Etsy. From Dan to John, Now Here

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I've decided to write this post after following a couple of posts out there on Dan Finnegan's blog and John Baunam's blog.

You can read those by visiting Dan's HERE and John's HERE.  Be sure to read the comments to come up to speed.

Thanks to Dan and John for the good discussion about Etsy.  I have found it to be a good platform for selling my work online, easier and cheaper than setting up a shopping cart on a website.

I point folks directly to my Etsy Shop by using Facebook, Facebook Fan page, this blog, email Newsletters and by putting my Shop URL on postcards and business cards.  I don't feel like people have to wade through all the stuff on Etsy if I can just point them right to my Shop.

Okay, so here's what I want to talk about.   I have been very disappointed with my sales on Etsy and I feel like I'm just doing something Wrong! I see other potters selling work there and I wonder what it is that makes them successful on Etsy and what I'm doing, or not doing that is holding me back.

Back in the Spring I had a consultation with a successful Etsy seller.  I paid her for information and she really helped me out with some good advice.  After implementing some of her ideas my sales went up, but it didn't last.   She looked at my Shop and gave me good feedback and  her thoughts on what I should do to increase my sales.  She didn't overcharge me for the info and I was happy to pay her for her experience and insight.

This Fall I felt like I really needed to increase my inventory and put out some of my best work.  I did that and promoted it like crazy on the web and via the email campaign for my Homesale and on my Homesale postcard.

That was on Nov. 11th and I haven't had a single sale on Etsy!  I've listed 30 brand new pots and not had one sale.

My mind automatically goes to price and making deals so that buyers will be more inclined to buy my pots. What I mean is that I wonder if my prices are too high? Too low? Should I offer some sort of discount? Free shipping? or something to get them to buy my work.  I feel like my pots are good and that my prices are fair (they are the same as my retail)  I don't think it's necessary to have some sort of 'deal' but it's where my mind goes when I get desperate.

I see what John means about telling a story and putting more info into the description of each listing.  That was advice that was given to me by the other person I talked to.  Maybe I  haven't done that well enough.  It is the place where you have the opportunity to 'talk' to the customer, much like you would at a craft show or opening.

I notice that John includes shipping in the cost of his items.  I think that is something that appeals to buyers, but to me seems complicated in as far as pricing goes.  If my cups retail  for $32, should I sell them on Etsy for $40 or $42 to cover my shipping costs  or a little less and take the loss??  Does doing that appeal to the customer and is it worth me taking that loss??   John, if you care to comment on that then I'd like to hear your thoughts.

I feel like I'm using all the tools Etsy gives me, I tag everything w. 14 tags, I use 5 photos, etc.

I also feel like I've got a pretty diverse inventory at this time.  Not a boring Store with one or two items.

Really, I'm frustrated.  It's been a slow year and I've wanted to break into this online selling thing for a couple years now.  I see others doing it and I know I can do it to, but I feel like I'm missing some key point.   I think selling online has such huge potential,  a Shop that is open to 24 hrs a day, everyday, worldwide is an amazing tool.

I've been needing to air this out for about a week now. So thanks to John and Dan for posting about this topic.   I have more pots to list in the upcoming week.  I'm not sure what else to do with my Shop other than keep putting it out there and taking whatever advice I  get from others who are having success on Etsy.

Thanks for reading.  I know most people who read this blog are potters so hopefully whatever we say and do on here can help us all.   Good luck with Sales this Season.  I'm feeling hit pretty hard by the economy right now, but I'm not giving up or slowing down.

Holiday Sale Starts Tomorrow

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My Annual Holiday Sale starts tomorrow.  I have some really nice pots in all price ranges from $10 -$200.  Lots of choices from cups and bowls to bakers and teapots and much inbetween.



Hot cider and sweets to enjoy while you shop.  Come on out to see me and all the great work.  Thanks! Ron

Saturday, November 27 th 10 am till 4pm
Sunday, November 28th  Noon till 4pm

Address: 757 Wallace Grove Road
Shelby, NC 28150

704 480 6046

Don't forget about the Online Shop!! Open 24/7 with some lovely  first quality pots.  Click HERE to go to the Online Shop.

