falseawareness Posted May 25 Report Share Posted May 25 Hi all, I've recently been offered the contents of a retired professional potters studio. This includes hundreds of slip molds, recipes, and all the nessesary starting equipment. I'm drawing up plans for a slip casting production studio focusing on mugs, planters, and bowls, imagining we can cast products, get creative with decorating, and build our other clay skills as we go. I imagine using fairs and online for retail and also looking for local wholesale opportunities. and possibly offering workshops years down the road. I have lots of willing labor, but I'm unclear about how much we can expect to sell or if this is the best way to put lots of different molds to use. Ideas? Comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 I don't do slip work and I have only sold at galleries but I do know that smaller pieces sell. Mugs, butter and soap dishes and candy dishes are a few you can start with. Other people on the forum will give you some more ideas. Pay attention to current color trends for your glaze color palate, the glaze that is texture looking and multicolored is very popular. Good luck Denice Rae Reich 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted May 28 Report Share Posted May 28 It takes years for a ceramics business to get off the ground and to start to turn a profit, let alone a livable income. Don’t quit your day job! Do this new business on the side until you get a better handle on how to work it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falseawareness Posted May 28 Author Report Share Posted May 28 Yeah I imagine it will be a slow start. I live out at Twin Oaks community, in Louisa, Va and we were selling hammocks at fairs up until recently when we lost our shop to a wildfire. This pottery opportunity has come up and we have a few people with experience on the farm either through selling hammocks at fairs or making pottery in the past. I just gotta say I am so grateful for all the advice and information sharing out there. I'm hoping I can develop things slowly and potentially be earning us some money down the road. Right now i'm just trying to sort out if it's a realistic idea or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 (edited) Another consideration is if the markets/fairs/shows you are looking at applying to when the time comes is whether they will accept slipcast work if you aren't the designer and maker of the molds. I know of many shows where this is one of the rules. Edited May 31 by Min grammar Callie Beller Diesel and Roberta12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 4 Report Share Posted June 4 Most good art fairs do not accept slipware in the Ceramic category If you want to do slip ware looke for wholesale outlets that want mass produced items Callie Beller Diesel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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