H E L L O 2 0 1 5

love my new calendar for 2015

last month was super busy for muddypotts, therefore, i gave myself permission to not feel bad in the least about neglecting my blog. although, i did miss telling you all about every little sale i had near and far, the amazing show that we saw at crimson hilt in denver, and about my new arctic cat that my love got me for christmas! 

a new year can mean so much to so many. for me, its always meant a fresh start to being healthy, physically and spiritually, swearing off new debt, trying to lose those ten pounds that just won't disappear no matter what i do, making more meaningful art and becoming a more serious artist...well those things are always in the back of my mind, but i have so much to look forward to this year. i have no regrets of last year either. last year was one of the best years i've ever had. and this year will be no different...big changes are happening in 2015! and all i can say right now is....we're SOOO excited!!! 

hello 2015!!! so happy you're finally here!!! 

Fresh from the Kiln

chocolate monsoon mug

red pod vine planter

Spotted Kaleidoscope mug

P O T T E R Y: p a c k i n g + s h i p p i n g

As an artist, I'm always concerned about the delivery of my work to its final destination. After all, I put my heart and soul into creating it and want my clients to be happy with their investment. 

When I first started shipping pottery, I did some research and tried different ways to ship my pieces. This involved double boxing them which was quite expensive. When I started working in wholesale, one of my clients was put off by the cost of shipping and told me how she shipped her fragile pieces. Since then, I've stopped shipping everything in two boxes, but still use my fair share of bubble wrap and newsprint. 

I have a large order of plates going out today and thought I would share my process:

wrapping the plate

I prefer to use the large bubble wrap and order it and my boxes from Uline. 

the wrapped plate

all twelve plates wrapped

I am currently waiting for my large boxes to be delivered this morning and it's throwing off my day a bit. So I may end up packaging these guys up in two 12 x 12 inch boxes instead of one 
18 x 18 inch box. But for the sake of this post, I'll go ahead and demonstrate how I pack my boxes. I like to use new corrugated boxes and newsprint or recycled packing material.

first layer of newsprint

 I line the bottom layer with crumpled newsprint and then place the first item in the center. 

first piece 

I surround the piece with the newsprint so that the edges of the pottery aren't touching the sides of the box or another piece of pottery. Don't pack too snug. There should be a little room for shock absorption in the event the box is dropped. 

protected with newsprint

 I always include a handwritten thank you to all my clients and enclose a business card. Lately I've been making my cards. I think its a nice added touch. 

handmade thank you with a business card

almost finished

If you're a potter, how do you ship? I'm always open to new and improved ways to do business better! 

Hope you enjoyed this lengthy post on shipping pottery and a little insight how I sell my work. 

Have a wonderful weekend! ~ samos

Pottery: Wholesale or Retail

That's the question. When I first started making pottery, the thought of selling wholesale never entered my mind. A few years ago, I was approached to sell wholesale and turned it down due to my schedule. When I was  asked again this year I decided to give it a try. Excited to enter new business territory, I jumped right in with confidence not knowing what I was getting into. After doing some research I discovered wholesale usually means that you are selling your work at 50% off the retail price. Retail price?! Wake up call! I didn't view the price I was selling my pottery as a "retail" price, I was just selling it for what I thought was a reasonable offer. Wrong! Now, at this point in the game, you're probably thinking "what kind of business person are you?" Well, to be quite frank, not a very good one. But I am still learning and trying. *smile*

 planters © samos 2012

Now that I know that the price I'm selling my pottery for is the retail price, I have to start from square one with every single piece I have in my inventory. Yes, that's right. I took each piece of pottery, weighed it, calculated the cost of materials, time, and figured out the actual retail price. This was quite the chore, but a necessary one. For years, friends and family have been telling me that my prices are too low. Well, they were right. After figuring out the cost of each piece of pottery, I was stunned to see how much work I've been doing for almost nothing. This was of course the biggest wake up call of them all.

I have since revamped my retail price list as well as produced a wholesale price list that I follow to a tee. And guess what?  My sales have increased and I'm still working wholesale!

Do you have any thoughts or stories to share about working with retail or wholesale?

 I would love to hear them.

 

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

 

samos