Pottery Love Child

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Okay so here's a little game I came up with.

Name two potter's who get together to produce an awesome Pottery Love Child.  The two potters can be living or deceased .  Anytime in history from any place.

Examples: Lucie Rie and Hans Coper.   Mary Wondrausch and Thomas Toft.

They don't have to have been living at the same time. So you can put someone from the past with someone more recent.

This is just for fun, hopefully no one will get their feathers ruffled.  Okay, leave your suggestions in the comments.

Three Places at Once

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Just a reminder that my Annual Holiday Sale is this weekend here at the pottery.  I'll be unloading a glaze firing tonight and another on Thursday.  There is already a good selection of pots in the showroom and this will only add to it.  I'll be posting pics or a video soon.  Here are the times.

Saturday, November 27 th 10 am till 4pm
Sunday, November 28th  Noon till 4pm

Address: 757 Wallace Grove Road
Shelby, NC 28150

I will also have pots at The Hen House Show this Friday and Saturday.  This show is in York SC and features many artists.  This is quite the event. Hay rides, Christmas trees for sale and of course lots of great artwork.  Click HERE for more info.  I'll be there on Friday, so stop by and say Hello.

If none of that works for you then you can CLICK on over to the Online Shop.  I have some nice pots there and I plan to add more over the next few days as pots come out of the kiln.


Whew, it's a busy time but this is pretty much the big blowout for the year.  I've been working hard and I'm looking forward to some time off around Christmas to spend with friends and family.  Until then it's nose to the grindstone.  Thanks to everyone who reads the blog and checks in on Facebook and Etsy.

I'll be continuing my Holiday Sale on Sat. Dec. 4th here at the Pottery from 10 am till 4pm and I'll be open most days up until Christmas.  It's a good idea to call ahead to make sure I am here though.  704 480 6046.

Okay off to the studio.  Look for new pots post here later!!

Decoration Day and Loading the Bisque

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I had a great day decorating pots.  I am getting ready for my Holiday Sale and the Hen House Sale.

Here is a pic I took when I was getting started this morning.


And a bit of video as I was finishing up.


httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIxnYM-UiIQ


I have several boards of plates to go as well as mugs.  Those will be in the next bisque along with those platters.  Okay off for now.  Be sure to check out the Online Store if you haven't in a few days.  There is some nice work on there.


Hope everyone has a good Friday evening.

Join The Mailing List

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I will be sending out an email this week that includes information about where to find my pots during the Holidays as well as dates and times for events.

Please sign up over in the right sidebar if you'd like to receive this mailing. (Blue box).

Thanks!

Monday's Post

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Hopefully this won't be the only post I make all week. I haven't been putting much time in here lately but I'll try to at least get a few things up so I don't just fade away.

The Carolina Pottery Festival went well on Saturday.  My sales were down several hundred dollars from last year though.  That's been true all year.  Honestly I'm pretty bummed about it.  Last year I had good shows and felt like maybe the whole 'recession' thing wasn't going to hit me so hard.  Well it looks like it finally did.  Oh well, nothing to do but keep on putting things out there.

I have two more shows this year.  I'll say more about them tomorrow and put up some links.  I decided I'd really stock up the Etsy site. So yesterday and today I took loads of photos and I've been adding to the store.  More new items coming tomorrow and Wednesday.


I hesitate to mention this next part after complaining about money but here goes.  I have been offered a job teaching continuing education pottery classes at a nearby community college.  It's two days a week and the pay is okay. Not great, but really, it's money right?  After a good bit of thought I've decided I'm not going to take it.  My heart just isn't in it and I don't want to be spending my time there.  I want to be here making pots.  I really do love teaching.  When I was at Clayworks I had a very dedicated and motivated group of students.  I loved seeing them every week and I loved watching them improve and grow.   I went in once a week to teach my class and that was pretty much all I had to do.  The great thing about clay studios is that there are studio assistants that do all the grunt work.  If I took that job at the community college I'd be putting in way more than my 6 hours per week that I'd be getting paid for.  I know that sounds weak and like I'm spoiled, but I am at the place where I want to spend my time doing what I want to do.  Also, I think for the most part many of the students at the community college see the pottery class as a social time.  Many have been taking the class for more than a decade and still make pots that are in the beginner stages.  As I write this my critical voice is really slapping me down or saying that I should get in there and change the place and get it rocking.  Agggh.   Sarah and I have already had a big ole' talk about all this so I don't really need to even be putting this out there but here I am typing away.

