Ryan & Becca are together in-person today at Ryan's while they chat virtually with Milissa and Eric Beale from Beale Pottery in northwest Indiana. They chat about their recent grand opening celebration, managing the business as a husband & wife team, balancing multiple styles of work, class/workshop offerings, financial risk of relying only on pottery income for the family, and plenty more. Tons of laughs and value gained from our discussion today thanks to Milissa and Eric. ----- Find m...
Oct 21, 2023•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 221
Ryan and Becca discuss a heavy topic today: burnout. What’s led to burnout for both Becca & Ryan, how are they feeling in the midst of it, & how do they cope with it? It’s a tough time of year for so many small business owners as the holidays approach, but we can get through this to feel good about the end of our year. Thanks for listening and best of luck to finish out 2023! Listener Questions On this episode: - I’m collaborating with a friend. She’s creating designs for screen printing...
Oct 14, 2023•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 220
Ryan & Becca welcome back Heidi Fahrenbacher from Bella Joy Pottery while Becca is visiting her up in Michigan for the week. They cover a number of topics but mainly focus on how Heidi manages many wholesale accounts, the collections most suitable for wholesale, and pricing your work to properly account for your materials, labor, and profit. We hope you enjoy today’s in-depth discussion with Heidi. ----- Find more about Heidi's business below----- Instagram - @bellajoypottery Website - https...
Oct 07, 2023•2 hr 59 min•Ep. 219
Ryan & Becca bring you a special episode discussing all things #potswap2023 , our 6th year hosting this global event. There are a few important changes this year to be aware of and we cover it all today. Follow along with all Pot Swap happenings on Instagram @potswapofficial . Registration is free and open to the first 1,000 entries this year starting on Sunday, October 15th at 12pm EDT. First come, first serve on sign-ups so set a reminder (we have a reminder shared in our Instagram stories...
Sep 30, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 218
Ryan and Becca compare various ways of teaching: in-person and virtually. They have both taught in community studios settings in-person and virtually on various topics. Enjoy the discussion and let us know how you prefer to teach. Upcoming Workshops from Ryan/Becca Throwing Efficiency with Becca - Sept 25th Jewelry Making with Becca - Sept 27th Cincinnati Coffee Festival - Oct 21-22 Resources Get Business Insurance - SBA Listener Questions On this episode: - Hi Ryan and Becca, love the show, esp...
Sep 23, 2023•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 217
Ryan & Becca are joined today by Juliann Roush while Becca is visiting her in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We discuss how she makes her very time-intensive functional work using various hand-building techniques. Her business and work has shifted a lot over the 30+ years she’s been playing with clay, but she still finds love in what she’s making. We also answer a couple listener questions with Juliann’s input. Join the three of us at Clay Con West in St. George, Utah January 12-14. See he...
Sep 16, 2023•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 216
Ryan welcomes back Curt Hammerly from Hammerly Ceramics near Denver, CO. They discuss how he’s managed a team through a quickly growing business, taking on big projects with staff, & introducing pre-orders and older designs into his workflow. Thanks to Curt for joining us again! ----- Find more about Curt’s business below----- Instagram - @hammerlyceramics Website - hammerlyceramics.com #50 - Shop Talk with Curt Hammerly #137 - Playing the Instagram Game with Curt Hammerly Listener Questions...
Sep 09, 2023•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 215
Ryan is joined by Meghan Yarnell & Tony Young as they make the 14 hour drive back from Kansas where they participated in a soda kiln building workshop taught by Kevin Kowalski. Thanks to Isaac & Karina Shue for graciously hosting us at their home/studio in Harper, Kansas for 4 days. It was a great experience and we talk all about what we expected going in, key takeaways, life as high school teachers, and finding time to make their own work on the side. Thanks to Meg & Tony for joinin...
Sep 02, 2023•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 214
Ryan and Becca just celebrated their 4 year anniversary of hosting Wheel Talk on August 22nd. Each of their lives & businesses have shifted so much in the past 4 years! Thanks so much for listening whether you've been here since the beginning or recently found us, sending us questions, leaving reviews, & sharing with friends over the years. Cheers to the next four years! Upcoming Workshops from Ryan/Becca Throwing Oil Bottles with Ryan Durbin - Aug 30th Jewelry Making with Becca Otis - S...
Aug 26, 2023•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 213
Ryan & Becca are joined by Ashley Ball to discuss an interesting proposal related to trying out a new show to her with potential versus sticking with a tried and true show she's done multiple times. We cover the situation from many different angles to give the best recommendation: financial potential, distance, length of show, interest level to be at the show, customer potential, expenses, etc. We also want to sincerely thank Ashley for her help managing our Wheel Talk Instagram account alon...
