Ryan and Becca get into what would be involved in having someone work for you in exchange for access to your personal studio. Some may consider this as a good alternative to paying someone directly for their services or they have ample space to share so we get into the weeds here. We hope you enjoy today's chat. Resources Episode 311 of The Maker's Playbook Listener Questions On this episode: - You have mentioned not making certain items because you just do not like making them. I get that, I do...
Sep 03, 2022•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 162
Ryan and Becca talk about preorders leading up to the launch of Ryan's new carved oil bottles. We discuss what items we would and would not consider preorders for, if there's a difference between preorders and made to order, and how to market them effectively. It's still newer territory for us but worth a discussion nonetheless. Resources @lizcohenceramics @hammerlyceramics Listener Questions On this episode: - I'm in a local craft show this weekend. I'm collaborating with two other artists: can...
Aug 27, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 161
Ryan and Becca have an open discussion about what they think it takes to get "good" at pottery. Everyone isn't on the same timeline, but we try to do some managing of expectations for where you should be by year one, year two, and beyond as you are learning the craft. You can take many approaches to learning this medium from the beginning: school, local community studio classes, YouTube University, or being completely self taught. We also talk about when you should start selling and some challen...
Aug 20, 2022•2 hr 26 min•Ep. 160
Ryan and Becca are joined today by Diana Adams from Sample Haus. She's mostly known for her entertaining Instagram but we get into so much more on today's episode. We cover how she got into pottery, her recent experience at the Clay Challenge in Tacoma, WA, partnership with West Elm, balancing her workload, Patreon, managing Instagram, and a bit more. Thanks to Diana for joining us on another fun episode! We forgot to talk about the upcoming Clay Con West conference that Diana and we will be pre...
Aug 13, 2022•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 159
Ryan and Becca answer a listener question at length regarding what’s a feasible workload to rely solely on ceramics for a full time income. We focus more on production speed and whether it works with your income expectations. Thanks to @e.ceramicsuk for the question! Check out Ryan & Briggan’s collab at rdceramics.etsy.com Listener Questions On this episode: - What do you think is the best way to convert a wheel to be a standing wheel? Any ideas for raising it and having it on wheels? Also a...
Aug 06, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 158
Ryan and Becca discuss the topic of balancing priorities when you are pressed for time. We all can find ourself in a difficult situation when we are low on stock and have commitments to fulfill in a limited amount of time. This episode addresses how we approach these situations and what you can do to use your time efficiently to prepare for that next show or take on that new opportunity with confidence. What would you do if... A shelf of raw materials collapses and is all over your studio floor?...
Jul 30, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 157
Becca visits Yellow Door Ceramics Studio, an Indianapolis ceramic studio, to chat with the owners Felissa King and Amanda Pennington about starting their new community studio. They provide many details about setting up a partnership legally, equipment to start the space, class and membership offerings/pricing, and a few more topics. Thanks to Felissa and Amanda for joining us this episode! ----- Find more about Yellow Door below----- Instagram - @yellowdoorceramicsstudio Website - https://www.ye...
Jul 23, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 156
Ryan & Becca are back to answer many of your questions related to business and studio practice. Before getting into your questions, we talk about Becca's new wheel consultations and how it's going. Theres some learning and plenty of laughs along the way. Thanks to everyone who continues to send us questions on Instagram and by email! Resources Book a throwing consultation with Becca: https://www.5linespottery.com/s/appointments Listener Questions Send us questions so we can answer anything y...
Jul 16, 2022•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 155
Ryan is joined by Danielle from D Whigham Ceramics to talk about selling on Etsy. She's been considering moving off of Etsy to her own website and weighing her options. We cover a wide range of questions you may be asking yourself if you are currently an Etsy seller or considering moving off of Etsy. We also get into some specific of the Etsy Star Seller program. ----- Find more about Danielle's business below----- Instagram - @dwhighamceramics Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/shop/dwhighamceramics/ ...
Jul 09, 2022•53 min•Ep. 154
Ryan and Becca have a great chat with Erica Kilroy, Ryan's studio assistant, with plenty of laughs along the way. They chat about learning pottery at a local studio, what she does for Ryan's studio process, how she has improved her own process since working for Ryan, and plenty more. Thanks for joining us Erica! ----- Find more about Erica below----- Instagram - @erica_irene_k and @close_enough_kilroy Resources @emilyrussceramics Adam Field pulling video Florian Gadsby YouTube Punch Up the Jam p...
