Monday, August 23, 2010

Worst Blogger EVER!!!

Yup. that's me. the worst blogger ever. i've been so busy lately i just can't seem to find the time to actually type out all those blog entries i write every day in my head. i probably write 3-4 a day i swear, just never get around to actually putting them down.

So lets see, i've been quite productive lately and have managed to have 2 shows in the last month. can i just say i'm addicted to actually selling some pots!?! I've been scouring the festival sites for shows in the area and have about 10 possibilities for the next few months. of course there's no way i'll have all the inventory but i definitely want to get out there and meet some people and sell more pots. it's so much fun! and this coming from a confirmed anti-socialite lol. i've been hiding in my little cave for so long it's a major shock to actually get out there, but i've had so much encouraging words from so many people my confidence has definitely gotten a boost.

I must tell you about the disaster at my first show though. i got a booth at the county fair. it's literally right up the street and i can see the fairgrounds from my house. i decided on the spur of the moment to sign up for a 4 day show. WHAT?!? but yes, that's me, jump right in with both feet. so i quickly found a cheepie pop-up tent, built a nice looking display out of shuttered bi-fold doors, and i was ready to go. my set-up looked great. so bright and cheery. nobody could have guessed i built it out of scraps lying around the garage. i had the corners weighted with 5 gallon buckets of water, what could go wrong? wind. duh, i'm in montana. of course there's going to be wind. and lots of it. a gust of wind came out of nowhere, blew in the walls of my tent, buckling the framing and toppling one of my shelves to the ground. the crash was heard through out the fairgrounds. people appeared out of nowhere and held down the tent. we saved all the intact pots and moved everything under an awning where things were much more protected. i probably lost over $500 worth of work. mostly stuff that just came out of the kiln that morning, and most of my anemone vases as i've taken to calling them now. ouch! but i learned a valuable lesson. STURDY SHELVING!!



i did sell a whole lot of stuff and have since gotten a few orders from locals who met me there. i mainly went there to get my name out, and ended up selling way more than i ever thought i would in my little town.

so i built a new set up, returned the piece-o-crap tent and bought a better one. i made some weights using 4"PVC filled w/ concrete. i decided to try it out in Livingston, MT. a city KNOWN for being windy lol. (both feet again). i'm happy to report that the worst wind barely shook my tent. i had people commenting on how sturdy it was and  how good it looked. no pic sorry, but it looked very similar to the picture above.

and i sold lots more stuff! now i'm addicted. so i'll be at the Bozeman farmers market this weekend. i went there about a month ago just to scout it out and it was hopping. everybody kept saying how slow it was though, i guess there was a big festival going on that weekend that i didn't know about. wonder how busy it'll be this weekend?

and here's a few pics of my more recent work, some of which you may have seen. well, this is the most recent work i've actually photographed. i need to get a permanent photo setup if i ever hope to keep up with the photography. can't stand breaking out everything and fiddling with it till i get it right. the vase at the right was entered into the county fair and won a blue ribbon and $5! lol. looks much better in person, it's hard to see all the detail in the picture.

And of course i haven't been reading the blogs i usually follow so i have no idea what's going on out there. i promise to try and be better now! so check back and see if i keep my word. ;)

8 comments:

  1. Tks for sharing your experience with us. But note that, good stories need adventure! The pieces are really beautiful and the photos too. Could you please tell us what is the piece at the center of the last row (at left side of the blue and white mug)? Congratulations for the blue ribbon, I think it tasted like gold. ;)

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  2. Thanks Acacia! that is a french butter crock. you pack butter in the lid, a little water in the base, and it'll keep your butter fresh and spreadable on the counter. a bit of a pain to make and have the lid sit properly but i enjoy them. :)

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  4. You have been busy, your work and booth look great, everyone here uses those pvc pipe holders due to wind and rain. where did you get your new tent? I have one I got at Costco and I am fearful it won't hold up to the wind around here. good luck at the next shows

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  5. Oh... I do not know. Thank you. Perfect. I loved! Very beautiful. And the glaze looks like butter! Hmmm ... Delicious! And thank you for following my blog, it's an honor!

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  6. HI Kim!!:) so happy to see you back posting...You HAVE been busy.yeah!..and great story on the tent, but sorry that you lost that number of pieces..yikes!..your pieces look lovely. I am liking the glaze combinations and the unique flower vase..cool..
    I have been neglect in posting too this summer so must get back in the groove. -spent the day in my studio today..finally. :)..cheers for now. Trish

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  7. Kim... I was just looking back at some of my posts and comments and you asked about paper clay on bone dry greenware.. Yes, I paperclay will work to mend bone dry work. I am going to re-bisque that piece I was talking about as I am sure in a glaze fire, the broken handle would just fall off as the paperclay would burn off under the glaze plus gravity...will keep you posted. T.

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