GEP
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Posts posted by GEP
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2 hours ago, Kelly in AK said:
Dick, I think you’re going to like the frit! I resisted for years, not so much from cost, but because frits felt so “artificial,” and Gerstley is (was
) such a miracle material. I got over it. So totally over it. 3124 and 3134 are my trusty friends now. A little more Epsom salts, a touch of bentonite, because the magic power of Gerstley to keep things in suspension is gone. I’ve still got a couple glazes I need to recalculate myself though.
I am heavy sighing over Gerstley as well. When I did my last supply run this spring, I bought myself about 3 years supply of it. So the clock is ticking, I have 3 years to reformulate my glossy glazes. I also bought some 3124, and I have some 3134 on hand already. Time to start testing. I’m encouraged to hear that others have already found their way through this.
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I used to do a lot of wholesale work via trade shows, so I’ve worked with dozens of galleries. They come in a wide range from “grifters” to “well-intentioned incompetent” all the way to “craft industry superhero.” So whether this particular opportunity is a good idea depends a lot on the quality of the humans behind it.
If it’s consignment, I would ask for a contract that allows you to take the work back whenever you want, for any reason. If they haven’t paid for it, they shouldn’t be able to stop you from having it back.
If it’s wholesale, then just make sure to charge a wholesale price for the first order that satisfies you, whether the relationship becomes more fruitful or not. Then see how it goes.
Ultimately I decided that selling my work wholesale was not worth the discount, and I made a much better profit selling directly and without a middleman. However, the margins were better for the higher end pieces (large platters and such) than they were for the mugs. So if that’s the type of work they want, and they have a customer base that will buy it, then there’s good potential.
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@cbjensen Sorry it took me so long to reply with more explanation of what I said. (I had two shows in the past two weekends, one of which was a travel show.)
I used to do a show that charged a percentage of my sales. This was great when I was starting out, because of the low risk. But after several years, my sales grew to the point where the show became far more expensive than comparable shows. I stopped doing it, and others like me also moved on. I would recommend the show to other newbies, due to the low risk. Eventually, the show figured out that their talent pool was restricted to those who wanted low-risk, thus the quality of their show, and their revenue, was suffering. This has a real impact on attendance and reputation. Their intention was not to be a lower-end, newbie friendly show. But that’s what it turned into.
Shows like these DO serve a purpose in the art world, by giving a safe space for new sellers. If you decide you want this to be the intention of your event, that’s not a bad thing! Just understand that there will be a ceiling on your quality, revenue, and reputation.
You said “we are a community” but this presumes that every one of the potters has the same goals for their own work, which is probably not true. The longer you do this event, over time it’s natural that some of your members are going to pull ahead of others. I hope you can be supportive of that, rather than trying to define everyone as being the same.
The show that I mentioned above tried changing their fee structure to “percentage with a cap at the high end.” For some reason, that did not work out for them. I suspect it didn’t work because they had been making all of their revenue from the high sellers, so the cap cut their revenue by too much. So they eventually switched to a “flat fee for everyone” format, but had to deal with much complaining from those who felt entitled to the low-risk format. It was a real hassle for them to change formats. And by then, it was difficult for them to get the high-sellers to come back. (I had already found plenty of better shows to do.)
So my advice is to start thinking ahead about the future intentions of your event. Do you want it to be a safe space for newcomers? Do you want to foster professional quality work? It’s difficult to combine both types of sellers in one event. So maybe the answer is, down the road, you will establish a separate event that is defined as professional-grade. Where the participants are not self-selecting, but rather they need to pass through an arbiter of quality (similar to a juried art fair), and with a fee structure that is more friendly to them, and probably more profitable for your studio as well.
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Add up the total expenses from this sale, then divide by the number of potters. Then charge that as a flat fee.
If you want to generate income for the studio more than just breaking even on expenses, add in a reasonable profit for your studio too. Then divide by the number of potters.
I think flat fees are a little more fair than a percentage. With a percentage, you are penalizing people who sell better.
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I’m not an accountant, but I’m pretty sure my cpa would say that giving them 1099s is overkill.
You DO need to remit sales tax for all the sales, but it doesn’t have to be out of your pocket. Just subtract out the sales tax from the funds you collected, then pay out the remainder to the individual potters. You should also subtract out the fees that you paid to Square.
