GEP

Best sellers are the Enormous Coffee Mug (I do make a smaller mug too but the enormous ones sell better), and the Bowl with Chopsticks. Edit to add: my whole line of work contains about 40 different items, ranging from $10 to $225. These two items are roughly 20% (dollar-wise) of what I bring to each show. I don't recommend making only mugs and eating bowls, that wouldn't add up to a good sale. I'm just saying that mugs and small bowls are an essential and substantial component to a functional potter's line of work.

I actually recommend asking the customer to initiate the order by email. This weeds out the people who were just being impulsive when they asked for a reservation (and there are plenty of people who do this). I do not wish to spend my energy chasing down someone who turns out not to be serious. There is quite a bit of back and forth emailing required to complete an order, so the customer also needs to prove that they are reliable communicators by email (there are plenty of people who aren’t). This move also signals “I’m not going to cater to you. I’m busy and you need to make this easy for me.” Again, it weeds out the problem customers. Another option I use sometimes is “yes [those items] can be reserved for [that show]. When it’s about a week before the show, send me an email and ask me again. If I have it in stock, I’m happy to hold them for you.” This does not obligate me to change my production plans for a customer I don’t know. The customer is usually standing in front of my email list sign-up pad during this conversation. If they then sign-up for my email list, that’s a good indication of seriousness. I’ll say “oh cool, when you get my email about [that show], just hit reply and let me know what you want.” This does not apply to existing customers who have followed through successfully on reservations before. If one of them asks for a reservation at a show, I’ll write it down in my notebook on the spot. Knowing the person makes all the difference.

I’m in a bit of a pickle right now. I am down to my last box of clay, so I ordered it from my local supplier this weekend. The supplier does not have it in stock, because the manufacturer is out of stock of other clays, and behind with their deliveries. I had to order 100# from the manufacturer, just to get me through the next two weeks. The shipment via USPS will cost as much as the clay. I am desperate to keep on track production-wise because of my upcoming shows, so I have no choice. I have to wait up to 5 days to get it, and that will already set me back. Hopefully my local supplier will get their truck delivery in the next two weeks. If not, I’ll buy another 100# shipped from the manufacturer. So right now I am experiencing a lot of extra expenses and hassle, caused by supply chain issues, caused by the pandemic.

Ergonomics. In other words, take care of your back. Make everything in your studio fit YOU.

My answer is “no” as well, for the exact reasons that you explained so clearly. I’ve had a few people approach me about firing their work at my house. In every case, the person was trying to avoid the expense of using a community studio. Community studios need to charge what they charge for a reason. A person who doesn’t see those reasons is generally going to be difficult to work with. In one case, a neighbor got angry with me when I said no. Very entitled person. Imagine how she would have complained if a firing didn’t turn out the way she was expecting!

I looked at my quickbooks file, going back about 10 years, and found that my clay costs and glaze costs have remained pretty stable throughout. My most expensive glaze material in Tin Oxide and that price hasn't really changed. I do use one frit, but I haven't needed to buy it for years. I'm sure the next time I need it I will be in for a rude surprise. What has gone up in prices is the cost of replacement elements and thermocouples. It used to cost $430 for a complete set for one kiln. This year is was $490.

Yeah, the name is creepy and makes a lot of people think “yuck.” The actual product is vegan. I wouldn’t call it delicious, but it doesn’t taste bad either. I’m prioritizing function and convenience, and it solves all of the issues for me.

My solution for show food is Soylent. https://www.amazon.com/Soylent-Replacement-Powder-Original-Pound/dp/B071F4Z16T/ I buy it in powder form which makes it light and shelf stable for packing. I’ll have breakfast of oatmeal and coffee at the beginning of each show day. Then I bring 600 calories of Soylent with me to the show. Even on a hot day, it won’t go bad in the span of one day, so I don’t need refrigeration. It’s really easy to sip 150 calories, at four intervals. I never feel hungry or full. No sugar crashes. I never get caught chewing food by a customer, or any food stains on my clothes, or sticky fingers. I don’t have to leave the booth. (I don’t like to be away from my booth either. Every minute you’re gone is a potential sale lost.) I also bring a 32 oz Hydroflask with ice water, which will stay icy the whole day. At the end of every day I’ll go find some real food for dinner. Packing the oatmeal, coffee, and soylent from home saves a lot of money, compared to buying breakfast a lunch on the road everyday. Buying dinner everyday seems justifiable.

In the summer (now) I have a constant battle with humidity. Sometimes I throw pots one day, and they are not ready to trim for two days. Pots that have been drying for a week still feel damp, and it's impossible to tell if they are really damp or not. I use fans to keep the air moving in the studio, and when I run bisque firings, I roll my drying cart over next to the kiln for the warmth and the airflow from the vent. In the winter I have the opposite problem. Thrown pots can have bone dry rims by the next morning, and pots with attachments need to be slowed down so they don't pull apart. I use sheets of fabric and plastic to control the drying. There are a few glorious weeks in the spring and fall when I don't need to think about these things.

