My gears grind slowly but they never stop grinding. In the previous Week of Reflection, the one that happened at the end of 2011, I decided on a number of actions to take to move my business forward. But the reality of 2012 was that I was running so hard just to stay in place that many of these did not get very far. For example, I was selling everything (except seconds) almost immediately after unloading, because I needed to pay the propane bill and buy more clay. As a result I could never save out any pots to take to Jay for photos - the professional photos I will need to apply for art fairs. So that didn't happen.For the same reason, I did not pursue Wholesalecrafts.com: I just didn't need another outlet. I did spend several weeks working out vessel sinks, but each failure - even if it was only a slight failure - a crawled rim, say - was crazy-expensive, just due to how much space they took up in the kiln.
I did develop some buttons, and only just began selling them last fall. I also rebuilt my website as planned, and I update it semi-regularly; but, as with the art fair photos, I seldom had pots left over after filling my bricks-and-mortar outlets. I used a free webbuilding software called KompoZer, and it's as easy and WYSIWYG as webbuilding can be.
Two goals from the 2012 list are being carried over, and I've already gotten a good start on each of them:
- Kickstarter, a crowd-sourced funding platform for creative projects.I've already written the project, and now just need to beg, borrow, or steal a movie camera to make the video. (Actually I have one lined up, I think.)
- Cone 6 soda! I've already assembled a long list of glazes to test, with the help of June Perry and the Yahoo soda/salt discussion group. As always, I'll share my recipes and experiences.
And, of course, there's the ever-popular Make The Best Pots I Can.
OK, Lori, you got me started on KomPozer (however it's spelled). I've been wanting a web site, and tomorrow I'll start designing one! What fun. Of course I'm just a novice, and figure that it's like learning how to make pots...my first page will probably be a pinch pot, and I just hope it works. Thanks for good source info!
ReplyDeleteLori.... I will have to try Kompozer. Your blog is the greatest source of info! And congrats on being the #1 blog on Pottery Making blog site. Well deserved. Hope someday to be able to take a workshop with you..Here's to an awesome new year!!
ReplyDeleteCone 6 soda, eh? I'm very curious. Almost everyone in the studio I work with does Cone 6 electric, which doesn't tickle my fancy at all. Add a little atmosphere, and you have my attention!
ReplyDelete