opening a construction company: it went belly up in less than two years. I had a dream, and more energy than wisdom. When I was 40, I opened a construction company again: I still had the dream. In ten short years it grew to one of the largest in the county. Now at 60+, the down turn in the construction industry turned out to be a benefit. I had been working 60-70 hour weeks for decades; living my dream. Dreams are good; but they require hard work and a willingness to risk all. At 21 I knew I would succeed; at 40 I knew I could fail. At 21 I would attempt anything; at 40 I was much more selective. At 21, I knew I would be in demand; at 40, I knew I could be replaced. At 60+: I realize the price that is paid to obtain our dreams.

"All things are possible to them that believe..."

Nerd

 

Great piece of writing and insight.  :)

 

best,

 

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

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To me it sounds like a great plan but maybe an end game instead of a start. One problem I see is that you are building the business goals around the property instead of the location around the business plan. It seems you are ready to take your home studio to the next level and when this property became available you molded this desire around the property. 

 

I started a company over 20 years ago now and over the 10 years I ran it we moved 4 times when it made sense, The spot we opened in was a 1500' office/warehouse with one private office and little entry area I put 3 cubes in and the last spot was a 7000' one with conference room and decked out suite of offices and loading dock. My point is that we progressed through growth cycles, getting and paying for what we needed at the time.

 

For a small owner operated studio I think like Mark C states, debt is your worst enemy. If you don't have deep pockets It will eliminate your ability to handle downturns in revenue and put you in a position of always having to worry about closing your business. Renting until there is plenty of cushion keeps you flexible and expenses down as its much more common to over buy than it is to over rent.  

 

Why not channel this desire, research and write a realistic business plan that fits you and your current financial abilities and just keep molding it until it works. Another thing I think you might not realize about a big project like you mentioned will likely be the end of you pottery work for the foreseeable future as executing such a space would definitely be all time consuming for the lead.

 

Check out Whitney Smith's blog. She has lots of great stuff on her business. She runs a small pottery in a small 6-800ish rented space in Oakland, has an assistant I believe and makes and sells her pottery everyday instead of managing a larger effort and has been successfully doing it for a long time.

 

A very good friend of mine who once owned a very large business said to me 'stay small you will last longer' 

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I started my shop too big, and it cost me a lot of time and money to recover from that. Build up what you have now, and expand when you need to. Take your time, you'll get there. Making and selling pots is difficult, just like starting any business. You don't want to invest too heavily all at once or you could end up in a bad place.

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About 460k.

 

 

Dreams are .........  

What would we do without dreams.

 

 

 

Is the $460k after selling your current home?  

 

Could you afford the repayments?  

 

Sounds cheap to me.  (Living in the town that has just been declared as having the highest rate of increase in house values in the last 12 months.  Average cost of a house in this town = £300k or >$380k)

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I know about living your dream.

 

sunroom

 

If you use your dream as a goal: it will give you the motivation to move forward. In my earlier post I talked about opening a construction company at 21, and it went belly up. At the time it was devastating, but it ended up being one of my best life lessons. I learned where the pit holes where, and how to avoid stepping in them. I learned it requires more than having a dream: it also requires a plan to execute them. In this country, dreams come with regulations: such as taxes, ordinances, and book keeping. Dreams encapsulate the human spirit: creativity, courage, adventure, and boldness. But they also require patience, tenacity, and endurance.

Then again it depends on how you measure success? Is it being the biggest, the best, or the most well known? Or is it being content in what you have done?

 

Nerd

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My adult dream is a smaller house, larger studio, smaller town, larger market. moving back to a place I love and inspires. Loading up the truck pics. Red Lodge is a great town. matt has dreams of started a Center for Physics much like the one in Aspen but which is now seemingly controlled by bureaucrats.

There is a cultured populations. Tippett Rise Art Center is an amazing example.

http://tippetrise.org

The old school is being transformed into a community cultural center and is 4 blocks from our house.

Got the truck loaded and it is on its way to Montana.

I'll be there Sunday I hope depending on the snow. Loaded it in warm humid weather, unload in 17 " of snow by Sunday.

Warm front coming mid-week (21 F) when the truck arrives.

Looking forward to our simple dreams.

Marcia

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Same thing as you. The reality for me is to start selling work and get a storage locker to storage the other half of the garage stuff and have a full functioning studio. Then when I can generate enough income to subsides my income I can quite my job. Then I will work like a dog and enjoy a good part of it.

 

Other scenario:

I hit the lottery and boom a few studios around the world. Rubbing shoulders and making pots with all the right people. Flying people in; flying me out. OH Dreams.......

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I have always been good at manifesting my dreams... but I think for me, they show up in their own time and their own way. I might have a picture in my head of how it will be, but then a few years later when I'm living it, I realize - "hey! This is exactly what I wanted, it just doesn't look how I expected it to look!"

 

Hang on to the dream, just don't get hung up in the details. Hold it in your heart and do something each day that works towards it (even if that's just researching grants, networking with people who might want to help out, drawing up wish-lists, talking about it with friends, etc). Things will start to show up and you can start collecting items, phone numbers, and resources until it all comes together.

I have dreamed for 10 years about having my own pottery studio. I opened a little studio in my house last March, and will be opening the doors to my own community studio in a few short weeks. It's a lot of long, full days - but so very worth it :)

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