GEP

WOW! I haven't finished reading your blog yet, but what a wealth of information. It is very generous of you to share so much of your knowledge and experience with others. 
Betty

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was working on this blog post. This is my response to those artists who express confusion or bother when they see my nearly (or completely) empty booth at the end of a show. I am happy to explain exactly what I’m doing. I also point out common mistakes I see other artists making. Buckle in, this is a long post. I tried to be as thorough and honest as possible. This went up yesterday and I’m getting tons of traffic and lots of good reaction to it.
https://www.goodelephant.com/blog/ill-tell-you-exactly-how-i-did-it

@GEP you knocked it out of the park, Slugger!  I know I have told you before, but I will say it again.  You are often the voice in my head when I am prepping for a show, checking out a new venue, etc.  And yes, Mea,  I even quote you to others!  Thanks for sharing your knowledge with all.
Roberta

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was working on this blog post. This is my response to those artists who express confusion or bother when they see my nearly (or completely) empty booth at the end of a show. I am happy to explain exactly what I’m doing. I also point out common mistakes I see other artists making. Buckle in, this is a long post. I tried to be as thorough and honest as possible. This went up yesterday and I’m getting tons of traffic and lots of good reaction to it.
https://www.goodelephant.com/blog/ill-tell-you-exactly-how-i-did-it

Thank you for sharing Gep!
It's one thing to gain experience and knowledge through experience, another to systematically apply same and improve, and yet another to clearly, concisely and successfully communicate how you are doing it. Nice work!

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was working on this blog post. This is my response to those artists who express confusion or bother when they see my nearly (or completely) empty booth at the end of a show. I am happy to explain exactly what I’m doing. I also point out common mistakes I see other artists making. Buckle in, this is a long post. I tried to be as thorough and honest as possible. This went up yesterday and I’m getting tons of traffic and lots of good reaction to it.
https://www.goodelephant.com/blog/ill-tell-you-exactly-how-i-did-it

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was working on this blog post. This is my response to those artists who express confusion or bother when they see my nearly (or completely) empty booth at the end of a show. I am happy to explain exactly what I’m doing. I also point out common mistakes I see other artists making. Buckle in, this is a long post. I tried to be as thorough and honest as possible. This went up yesterday and I’m getting tons of traffic and lots of good reaction to it.
https://www.goodelephant.com/blog/ill-tell-you-exactly-how-i-did-it

Sending out congrats to @neilestrick for the video he has up on CLAYflicks! (I'm going to use your method of tumble stacking pots in totes for sure.)
Way to go Neil! 
Video snippet below from "Neil Estrick's Efficient Packing for Art Fairs"

Neil Estrick's Efficient Packing for Art Fairs

There are questions that require a long answer. And then there are answers that are long because the answerer did not really take the time to understand the question. and is just dumping information, relevant or not. Then there are long answers that don’t actually contain much information, just a lot of words. I appreciate the first kind but not the second or third. 
My favorite answers are the ones that are both useful and concise.

+1! It's easy to be verbose, being concise takes much more finesse.
Pres's question of the week has a lot of similarities to a post I did a few years back asking new members to give us an idea of their experience / knowledge in relation to the question they are asking. Information overload is going to do nothing but confuse people who come here for a simple answer to a basic question. 
There is always room here for lengthy questions, statements and replies as there are many potters on this forum with decades of experience and expertise;  finding the balance between what should probably be answered with a simple reply vs a lengthy one is key.
 