Aug 19, 2023•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 212
Ryan & Becca welcome Tzipporah from Sipor Ceramics to discuss juggling life as a full time mother of four while making & teaching pottery on the side. She's currently pursuing a new journey into hosting virtual classes to help build community for potters feeling isolated in their studios and also those hoping to learn more about throwing specific forms you may not already have experience with or want to hone your skills a bit more. We also get some insights into Jewish culture during the...
Aug 12, 2023•2 hr 15 min•Ep. 211
Ryan & Becca are joined by Caroline Clark to discuss finding your market when your local community may not respond to your work as well as you hoped. We experiment with a few ideas to see what may work for Caroline and hope you enjoy. Thanks to Caroline for joining us! Listener Questions On this episode: - Do you have any recommendations for finding your people (ie customers) when your work isn't very traditional? I live in South Carolina, and my work is a little too weird for the galleries ...
Aug 05, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 210
Ryan & Becca are back after a long time since their last Q&A all the way back in episode 155. They answer many of your questions related to business, studio practice, and a few random ones. Thanks to everyone who continues to send us questions on Instagram and by email! Listener Questions Send us questions so we can answer anything you've been thinking about on a future episode. Send those through Instagram @wheeltalkpodcast or email us at wheeltalkpodcast@gmail.com . Sponsors - L&L ...
Jul 29, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 209
Ryan was lucky enough to chat with Deanna Poelsma of Glazed & Confused Creations while they are out of town at the Berea Craft Festival. She shares a range of insights from working in arts council administration, show application processes, jury process, application photos for her ceramic jewelry, art show plans for the future, and more. Thanks to Deanna for sharing her time during an art show weekend to chat with us! Resources Jury-image-evaluation Facebook group ----- Find more about Deann...
Jul 22, 2023•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 208
Ryan & Becca answer a listener question they've gotten a couple times recently related to clay conferences. They share their experiences at NCECA and other regional clay conferences, especially Clay Con West. Consider researching other clay conferences in your area to get to know more of your local clay people, learn a few things, get outside of your comfort zone a bit, & explore a new city. We hope to see you at Clay Con West or NCECA in 2024! Resources NCECA - Richmond, VA (2024), Salt...
Jul 15, 2023•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 207
Ryan & Becca dig into a listener question related to subscription clubs where you offer a new pot each quarter at one price, plus a tangent into mug clubs for breweries. We go into some incentives you may want to consider to get customers to purchase, how to make each quarter’s offering unique, and how to structure payment. Enjoy this new discussion topic for us! What would you do if... all the pots you shipped out for a restock broke? Listener Questions On this episode: - Chocolate bar or c...
Jul 08, 2023•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 206
Ryan & Becca are joined by Cindy Chiupka-Jozin from Green Cabin Pottery in Northern Ontario, Canada for another live Q&A segment. Today, we answer a question related to how much work you should take to a show, whether it's a local one day show or you're traveling for a multi-day show. We hope you enjoy and thanks to Cindy for joining us! Listener Questions On this episode: - I was just wondering what you, Ryan and Becca, would say about what to take to a show. I have inventoried what I t...
Jul 01, 2023•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 205
Ryan & Becca try out their new live Q&A segment with Lynne Brander from Grit & Grace Pottery to talk about a new teaching opportunity in collaboration with a local small business. We think this discussion will give you some brainstorm ideas for teaching workshops on your own. Thanks to Lynne for joining us! Listener Questions On this episode: - I have a question about teaching. I have an opportunity to do some classes at a local business offering some lessons. They are interested in ...
Jun 24, 2023•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 204
Ryan & Becca dive into a very new topic for the time: Chat GPT. We explain what it is, examples of how we could consider using it as small business owners who sell pottery, and what moral & ethical questions should be considered as it gets more mainstream. Let us know your thoughts about this new technology as it becomes more relevant these days. Resources https://www.brickyardnetwork.org/forfluxsake/ep15 Listener Questions On this episode: - I would like to remain anonymous as I’m embar...
Jun 17, 2023•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 203
Ryan & Becca answer a listener questions related to all you studio techs out there. Aletha, one of our long time listeners and interview guests ( episode #147 ), has a question related to deciding when to make teachable moments when confronting glazing issues from students when you're in charge of loading & unloading the kilns as the studio tech. We cover it from a range of scenarios on today's discussion: student age, format of the class, type of studio, teacher communication, etc. Enjo...
