Etsy!

I've taken the leap and now have a couple of items in my Etsy Shop - take a look!

Etsy Buy Handmade PotteryHeaven

Let the sun shine

Yesterday was a great day at the farmer's market! The sun was shining and there wasn't much wind & no fiascos (see May 16 post). My customers are great & because of that I want your feedback. I would like to add pictures of your pottery in use and comments about why you bought it or what you like best about it. Send me your pictures and comments or post right here. Can't wait to see all of them in use!

Creation of Color

As promised, here are some picture from the recent firing. Some pretty good results. I have to say, I already have some favorite glaze combinations, but I am sure that will change the more I experiment. I now have test tiles with all of my glazes so customers can specifically pick a color for special orders. I also have some ideas about some future projects with the tiles too! There will be updates as the ideas are actualized. What do you think?

Color Bonanza

I started this post a couple of days ago, but just had the opportunity to upload some photos and post. I've been glazing with my new glazes and now have some test tiles. Results of the firing will come soon. I'm in the process of phasing in my new glazes now that I am working out of my own studio. I still get requests for the old glazes, which are not impossible to accomplish, but takes a bit of time and driving. A large portion of my current inventory uses the other glazes. How best can I introduce the new glazes in this transitional period?

Farmers Market

Today was the first day of the Farmers Market in Kenton. I tracked the weather last night and there were supposed to be thunderstorms, but by this morning it changed to rain and wind, so I decided to go ahead and make the trek to K-town. My start to the market was not so good - the wind and I had a fight and i would have to say it won this round. I was waiting on my help, who was bringing the blocks to secure the tent, and decided to go ahead and set up the tent myself. A big gust of wind took half of it and I was holding on the best I could. The tent was stopped thankfully by my car, but not without gaining some nice scratches on the door. I conceded and took the tent down for the day and was lucky enough not to get rained on. Hopefully todays encounter is not setting the tone for the rest of the season.

Updated Website

Thus far, blogging has been helping me to stay focused on my tasks. I've been trying to work diligently on my projects so that I have something to update you about. This evening I have been working on my website: www.potteryheaven.com. I've added a photo album, updated the upcoming events and added a link to the blog. It's still a work in progress, but great strides are being made to make it more interesting and useful. What are some things that attract you to a website and keep you reading?

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

So, I'm trying hard to get organized. Somehow I need to maintain an inventory record of my current pieces and I would also like to have a record of pieces that I have sold. What's the best way to go about this? Not sure yet, but I am sure taking some pictures and writing things down is a good start. If anyone has some suggestions, please let me know.

I've taken one box (of many) and photographed and measured the pieces inside. The plan is to add them to my website and to my new esty account, afterall, what good is an etsy account if you have nothing listed to sell. I've attached some pictures that I've taken - look for them to be added to my website.

Where did the time go?

Time always seems to go by so quickly, but really where did the time go? The Kenton Farmer's Market is starting this weekend, May 16th. I had so many plans as to what I was going to do differently for this year. 1) Be more organized 2) Have pictures of all of my pieces 3) Have more of a web presence 4) etc, etc. So needless to say, all of those things have not come about. I have finalized my logo and business card, started a blog (obviously) and created an etsy account (without anything posted). Guess it will be a slow process, but hopefully with some patience, some m&m's and some prodding from you, progress will be made.

Moving forward

So I am jumping on the blogging bandwagon and am going to try to update you all on what is going on with Pottery Heaven. I have so many ideas trapped in my head that are trying hard to be actualized that I feel my head is going to explode, here are a few.
- I’ve been toying with the idea of allowing the customer to have more choice, meaning I will have some unglazed items with glaze samples and allow you to customize the colors for the piece.
- Travel mugs!!! Who doesn’t want a mug that they can actually put in the microwave if they’ve let it set too long and take with them in the car without it spilling? It’s in the works, hopefully I will have a selection by the summer.
- Gift wrapping? Custom printed bags with tissue paper that are offered at an additional cost. Your purchases would be wrapped up and ready for you to take to your event.
I need your input. What do you think of these ideas and what kinds of things would you like to see me make or offer?