I do think that maybe I'll teach again somewhere if the place and time is right.  I do like going out and doing the weekend workshop thing.  I'd like to do some one week hands on workshops too.

As far as making money goes, I'm planning on applying to more shows next year and hopefully getting in a few more galleries. I also want to have a couple of salt kiln firing workshops here where people pay to have pots in the salt kiln.  I'm pretty sure those would go over great.

A few years ago I'd blame the lack of selling my work on the pots, saying they were no good or that folks didn't get them.  Now I know that's not the case.  I feel pretty good about what I'm making these days.  I really want  to continue to grow and I want to get my work out in the world more.  I'd love to crack into selling more pots online, it would be amazing.

So that's my big post for the week.  If you made it all the way through all that then you are truly a dedicated blog reader.

Speaking of blog readers, I finally made my way through most of the past posts of all the blogs I normally read.  They have been piling up for over a week.  It's good to see what everyone is doing. I still have 7 back posts of Sofia's Dad's Pots to read but I think I'll save that till in the morning.  Jim always has some great stories.

Here they are.

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Pots from Tuesdays firing.  I am happy with these.  I like all the red clay showing.  It's more of a frame to the images which I like.  In the past I was slipping the whole pot, so this is a good change.  I also like the use of the amber in combination with the clear.  I'll make a few more of those and see how I feel.

Here's the video:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyrSJvzzqnU

Comments welcome.

Working up some stoneware

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If you watched yesterday's video I mentioned that I was working up some stoneware reclaim and that I was going to go over to the cemetery near our house and get some local red dirt to add.

The cemetery has a big pile of dirt from when they dig graves.  I brought some of that dirt home and ran it through a course screen to remove the roots and rocks.  Below you see the screened dirt alongside 2 buckets of reclaim.


I added all the dirt to one bucket and this was the result.


I want to throw this clay fairly soon, so I needed to add some more dry material to stiffen it up a bit.  I added some ball clay and dumped it on the cement floor so I could wedge it up.


Below is the result.  So I'll let these balls sit for a day or so under plastic before wedging it up and making some pots.


I'm not sure how that local dirt will effect the color of the clay or the glazes or slips I will be using.  The pots are going in a wood fired soda kiln.  I didn't really measure anything which was part of the fun.  I will fire some test bars to make sure the clay will go to cone 10 before committing the pots to the firing.  I'm pretty sure it should be fine as the main reclaim body is high in Goldart clay.


Still waiting on the kiln to cool.  New photos should be up by tomorrow morning at the latest.

Hey!

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I've been on a bit of a blogging break.  Back now but not much to write yet so here's a video.  More tomorrow probably as I get my head back on right.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aD83fCldBQ

A Few New Pots

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This load was mainly serving bowls, small plates and bowls and some cups.  The blue Bird plates were an order for 5.  I made 6 and one had the crawly blue problem.  So that's good.




I had some smaller yunomis in this kiln.  We have a few smaller ones that other potters have made and I enjoy using them so I thought I'd try a few.  I haven't done any fish in a while.


Here's the blue glaze that crawls.  It's a thickness issue.


I loaded up around 30 Animal pots today for a bisque.  Banks and Jars.  Tomorrow I'm packing pots to ship so I'll get to use all my supplies that I ordered last week, boxes peanuts and such.  By the way the free Hall and Oates CD from Uline was horrible, those two need to hang up the towel.  It was a live recording from 2008.  Next time I'm offered a free gift I'll get the calendar.