It's the same, only it's different.
Longtime readers may remember that I founded the Maine Pottery Tour in...2012? Or 2011, I forget. I didn't have grand ideas, at the time; I just needed an event after a long winter. Here in greater Augusta, we're blessed to have six or seven studios within a few miles of each other. I persuaded my potter-neighbors to all hold our spring open house events on the same day, to share promotional efforts & make it more of a thing.
And what a thing it became! It has grown every year.
But this year, I'm not organizing it. I did, up until last year's tour, and while it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun. Or maybe fun isn't the word I want...it was satisfying, like figuring out a puzzle. How much/fast can we grow without each individual event suffering? I tried to grow the audience along with the tour itself, because the individual studios' success was the whole point. The tour itself was just a means to that end.
But this year, I'm not organizing it. I did, up until last year's tour, and while it was a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun. Or maybe fun isn't the word I want...it was satisfying, like figuring out a puzzle. How much/fast can we grow without each individual event suffering? I tried to grow the audience along with the tour itself, because the individual studios' success was the whole point. The tour itself was just a means to that end.
Inevitably, it grew beyond my ability to manage it. It was always a volunteer effort, and everything we did to make it better also made it more work. More studios also mean more work, and more questions to answer. I couldn't carry it anymore.
Lucky for me, Milly Welsh of Zwellyn Pottery was willing to pick up the torch. We both understood that it had to become a paying concern if it were going to continue - and Milly thinks she can do that.
So far it seems to be going great! There are 80 studios this year. Because Milly & her team run a web development company, they were able to automate many functions, lightening some of the load.
Anyway! This year I was looking forward to having time & energy to promote my own event as zealously as I previously promoted the tour as a whole. It didn't happen quite like that - I spent more time making pots and - confession - more time just not working. That's actually pretty nice, not working sometimes, have you tried it?
Now here we are three weeks out & I'm back in the groove. I sent out the 75 postcards that came as part of my tour package, but my mailing list is like 300 people. It's actually cheaper for me to create my own Fine-Mess-specific postcard & send those out to the rest of the folks. The image above is what I came up with. I wanted to include some process photos, because to me that's what makes the tour a happening; without the demos & the projects & the kilns, it's just shopping. I've always worked to make my event more than that. The shopping is what makes it possible, but building connections between artists and audience is its real purpose.
If you're anywhere near Maine the first weekend in May, I hope you'll come visit me. Read more about what's on offer at Fine Mess Pottery here; plan what studios you'd like to visit with the Plan My Tour app.
Lucky for me, Milly Welsh of Zwellyn Pottery was willing to pick up the torch. We both understood that it had to become a paying concern if it were going to continue - and Milly thinks she can do that.
So far it seems to be going great! There are 80 studios this year. Because Milly & her team run a web development company, they were able to automate many functions, lightening some of the load.
Anyway! This year I was looking forward to having time & energy to promote my own event as zealously as I previously promoted the tour as a whole. It didn't happen quite like that - I spent more time making pots and - confession - more time just not working. That's actually pretty nice, not working sometimes, have you tried it?
Now here we are three weeks out & I'm back in the groove. I sent out the 75 postcards that came as part of my tour package, but my mailing list is like 300 people. It's actually cheaper for me to create my own Fine-Mess-specific postcard & send those out to the rest of the folks. The image above is what I came up with. I wanted to include some process photos, because to me that's what makes the tour a happening; without the demos & the projects & the kilns, it's just shopping. I've always worked to make my event more than that. The shopping is what makes it possible, but building connections between artists and audience is its real purpose.
If you're anywhere near Maine the first weekend in May, I hope you'll come visit me. Read more about what's on offer at Fine Mess Pottery here; plan what studios you'd like to visit with the Plan My Tour app.
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