Opening a store, shipping mugs, and another community firing
What an exciting few weeks it’s been since I wrote about our August kiln firing here at the studio. So much good has happened in the midst of what continues to feel like uncertainty in the air around us.
September 1st I officially opened my Etsy storefront with a selection of mugs. All told, I offered up 60 different pieces at $30 each with the promise of donating the first week’s profits to the Center for Healing and Hope in Goshen, IN. I was blown away and grateful to be able to donate just over $1,000 as part of this initiative. In the week or so since I’ve been able to move my inventory and am beginning to look forward to a holiday re-stock in early November.
There seems to be two schools of thought amongst potters when it comes to the idea of how much inventory to keep online. More and more are going towards a cycle of complete re-stocks filled with new product periodically as opposed to maintaining a traditional storefront that’s always filled with inventory. So my plan is to go with the periodic refreshes for now.
During the last month I was also able to participate in Arts on the Millrace here in Goshen, which was a virtual event alongside a Saturday spent in downtown Goshen throwing pots and demonstrating. It’s been a very exciting few weeks!
All of which has culminated in another community firing of my gas reduction train kiln last weekend. While it wasn’t packed quite as full as our previous go around, there was a nice variation of pieces. Things didn’t go quite as planned throughout the firing and it took us quite a long time to get to temperature. It turns during the firing a piece of insulation fell down over the flue, so it was tough to get a good draw. Thankfully, we were eventually able to get there but it left some pieces not quite fired to temperature.
Overall, it was a good lesson and there’s plenty of room for growth with this new knowledge gained during the last month. If you’re not yet following along on Instagram, I’d encourage you to as it’s one of the best places to stay up to date on my happenings.
