It turns out that having an online store is very inexpensive and not very much work. The largest expense are the PayPal fees that are deducted from each payment, and that has only totaled $25 so far. I can now process and pack an order in 15 minutes. And unlike packing a large wholesale order, which takes hours and fills me with dread, these boxes are so small and light that I have no worries when I send them off. In the two weeks between my store launch and Christmas, I made a net profit of $650. Not too bad for a newcomer! The storebuilder/shopping cart I'm using (which I really like, BigCartel.com) costs only $10 per month. Now I can easily justify keeping the store open for all of 2012. 

So here's my plan for the online store going forward ... I will keep it open all the time, even during months when I don't really expect to make any sales. I will try to update the inventory every month, removing the sold items and adding new ones. When I'm gearing up for an art festival, I will unlist all the items in the online store, so I can take all my available pots to the show, then re-stock the online store afterwards. 

Right now, I'm busy putting together my 2012 wholesale catalog. As soon as the samples are fired, photographed, and published, I will list some of them for sale online. It should all be done around mid-January. Stay tuned on Facebook! 

Happy new year to all!

First things first ... I need to thank everybody who came to my open house this past weekend. It was my best open house yet. And not by a little, by a lot. It is a dream to be able to make pots full-time, and I know I couldn't do it if folks weren't willing to buy it. I am truly grateful, and I hope you will enjoy your new pottery for a long time.

But now on to something new and exciting ... my online store is now open! Here's a link to get there. You'll also find this link in my blog sidebar, and on the "where to buy" page of this website. For those of you who were unable to attend the open house, I still have some nice pots available, and they are now in the online store. Enjoy!

My fifth annual Holiday Open House is this weekend! 

Saturday, December 10, 12noon - 5pm
Sunday, December 11, 12noon - 4pm

Free gift with purchase! No hints. 

I will be unveiling some new designs, including these new rectangular plates. Dinner plate is 8x10.5" ($35), salad plate is 6x9" ($25), dipping bowl with a stamped bamboo design is 4" square ($10). 
 

This oval serving platter will coordinate nicely with the above tableware. 16x10" $90
 

I've worked on a few versions of this Everyday Tea Set throughout the year, and this one is my favorite so far. It is inspired by the design of a traditional Chinese gai-wan. $95 for the set.
 

I've updated the design of Captain Casserole with a larger, more oven-mitt-friendly handle. $85

And I'll have a whole lot more. Those of you who have attended my open houses know that my display is bigger than a typical festival booth, including a "sale" area with seconds, experiments, and discontinued items. Hope to see you this weekend!

(did I mention free gift with purchase?)

Not just for me and my pottery students, I want all potters to have the world at their feet. I'm working towards that one potter at a time. I thought our booth at last year's Greenbelt Festival of Lights was a screaming success. This year, my students and I improved our sales by over 17%! This is our third year having this collaborative booth, and it now operates at the level of a serious business. 

I think I can pinpoint the difference-maker. Last year, after our furious selling pace on Saturday, our booth looked half-full on Sunday. It's harder to attract people into a booth if it looks like the good stuff may be gone. This year, we brought enough inventory to keep the booth looking full for both days of the show, and our sales on Sunday were much better. I can apply this insight to my own shows. I had two shows this year (Artscape Baltimore and Bethesda Row) where I had very few pots left for the last day. Sales were pretty slow on those days, but I've always thought it wasn't worth bringing more pots, because last day sales were always slower anyways. But now I know better. This means hauling in more boxes of pots, and hauling out more. But 17% matters. Here comes that recurring conclusion again, anything worth doing takes a lot of hard work. 

Speaking of hard work, it really gratifies me that my students are having this much success. It reflects their preparation and hard work. Not just leading up to the show, but with all the dedication they pour into their pottery work year-round. They deserve it! My ego feels pretty good too.