 

Speaking of Books there is one being made now that is all about the place I learned the most in Ceramics. I wrote a piece for that books which is in the editing stages now.
It was called the Laundry 
In the 50's-60s it was a commercial Laundry. In the late 60s it was bought by the Humboldt State University and turned into a pot shop. It has floor drains (wood covered cement troughs that drain out). They added a kiln room off the back. The builing is one huge barrel arch roof. A really great pottery setup for teaching.
Back then my mentor Reese Bullen  (who started the Art Dept there) hired a new instructor to help him teach ceramics from Alfreds as a recent gradute Lou Marak -it was 1969. I came a few years later to that program.
They hired another Alfred grad the year I came as well  (1972). It was the heyday of ceramics for this school. It was after the war and it was ahuge open learningtyransition time in ceramics-from Volkus to Arneson clay was expanding. Thes e recenty Alfreds guys where on fire from leaning from the greats who taught and wrote at Alfreds. Rhodes and the like passed what they knew down to my teachers who passed that to us. It was a solid 5 years in immersion in all things clay and kilns for me.Many a teacher and potter came out the other side of that Laundry .
In my time I learned slip casting, low fire ,high fire , kiln firing, hand building ,slab work,clay and glaze formulation just to name a few. I Worked in work study program for years as kiln and glaze room tec.( Back then tec was not used) loading and firing kilns of all types.Salt to low fire electrics-with redution cone 10 gas as the standard .
The program slowly after many deacdes switched as did many programs to  around the country  in schools to sculture and making art-mostly low fire. This slowy in my view turned the ceramics program into a lesser one than the one I was in at that time. I have heard lots of feedback on this from students over the past 30 years
Now the University recently became Cal Poly Humboldt and humanities is at the botton of the pile now. They now have funding to build in massive science expansion 3 new parking structures and you gues it the Laundry will be scraped to put in a parking lot as Joni Mitchell once said in a song. The last 10 yeared ceramics professor retires this year (JUNE) and no one is fighting this stupid mistake. For me the university long ago lost the community support as they do not care about that.
Two of the old ceramic teachers is compiling this book on 50 years of the Laundry-its history and students. I am just one of those and one of the few that choose the production pottery route over teaching and also stayed local and am still producing . In my. time we once had over 20 full timers in this small area making funtional wares now its me. Last man standing full time. The laundry is a special place for me in my brain  as well as the people who shared what they knew way back in the early 70s with me. When folks  are buying and using my pottery they really are using pottery that came from my years at the Laundry and those who taught there at that time.
Ps this book is being complied and underwritten by a gallery In Davis Ca called the John Natsoulas Gallery. John is footing the bill
He has a press at gallery and has had a 30 year ceramic realationship with HSU ceramics and did a book on the UC Davis ceramics lab already
its a great thing he is doing for our local clay history-if you are ever in Davis Ca stop by that gallery its worth the trip-just look for the 15 foot  high ceramic cat you walk to enter the gallery. You cannot miss it.
https://www.natsoulas.com
 

You can probably resell it for list price. Buy a new one when you are settled in your new location. 