Jul 02, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 153
Ryan and Becca answer a listener question for a recent college graduate with a ceramics degree in relation to getting a job or pursuing small business full time. They then get into a longer discussion about how to pay yourself as you start and progress in your small business. Support Becca’s new Patreon https://patreon.com/superpotlady if you want to get better and more efficient in your making process, plus she knows her shit! What would you do if... Becca/Ryan went to jail? Listener Questions ...
Jun 25, 2022•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 152
Ryan and Becca discuss a new adventure that she's been thinking about lately. She's been considering what's next since production potter has been putting some strain on her body a bit more than she'd like. There are many options out there to shift your business to make you happy and getting ahead of it before it get's too stressful can be a smart move. Get one of our 2022 Wheel Talk mugs on our website: https://www.wheeltalkpotcast.com/. Your purchase supports Chris Burch, Isaac Shue, and us. Re...
Jun 18, 2022•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 151
Ryan and Becca jump into a question related to building consistency in your product line as you are still evolving in your making process. It takes a mixture of craftsmanship and repetition to get comfortable with your product offerings, plus a little input from customers. Thanks to @speckledmountainceramics for the question! Get one of our preorder mugs now until June 15, 2022 on our website: https://www.wheeltalkpotcast.com/. Join our Patreon for an exclusive discount on your mug. Your purchas...
Jun 11, 2022•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 150
Ryan and Becca welcome back a past guest on this episode, Rebecca Graves Prowse from Gravesco Pottery. Today we cover a range of topics including wholesale clients, managing a team, changing your business branding, taking care of your body for the business, and plenty more. Enjoy yet another fun and insightful conversation. Get one of our preorder mugs now until June 15, 2022 on our website: https://www.wheeltalkpotcast.com/. Join our Patreon for an exclusive discount on your mug. Your purchase ...
Jun 04, 2022•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 149
Ryan and Becca answer a question about selling at someone's first legit show and getting prepared for it by pricing their work appropriately. Pricing, booth set-up, confidence in your work, and how to interact with your customers are all important to think about before your first show but are greatly improved with repetition and experience. Good luck out there for those of your selling this summer. Thanks @aitchpots for the question! Resources Trust Me podcast The Mud Peddlers podcast - episode ...
May 28, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 148
Ryan & Becca come to you for a quick bonus episode to talk about our custom Wheel Talk mugs that will be available for preorder starting on June 1st. The preorder runs from June 1-15 and all orders will arrive 6-8 weeks later. Our friend Chris Burch from @potterybychrisburch in Colorado Springs, Colorado is making our custom 2022 mug with a Wheel Talk logo decal on one side and small 2022 decal on the opposite side. The mugs are all wheel thrown with agateware and super high quality! Those f...
May 21, 2022•9 min
Ryan and Becca have a friendly chat with Aleatha Aiken-Sherrer from Aleathabean to shoot the breeze and learn more about one of our favorite listeners. They discuss a number of topics today, from transitioning to full time pottery, finding a fun show locally, favorite cake flavors, the Buddy Show, shipping within Canada versus the USA, Becca has a new pen pal, wholesale orders, using gold luster/lustre, sharing a business with your partner, and plenty more. Thanks for joining us Aleatha and for ...
May 21, 2022•2 hr 58 min•Ep. 147
Ryan and Becca go off on a few tangents on today's episode before getting into a couple questions about glazing techniques when applying multiple glazes to your pots and how to transition from brushing glazes to dipping glazes. Thanks for the questions! Resources Indianapolis Clay Studio Crawl glazy.org Amaco product update Batty Bitches Podcast Brickyard Podcast Network Sounds Like a Cult Backyard Craft Show - come visit us in-person Listener Questions On this episode: - I need to catch up on m...
May 14, 2022•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 146
Ryan and Becca go into developing their own styles, evolving their practices, and progressing their businesses over time. Progress can be made little by little or huge shifts in a short period of time. However you develop your own style, enjoy the process along the way and hopefully you have success in finding an audience for it if you rely on this for your small business. Resources Sounds Like a Cult podcast @blackrainbowpottery @dannymeisinger @daedal_goods @renee_lopresti @kate.schroeder.cera...
May 07, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 145
Ryan and Becca talk about scheduling their studio time effectively. Becca works in a production pottery studio by day so schedules are crucial for staying productive and getting work down by the end of the week. Ryan has to balance his making on the side and continue to meet his commitments he's made for the pottery business. Enjoy today's discussion and we hope you get some insights to make your making process more efficient. Resources Sam Hitchman David Gibson @blackrainbowpottery Listener Que...
