Anybody notice I haven't written much of a real blog post lately? it just sort of goes in waves--the writing thing, that is. In March my local wholesale business kicked in with some serious gusto--I was caught a
little off guard, since the winter had been so unusually slow, and everybody was grumbling about the recession affecting business. Then our Spring season hit, and my local shops were calling me every week for pottery. Things were selling faster than I could make them, and none of the shops had any inventory because they had stopped ordering back in November. I spent several weeks working like a madwoman and being somewhat furious with them for letting inventories get so low, giving me no indication that they would be ordering and then suddenly calling me with orders they needed immediately and saying they didn't know how long it would last. So this was a little frustrating. Plus my Etsy shop was very busy at the same time, and that involves a lot of work what with all the photography and listings etc.
Then my partner in another creative photographic venture called and said he was coming to town with a model and wanted to set up some shoots. The timing couldn't have been more, ummmm, 'challenging' for me. When it rains..... so we did that shoot and I finally had a moment to do some production on a few of the shots....here is one of the outtakes:
So last week one of my shops told me to stop bringing inventory for a while....grrrr....but that gave me the freedom to slow down and take stock of what this year has been like so far. I have a serious need to work in a natural rhythm, so when things slow down in one area, there is usually another area that gets a lot of attention. I'm really glad I developed some new glazes and a new style of work that is very marketable. My new glazes have been selling really well on Etsy and in the other local shop. Yay! And my new line of earrings seems to be workable too. This idea has so much more potential for wholesale income, I can sell it in many other types of shops and it is really fun to be back making jewelry--something I did a lot of when I had my little studio/gallery. Now during this next slow wholesale period I will keep developing that line, and organizing the ladies who will be helping with assembly. Finally I have embraced the concept of farming out some work.
And speaking of farming, here are some new shots of the garden and some of the flowers on the property. We have been eating salads daily from the garden for a couple of weeks now: mixed greens, kale and swiss chard, and lots of herbs and onion tops. The tomatoes have blossoms now which is good as they won't set any fruit if they blossom when it's really hot. So maybe I'll get some tomatoes before it gets too hot, and then another round later in the summer.
I had to grab the camera once it was all on the table....I love the way everything looks in monochrome. These are my babies and I love them every step of the way. Now they are all nestled in the kiln in their powdery coats of glaze waiting for their firing. The studio floor has been mopped and a light rain is falling outside--first rain in over a month.
Posts