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

I look at it a little differently maybe because I am a sculptor and really only make one-off unique pieces. So I actually would love to have tons of commissions. For sculpting, a lot of commissions are for organizations or companies, or as a public sculpture, so there is something of a formal process for which I get paid (most of the time, unless it is something I submitted a design for and was selected and they have a set stipend/award)  the same way I did as a scientific consultant- with a project fee, paid in thirds at different points. I require in the contract a great deal of artistic freedom and the final say when it comes to most design things. If they are coming to me, they like my style (which has a lot of variety, so is not necessarily something where you can point at something and say, oh obviously that’s a Tauer sculpture- has to do with my ADHD). The main run through my work is that they are what a great sculptor in the paperclay community that I belong to, who is a professor, called Tour de Force sculptures, even when they look nothing alike. And she has begged me to keep making Tour de Force sculptures, keep going larger even though I’m already doing 6 ft tall sculptures! And when I do something medium or smaller, she insists it has to be very technically difficult or look like it isn’t obeying the laws of physics, and her advice was the most flattering things anyone has ever said about my work so I’m happy to follow her advice.
So when I take custom or commission work, which I really love and honestly wished I got a ton more of, I’m often getting the chance to be paid for something very large that I would want to make anyway but am certain I’ll be paid for it instead of making it and hoping to find a buyer. I have some tiny exceptions, like I have a friend who was the first person to buy work from me professionally and paid me over 3 times what I asked for it with a note that I need to charge more for my work, and who has been extremely supportive of my career, more supportive than all my family members. So when he asked me if I could make him a set of 4 mugs, even though I have a hard and fast rule that I absolutely do not make mugs, and in general make just a tiny fraction of work that is in any way functional, and that is only because I particularly like certain shapes like pitchers and I can make really interesting sculptural vases. But I said yes to him because after all he’s done for me I am certainly not going to tell him I don’t make mugs so I won’t do that for him. I also know that with him he’ll give me all the time in the world, and while it takes rather some effort to pull out any ideas from him of what kind of mugs he wants, I know that I really will have total artistic freedom. And that he will pay me far more than they are worth. I also know I can have fun with them and do crazy surface decoration, so I look at it a little like play. But I wouldn’t do that for anyone else. I’m really trying to actually work harder at getting more commissions, but have no problem with other cases of saying no when it isn’t something that I will make or like some others have said copying someone else’s style. I otherwise think commissions are usually a way for me to grow as an artist, there are often some technically challenging things I have to figure out, and much like graphic design it is a good skill to build to learn how to take what the client thinks they want and instead give them what they really want, and to interpret their goals in a way that pleases them but is still your decision as an artist. 
I think if I was a potter, that I would still like and want custom work, as long as it followed certain rules, as it can grow your followers and collectors, and provide challenges and even learning to make new forms that then can go on to potentially become very popular sellers etc. I think it is entirely personal and no one has to justify why or why not they take commissions. From the posts I have read, people do it in quite a few different ways and for different reasons, I don’t think it should be a requirement for anyone. I personally with other sculptors I know tend to see them have attitudes similar to me, but we also have a fairly different business model than potters in a lot of ways, and our training often incorporates the idea of commissions so it is something we learn early and tend to expect and want as a part of our income stream. Potters tend to sell differently and also have a slimmer margin because they are putting out so much at a time, where as most sculptors have a lot lower production. I do subscribe, when possible (depending on the size and difficulty of something, it isn’t always possible) to make more than one in case something disastrous or even just minor but enough to ruin the work happens. Certainly for anything small I make multiples, although they may not be possible to be exactly the same. 

You can probably resell it for list price. Buy a new one when you are settled in your new location. 

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

You can probably resell it for list price. Buy a new one when you are settled in your new location. 

You can probably resell it for list price. Buy a new one when you are settled in your new location. 