Does a vehicle count? Because I bought a minivan specifically to make my pottery business easier, although it is also my personal vehicle. If not, then: 1. kiln 2. second hand pug mill

For me it's a combination of both. Most of my decisions about what to make are driven by sales. But the final decisions about quantities will also include "how many will be most efficient in terms of kiln stacking?"

I pug and don’t wedge. I try to pug the amount of clay I will throw that day, so it is always freshly pugged. This saves me loads of time and wear and tear on my body. If I have to throw clay that was pugged a few days ago, and therefore it feels drier on one side than the other, I will cone it a few times before continuing to throw it. That seems to even it out. I agree that pottery instruction can come with a lot of dogma.

It wouldn’t be expensive, and not difficult at all.If they had to hire an outside editor/proofreader (which they probably don’t), it would cost them way less than the cost of one kiln. The entire manual is printed on a laser printer, not through a printing press. They wouldn’t have to edit the sections supplied by third parties, just the part that they wrote, which is what i was talking about.

From somebody who worked in publishing for 20 years, this is a normal thing to do and isn’t very hard. Not even for a 1 inch thick manual.

@Pres, I have two L&L kilns, one is ten years younger than the other. Sometimes when I look things up in the newer kiln’s manual, I find paragraphs that hadn’t been updated. Meant for the older kiln, not the new kiln. Can’t think of a specific example off the top of my head, but they are there! @neilestrick, if you are going to mention this convo to L&L, maybe you could let them know the ENTIRE manual needs a thorough proofreading?

When I replace elements in my L&Ls, the instructions that come with the elements say to fire the kiln empty to cone 5, and no particular firing speed is required. Maybe the Slow Bisque to cone 5 is just for the first EVER firing in a brand new kiln, for benefit of not just the elements but also the bricks?

This is my understanding of the Easy-Fire programs (if @neilestrick has a better understanding, listen to him instead!). The Easy-Fire programs are using a “variable cone” meaning if the firing is extra fast or extra slow, the controller will automatically add or subtract some degrees of temperature from the cutoff, in order to compensate. It is calculating temperature + time, not just temperature. For example, if you used “Slow Glaze” which would take 8 or 9 hours, it wouldn’t have added the extra temperature to the end. Or, let’s say you’re firing with old struggling elements, and the firing takes 12 hours, the controller will automatically shutoff at a lower temperature. The user has no control of this. If you want to fire to a precise temperature each time, then use your own programs instead. (I use Fast Bisque for bisque firings, and my own programs for glaze firings). For a single potter studio where you have a lot of control and consistency about how the kilns are loaded, you don’t need the controller to make these decisions for you. I think it’s preferable to be in control of exactly when the kiln shuts off. I can see how it would make sense in a classroom situation where the kiln loads can vary a lot. So for now, I wouldn’t tinker with cone offsets. I would make your own firing program that copies the Slow Glaze to cone 6, but set the end point to 6 1/4 or wherever you want it.

My motivation source is similar to @Pres's answer: Give yourself a deadline. Shows are terrific for this. Once it's confirmed on your schedule, you have no choice but to get ready for it. With all of last year's shows cancelled, I had to create my own substitute events, but they worked the same way in terms of giving myself a deadline.

Right now I am 90% sure I’m going to do this, though I still need to convince myself of the last 10%, but I think I’m going to get Lasik surgery. I recently turned 50, so this will be my 50th birthday present to myself. I was originally planning to splurge on a nice vacation, but those plans went out the window with covid. Lasik is probably more useful anyways.

I’ve been in studio deep clean mode this week. I usually do this before my annual holiday sale. But since I didn’t have people coming inside this year, I did it after the sale, and had more time to do a more thorough job.

With only three shows on the fall schedule, I have time to do things that are outside of my usual inventory plans. The taller one is 14 inches tall. Both were thrown in two sections, about 9 lbs of clay in each vase.

My second attempt at a self-draining soap dish works! Big thanks to Pres for supplying this suggestion: Having a wall and a lip as two sort-of separate elements allowed me to cut a channel through the wall, but still have enough clay on the lip to pull and shape a spout. Now it allows the water to slide off, but not the soap!

Yes, this is my thinking too, I need to build a short wall on the front of the dish.

Although the new soap dish does not work on its own, I've found that it does work as a drainboard for the old soap dish. You can see the original saucer for the soap dish on the right, which would just overflow onto the shelf and make a sticky mess. This is a functioning solution for now. I'd still like to design a soap dish that is a one-piece item and functions the same as these two pieces together.

Do you have a photo? I’d like to see how your drain holes are placed. I want to stick to a wheel-thrown solution (don’t have an extruder, don’t want to hand-build it), so I think I will try giving it a short wall around the rim. Maybe make it a little less tilted.