When I taught pottery classes, I did one sale per year with my advanced students. This is how I handled it, except we added sales tax on top of each purchase, so nobody had to eat that cost. I gave them what they sold minus the Square fees.
Whether the individual potters report their income properly is up to them.
This was your first time so don’t sweat the mistakes. Be proud of the great sales!
- Min, Callie Beller Diesel, Hulk and 2 others
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No matter how you end up building your bars, make sure they either telescope down to about half the length, or come apart into shorter segments. A 10 ft long pole is really hard to fit into a vehicle!
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I use telescoping crossbars similar to the ones you linked to. I bought them from a photo supply website too.
The hooks on the ends are conduit straps, which I spray painted black, then attached them to the ends of the crossbars with some heavy duty wire.
https://www.amazon.com/Morris-19405-Pipe-Strap-Steel/dp/B00VNJQLT6
- Rae Reich, Lucia Matos, Pres and 1 other
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On 4/16/2023 at 3:26 PM, Donna Fletcher said:
I am looking for a vase/jar of a specific shape
In addition to the issues raised by @Rae Reich, are you looking for craftsperson to reproduce a design that is already being made by someone else? If you are in the US, you might run into copyright issues.
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It used to be that we assumed clay materials were cheap, but kept a short list of the things that were expensive, e.g. Cobalt and Tin.
Now we will keep a short list of the things that are cheap.
I just noticed that I am low on Wollastonite, so added 50lb of it to my order that I am picking up next week. WOLLASTONITE IS STILL CHEAP! WOO HOO!
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Thanks @Min, this is really helpful!
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5 hours ago, Min said:
There are lots of other materials that can supply the necessary boron for far less money.
What would you recommend? My local supplier is also having some issues with Frit 3134. It’s marginally cheaper, but still not cheap. Right now, they keep a waiting list of everyone who wants it, and anytime they receive any, it’s sold out before it hits the shelves. They told me I can get on this waiting list too, if I want. Are there other options?
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17 hours ago, Mark C. said:
then bought out the clay plant in Ohio
The Ohio plant used to be Miller Clay.
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It’s weird that Laguna is being transparent about Spodumene and Lithium, but not Gerstley Borate. If they really are running out, they shouldn’t mind letting others develop substitutes and workarounds.
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24 minutes ago, Bill Kielb said:
GB is no longer mined. Several years ago Laguna purchased a whole bunch thought to be spoils. The mine has been closed for many years and in its hey day was used to encase underground nuclear tests. It’s never really been something mined for potters and I would expect the price will continue to rise.
Yes I know that Laguna purchased the remainders of the closed mine. But what they said at the time is “there is enough GB to last through the life spans of all current potters.” That’s why the price hike is confusing. It could just be greed, not shortage.
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I just placed a new order of supplies, and learned that the price of Gerstley Borate has gone through the roof. Last year it was $100 for a 50 lb sack. This year it is $250/50 lbs. Always thought of GB as a “cheap” flux, but not anymore. My supplier said they have no information from Laguna that the supply is running low. Possible, but Laguna isn’t saying.
I took the “Mark C. approach” and bought enough to last about 3 years. I figure in that time we will learn if the supply really is running out. And if so, I’ll hopefully have enough time to figure out a new liner glaze recipe.
My supplier also said, “GB price is bad, but the prices of Lithium and Spodumene have quadrupled.” In those cases they have an explanation, which is that lithium is in high demand now that battery-powered cars/devices have become so popular.
Buckle up, folks.
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On the subject of one’s body wearing down … I’m 52 now, approaching the 30 year mark of my pottery-making life. When I am going through a busy stretch with work, I have a nightly appointment with my heating pad, to soothe my aching elbows, wrists, and back. The past few years, I have been taking a 2 month break after the holidays. Pandemic forced me to do it, now I choose to do it. The recovery time makes a big difference. Throughout the year, I prioritize my physical health, knowing that my job depends on it. Running, yoga, sleep, healthy diet. Last year I started taking a collagen supplement, and that seems to help with my chronically sore elbow. Maybe the most important advice I have for a younger potter is to make sure your throwing clay is nice and soft.
I hope to retire with my hands being functional enough to do things like cooking and gardening.