Ha! Someone asking about this years ago was the reason I first started posting here, breaking my lurking habit.
I was working for a business that only did bespoke glass work, so I’d seen a model for how to make that successful. I knew when I started my own business to keep it within parameters I could manage from the start, and if I couldn’t, it’s better to say no. Custom work is not making a product, it’s offering your skills as a service, which is a different mindset. It’s a lot more about communication and some amateur psychology/understanding of client behaviour than it is about making the thing itself. You have to be able to keep an unknowledgeable person within the parameters you set without making them feel dumb or condescended to, and you have to make them feel like they’ve really received something special in the end.  You have to know when to say no, and you have to be really honest with yourself and with them about what you can deliver, and you have to not be afraid to reach out to communicate if something goes wrong. Ideally with solutions in hand. 
 I’d go nuts doing custom full time. As an occasional challenge though, I kind of like it. I FULLY understand anyone who doesn’t though, because it can be a lot of mental and sometimes emotional work. “It’s not something I have space for” can cover a lot of reasons without getting into unnecessary details. I agree with Mea that too much info given will just get you grouched at.
I have some things that are an automatic no. I will not make someone else’s work in whole or in part, I don’t do custom glaze colours, and I will not make any egg separators/yarn bowls/other gadgets that involve something coming out of a nose. Ew. I don’t take custom during Christmas unless ordered before the start of October, and I don’t do custom over the border. I don’t take custom if I’m overwhelmed in any way, or my mental health doesn’t allow me to. It’s a disservice to everyone involved.
If none of that is in play, we can talk. Usually people want some variation on something I already make: just that bowl with a different glaze in my lineup, or something along those lines. Most people come to me because they already like my style, and want a variation on the existing theme. But if they want something more, this is what I go with. 
Pricing:
I do make it clear from the start that the following is a design fee, but I don’t break down for them how I arrive at it. That part’s none of their business.
If changes or designs are more than just the same thing with a different glaze, I use the price on the original piece or something similar as a base. If the piece is a different size, I’ll  add a bit extra to another item I make that’s the same size. If there’s design or form changes, I add $10-20 per extra step/other add-on. I do pad this without shame or embarrassment. I recently had to double the price of a small  item because of the number of changes made, for instance. But if the changes are simple and don’t put me out work wise that much, I might only add a little. They are paying me a nuisance fee for breaking my schedule/work cycle that’s commensurate with how far out of my way I have to go. I possess a skill that most don’t, and I have other existing customers that need attention too. 
If the items need to be shipped, the client is told they’ll be responsible for that as well, and that it’s in addition to the cost of the item, and will be calculated when the item is ready to go. If they can pick up, they don’t have to worry about that part.
I take a 50% (including tax) non-refundable deposit to begin work, and the other half, plus any shipping, is due when the final piece is picked up, or approved via photo before shipping. 
Timeline:
I let them know the timeline I’d expect to have the piece done within, which is twice the amount of time it’ll take to get it right on the first shot. If I get it done early, everyone’s happy. If it screws up the first time, I can remake it with no stress.  As an extra level of hedging my ceramic bets, I make duplicates of the item. It never fails that if you only make one, it screws up, but f you make two, they both turn out. As a bonus, presenting the client with a choice of the 2 finished items gives a sense of abundance and extra care taken on them. Sometimes they purchase both, sometimes not. I don’t upsell it. If the original client doesn’t buy the duplicate, someone else does. This also helps with profitability.
 
During the initial consult, I make no effort whatsoever to minimize any costs or time constraints or potential nuisances to the customer, but I don’t make anything sound overly difficult either. I don’t make any assumptions about their budget or time, I only lay out pricing and what they can expect from the process. I try to give them an accurate idea of how it’s going to go, and let them make their choice from there. If they agree to the terms I set, I send a confirmation email with everything that was discussed, and I don’t begin work until they reply in the affirmative and pay the deposit. That way we both have something to refer to in the event of a disagreement. I also let people know things like shipping policies and anything else that might be relevant. If someone wants gift wrapping, or a card/note included with a gift, I throw that in upon request as an extra value thing. 
I have yet to have a custom client that was anything less than excited with their purchase. I like being able to do that for people, and I think taking your time with the initial setup is key to making that happen. 
 
 

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

My answer is no, after learning the hard way early on! And I've learned that it's best to not try to explain why. Because if someone doesn't take no the first time, they probably aren't going to understand the explanations. 
However, on very rare occasions, I have said yes to people who are long time customers who not only have bought a lot of my work, but I have spent enough time talking to them to know they understand what I'm doing. These requests are always made within parameters that make sense, because like I said these people understand what I'm doing. For me it makes sense to differentiate a select handful of customers into a VIP category, and to do my best to make them happy.
Here's an example. Some long time customers of mine got married, and asked me to adapt my elephant figurines into a "bride + groom" version for their cake topper. I was happy to do this!

Could you post a photo of the item you wish to slipcast? The answer depends on whether the design has distinctive and original features that would be recognizable as somebody else’s work. For example, is it a simple straight sided cylinder, and you think it’s perfect due to its proportions? Then this would be fine to replicate. Or, does the piece have a bas relief sculpture of an animal? Then this is not something you can replicate and sell. Simply making small modifications to it would not put you in the clear. That’s considered a “derivation” which is just as illegal as a copy. The lack of a manufacturer’s mark also doesn’t matter. You can take inspiration from other person’s work, but only if you incorporate the idea into a substantially new idea. Slipcasting is already a technique meant for “copying” so a copyright violation is far more likely, compared to handbuilding or wheelthrowing where it becomes really difficult to successfully copy.