Storage full of slip cast molds, is it too risky? Still a market for them?

[Gabby]

50 minutes ago, Benzine said:

There does seem to be, at least to some extent, a revival in handmade items, of many types.  Maybe potters/ ceramicists, just need a P.R. campaign of sorts.  "

People love handmade things! I don't think such enthusiasm has ever died.

But it is typically the wealthy (or those who can make their own) who can afford them.  Among the comfortable but not wealthy or the person on a student budget without the financial obligations they may have later in life, whether they buy handmade items at that higher-than-mass-produced price point depends on how they value that object against other expenditures. 

The extra money spent on the handmade bowl is weighed against spending that money on travel, for example, or another experience, or electronics, or yoga class, or even charitable giving.

[Rae Reich]

@Slipperman, to get back to your question, my fellow potters have some built-in resistance to production slipware, but I think there still may be a limited market, if the molds are old enough (stuff that people's grandmas had) or standardized dinnerware forms, or dragons.

I noticed last Christmas that nostalgia for all the slipcast stuff we usually mock - Christmas trees, Santas, nativities - was resurging in social media. So, older holiday-related forms could still be viable, in season. I'm 70, so older, for me, is 40's and 50's, but millennials probably think older is the 70's - 90's.

Standard dinnerware forms are still fairly useful. 

Dragon aficionados never die.

As far as the short lifespan of plaster molds, if you find forms that you want to produce a lot of, cast a perfect one in porcelain then make a silicone mold .

 

[C.Banks]

25 minutes ago, Rae Reich said:

Dragon aficionados never die.

I hope people continue to realise what a plague plastics are to the world.

I suspect folks who care to curb plastic use will appreciate a nice crock or three.

[oldlady]

just so you know, the older generation, my age and near it, still go to some paint your own places for the social aspect.    remember, though, this is florida, God's waiting room.   in the rest of the world, people probably have families or other interests that keep them busy.  

some of the pottery "classes" are also viewed as social experiences where friends get together over clay, making things of various types as their interests change from week to week.

a TV show is a great idea, but there are now a lot of commercials showing potters at work briefly.   maybe we will get into the mainstream by just being part of the background.