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12 minutes ago, Joseph Fireborn said:
don't understand why anyone would make that comment, but I often find myself not understanding people. If I somehow made that comment in my post, I apologize I had no intentions of that meaning. If anything I admire people who can succeed as a full-time potter with no other support, it is impressive
Joseph, I apologize for being unclear! I did not mean that you made this comment. You did not. I was referring to this entire discussion, and to many other discussions I’ve seen, here and in other places, where the differentiations are not discussed.
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16 hours ago, Joseph Fireborn said:
you have to be really smart with what you do and be savvy in time management. It isn't easy to do and as others have shown it definitely is possible to do; but other types of businesses can scale so much easier with a single person and modern machinery.
16 hours ago, Joseph Fireborn said:but someone else might consider that awful with the amount of manual labor it took for a person to do that in most cases.
I agree with most of what you’ve written here, but these points need to be challenged a little. Being able to produce the volume that it takes to earn a living with pottery is not really about time management, or an awful amount of labor. It’s about training your body to be able to produce high volumes, using a reasonable amount of time and labor. The “modern machinery” required for a pottery studio is your own body, honed for efficiency. There’s only one way to develop this …. by doing it for a few decades.
I do strongly agree that everyone should define “success” for themselves. But I also believe that the different definitions should be talked out openly, and weighed with relativity. Some are turning a profit, in an amount that equals a nice side business, while working another day job. Some are doing it full-time and doing well, but would not get by without another form of financial support (spouse or parents). Some are paying for their entire lives (housing, vehicles, food, utilities, health insurance, retirement plan) by making and selling pots, without any other support. All of these are valid businesses, but they aren’t equal. As a person in the last category, it really annoys me when anyone suggests I should act more like a person in the first category. That’s not the boat I’m paddling these days. I’m not putting down those in the first category, because I was that person when I started out! I’m arguing that anyone who wants to discuss the Business of Pottery should recognize and understand the differences when they are discussing it.
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8 hours ago, Morgan said:
I disagree with your response regarding the high profile Instagram people, or frankly just people that are really good at online marketing. The large majority of these folks open up their online store…you know what I am talking about “shop opens in 2days get ready!”, and sell out instantly because they have a 100k+ followers. It drives me mad really because a good deal of them are not even that great, but what they are good at is photos, videos and using the medium well. And of coarse there are successful potters that do not even own or know how to turn on a computer, but that is besides the point.
we live in a world where you can sell absolute garbage if you know how to engage people online well and that is just a reality.
I’m not disputing that his happens. But how many pots were in that online sale? Sometimes I look at those sold out stores and see that they sold 50 or 70 pots. Maybe 100. That’s really not that many pots. And how many times per year do these potters open their shops? 3 or 4 times per year? It’s important to look at these businesses as an overall annual format, and whether it can be sustained as a means to earn a living over time, not just one sale that sells out in a flash.
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2 hours ago, suetectic said:
the most successful people right now are instagram(algorithm) savvy and photogenic.
These are the most “successful Instagram users.” Not to be confused with “successful potters.” You can’t deposit instagram likes in the bank. What looks shiny and pretty on social media can be 100% a facade.
I know successful potters from my real life, because doing lots of high-level shows allows you to meet the real deals. Some of them are great with social media, some are bad at it, and some of them don’t do social media at all. There is no correlation.
My advice to anyone who wants to be a serious pro: don’t place any value on social media popularity. Do it for fun, if you want, but that’s all.
- LeeU, Kelly in AK, suetectic and 2 others
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The best advice comes from people with years of first hand experience with selling. I have seen lots of second hand advice being peddled, and it always come across to me as "this person has clearly never tried the advice their peddling." Second hand advice is always over-simplified, as if the person thinks there are formulas and paved roads to follow. Those don't exist!
) such a miracle material. I got over it. So totally over it. 3124 and 3134 are my trusty friends now. A little more Epsom salts, a touch of bentonite, because the magic power of Gerstley to keep things in suspension is gone. I’ve still got a couple glazes I need to recalculate myself though.
Stuck wheel heads
in Equipment Use and Repair
Posted
I once had to remove some stuck wheel heads in the classroom where I used to teach. They were Pacifica Wheels. We were advised by Laguna to put on some sturdy and grippy work gloves. Make sure all the set screws were loose or removed. Then have a strong person grab the wheel head with the gloves on, and twist counter clockwise while also stepping on the pedal. It worked!