Jun 10, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 202
Ryan and Becca are excited to have Tim Kowalczyk from Tims Ceramics on to cover a range of topics and answer a couple listener questions. We chat about selling through galleries, testing new processes, being "academic" with how you talk about your work, taking yourself a little less seriously, artist statements, & applying to shows. We hope you enjoy the discussion and big thanks to Tim for spending so much time with us. ----- Find more about Tim's business below----- Instagram - @timscerami...
Jun 03, 2023•2 hr 57 min•Ep. 201
Ryan shares a scary situation that happened to him recently before Ryan & Becca answer a few listener questions. On today's episode, the questions relate to trading with other artists, a sticky situation for a pottery teacher, and working with other artists on collaborations. Thanks for listening and enjoy! Listener Questions On this episode: - How do you approach other artists about trades? Trading is talked about often and I’m curious. Not that I feel like I want to trade, I just think I’d...
May 27, 2023•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 200
Ryan and Becca are happy to have Hope Limyansky-Smith on the podcast to talk about a range of topics including: teaching in a high school setting, managing social media as an educator, production of her own work, analyzing Meta Verified, and plenty of laughs along the way. We thank Hope for her time and we anticipate you will enjoy the conversation as well. ----- Find more about Hope's business below----- Instagram - @limyanskystudios Shop - https://www.etsy.com/shop/LimyanskyStudios Website - h...
May 20, 2023•3 hr 29 min•Ep. 199
Ryan & Becca compare the pros & cons of offering "free" shipping for your online shop. Becca prefers offering free shipping and Ryan prefers adding shipping charges at the end, making for an interesting debate. Let us know your thoughts and how you approach this question. Listener Questions On this episode: - When setting up your booth, is an outside L or inside L better for bringing people in? Does it matter? @thistlemoorpottery - How do y'all feel about being put directly next to anoth...
May 13, 2023•2 hr 4 min•Ep. 198
Ryan & Becca are trying out a shoot the sh!t episode just for fun. We cover family, paying taxes, online orders, plumbing issues, alternative firing methods, and fidget stones. Enjoy and let us know whether we should keep doing these or not. Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast Becca’s Patreon: https://patreon.com/superpotlady Follow us on Instagram: @wheeltalkpodcast @rdceramics @5linespottery Visit our website: www.wheeltalkpotcast...
May 10, 2023•1 hr 52 min
Ryan & Becca discuss a question that came in related to finding a consistent style, but having interest in experimenting with new designs. We cover the potential drawbacks & positives to introducing new designs, how to avoid surprising your customers, and the timeline you could consider as you experiment. We've both changed up our styles over time, some more drastic than others, but it's ultimately good for the longevity of your enjoyment of the craft to keep yourself interested as you p...
May 06, 2023•2 hr 12 min•Ep. 197
Ryan & Becca answer a couple listener questions before getting into an in-depth discussion about pricing small items like Becca's fidget stones. Her fidget stones are a bit different because they require many hours of rock tumbling to smooth them, but doesn't require more effort for her necessarily. They also get into other factors that help you determine your price on an item and how to market them effectively. Resources Quark Wheel Shimpo Aspire Wheel Speedball Artista Wheel Listener Quest...
Apr 29, 2023•1 hr 56 min•Ep. 196
Ryan & Becca are joined by Erica, Ryan's studio assistant, to chat all about their experiences during NCECA 2023 in Cincinnati, OH. Thanks for all the great companies & folks we met and reconnected with during the entire week! It was such a great experience and we can't wait for next year! Catch us at Clay Con West 2024 in St. George, Utah in January as well. ----- Find more about Erica below----- Instagram - @erica_irene_k and @close_enough_kilroy Resources Potters of Color 2.0 podcast ...
Apr 22, 2023•2 hr 29 min•Ep. 195
Ryan & Becca are joined by Lindsey & Donte, co-hosts of The Mud Peddlers Podcast, to discuss the topic of "Learning Through Collaboration" live at the NCECA 2023 clay conference hosted in Cincinnati, OH. We hope you enjoy the discussion as the four of us have varied perspectives on what collaboration means to us as makers, small business owners, friends, and individuals. Thanks to Ben Carter ( Tales of the Red Clay Rambler ) who graciously invited us to participate in the first year of t...
Apr 15, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 194
Ryan & Becca answer a couple listener questions specific to pricing your work depending on the medium you’re selling in & confidence in yourself. Topics include pricing to sell to a local restaurant or pricing at local shows. Your prices don’t have to be set in stone, so be open to changing them when you think it’s needed. Listener Questions On this episode: - Do you think the majority of Instagram popular potters fire oxidation rather than reduction? @seuzens - How do you guys handle pr...
Apr 08, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 193