Apr 30, 2022•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 144
Ryan and Becca answer a number of listener questions related to small business scenarios. We cover topics ranging from wholesale orders, handling repeat buyers online, selling your work at a local business, and market saturation of your work locally. Thanks to everyone for your questions! Resources Episode #27 with Amanda Schwartz from Doghouse Pottery What is a resale certificate? What would you do if... you glazed a whole batch of commission mugs & only single dipped them instead of double...
Apr 23, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 143
Ryan and Becca share some thoughts about how to prepare your small business with the threat of uncertainty in the economy. Some folks have already been experiencing some of the uncertainty over the past couple of years with supply chain limitations and economic stressors. We hope this gets you thinking ahead to keep your business in a good spot in case of an economic downturn that's outside of your control. Enjoy this different episode today and hope it's not all doom & gloom. Resources Bloo...
Apr 16, 2022•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 142
Ryan and Becca answer a question about owning and managing a business as someone with ADHD or anxiety. We hope this conversation is relatable for a number of our listeners who run their own business or are thinking about it. Thanks for the question @alexa.michelle.pottery ! Resources Giffin Grip Mini @thatssoandrew_ Context Switching Listener Questions On this episode: - What are your thoughts on self-disclosing on a pottery specific Instagram? Specifically, I identify as queer (that's OK to sha...
Apr 09, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 141
Ryan and Becca sit down with Liz Cohen from Liz Cohen Ceramics to chat about building a new home studio as a full time studio potter. They discuss a number of topics today, from transitioning to full time pottery, learning slipcasting, managing wholesale orders, finding & managing a studio assistant, body care in the studio, and plenty more. Thanks for joining us Liz! ----- Find more about Liz’s business below----- Instagram - @lizcohenceramics Website - https://lizcohenceramics.com/ Faceboo...
Apr 02, 2022•2 hr 20 min•Ep. 140
Ryan and Becca answer a number of listener questions related to studio practice. Some topics include renting studio space, vitrification, warping, loading kilns, refiring pieces, sanding pots, manual kilns, and plenty more. Some answers are quick, some longer, and plenty of fun discussion as always. Enjoy and thanks to everyone who sent us a question! Resources For Flux Sake Podcast DiamondCore Tools Sanding Pads John Britt "Reglazing Pots" YouTube video Jon the Potter "How to re-glaze your fail...
Mar 26, 2022•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 139
Ryan and Becca answer a question from @aleathabean about how to handle online updates from a seller's perspective. There are lots of tasks to do in preparation for an online update so having a good plan of attack is key. Ryan and Becca approach it differently so we have some options for you to spark some ideas from our discussion today. They each had a minor update and share some insights from that as well. Artists mentioned in this episode: Mobile Makers Clay - @mobilemakersclay Sarah Anderson ...
Mar 19, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 138
Ryan is joined by Curt Hammerly from Hammerly Ceramics to talk all about Instagram today. They discuss collaborations, the algorithm, Instagram stats, getting paid for Instagram Reels, and managing social media as a small business owner. Let us know if you enjoyed the topic and would like to hear more focused discussions like this with guests. If you missed our last discussion with Curt, check out Episode #50 - Shop Talk with Curt Hammerly ----- Find more about Curt's business below----- Instagr...
Mar 12, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 137
Ryan and Becca expected this to be a quick episode talking all about slips vs underglazes. Before they get to shop talk, there’s plenty of movie talk and ample digressions along the way. We hope you enjoy our antics on this one. Artists mentioned in this episode: Jason Burnett - @jasonbburnett , Graphic Clay book Catie Miller - @catiemillerceramics Tim Kowalczyk - @timsceramics Amy Brummond - @pinezenpottery Isla Transfers - @isla_transfers Heidi Fahrenbacher - @bellajoypottery Curt Hammerly - @...
Mar 05, 2022•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 136
Ryan and Becca jump into a topic for those out there wondering when they should consider selling, especially beginner potters. We both took a long time to start selling our work on a regular basis, but that's not the same timeline for everyone. Testing your work for food safety is the most important consideration to make sure you are putting out quality pieces for the public. Listen to our past episode #94s - Is your work food safe? to make sure you are confident in the pieces you're selling. Hu...
Feb 26, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 135
Ryan presented recently at Clay Con West, an up & coming clay conference hosted in St. George, Utah, and shared some ways you can diversify your pottery business income. He sells through many different avenues and talks about quite a few of them today. Slides also accompany this presentation if you'd like to follow along, which can be found on Ryan's website at the link below. We'd love to see you at the conference in future years, hosted mid-January each year in St. George, Utah. Resources:...
Feb 19, 2022•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 134
