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#362 The Secrets To Having a Successful Pre-Order Pottery Sale w/ Teri Erasmus
48 Plays2 years ago
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In this episode of 'Shaping Your Pottery,' host Nic Torres has an in-depth conversation with Potter Terri Erasmus. Terri shares her journey into pottery, emphasizing the importance of starting without waiting for perfect conditions, embracing customer involvement in the creation process, and the value of having a support system. She recounts how opportunities like making 150 tumblers for a friend's request and handling large wholesale orders propelled her to transition to full-time pottery. Terri discusses her approach to simple yet beautiful pottery design, how making pottery accessible and affordable matters to her, and why she enjoys the flexibility and customer feedback that come with pre-order sales. Moreover, Terri provides insights into balancing pottery with being a parent and wife, learning from mistakes, and the business side of pottery, including transitioning from wholesale to focusing on pre-orders to better manage her workload and meet customer demands. The episode also covers discovering one's voice in pottery, delivering impactful advice for aspiring potters: have fun, don't wait for perfection, stay true to your designs, and embrace the learning journey. Terri can be followed on Instagram at 'Pots by Terry,' where she shares behind-the-scenes looks at her pottery making process. You can check out her Instagram Here @potsbyteri
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00:00 Introduction to Terri Erasmus: The Potter's Philosophy 01:06 The Journey Begins: From First Touch to Business 06:55 Balancing Pottery, Parenthood, and Passion 09:11 Embracing Mistakes: The Growth of a Potter 12:14 The Art of Simplicity in Pottery Design 16:26 Innovating with Handles: A Potter's Creative Process 17:46 Exploring Pottery Design: Embracing Spontaneity and Mistakes 19:50 The Leap into Full-Time Pottery: A Journey of Growth and Opportunities 23:24 Navigating the Business: From Wholesale to Pre-Orders 31:03 Discovering Your Voice in Pottery 34:04 Final Thoughts: Embracing the Process and Having Fun
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Transcript
Diverse Pottery Styles & Customer Engagement
00:00:00
Speaker
I like to make a variety of styles so that I'm not limiting myself to just one customer type. Meet Terry Rasmus, a potter who creates simple pottery, but is still beautiful in design. In this episode, you will learn about how caring for your customers can truly impact the way you make your potter. I like to really involve my customer base in the creation process so that they feel like they're a part of the whole process.
00:00:29
Speaker
You will also learn why Terry went the route of making simple pottery instead of going with something else. I really like the process of making so much that I'm like, if I'm spending so much time on this one piece, that's taking away time that I can be spending it on like all these other pieces that I want to make. Finally, one of the last things you
Efficiency in Pre-Order Sales
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Speaker
will learn about is Terry, excellent advice on doing pre-order sales. With pre-orders, it's just
00:00:56
Speaker
laid out for me. I know what I need to do. I know how many pieces I need to make. I know what to place them.
Persistence & Support System in Pottery Journey
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Speaker
And there's so much more in this episode. I hope you guys enjoy it and I'll see you guys in there. Terry, what would shape your pottery and share with me what is something that has helped you the most along your pottery journey so far? Oh my goodness. One thing, one thing. You know, I'm still kind of brand new in my whole journey, but I would say that the one thing that I attribute to
00:01:26
Speaker
having some sort of success is not letting anything deter me from doing my work. So at the beginning I had nothing and that didn't deter me. I just like I have this tiny little mud room of a space and I was like I can make that work. I'm gonna put my wheel in this tiny little corner and I'm gonna put little shells over here and I'll put my stuff over here and
00:01:47
Speaker
I just made it work. I didn't have a kiln at the beginning and I shuttled my pieces to a clay store that offered firings. I still sold those pieces. So I think not starting, you know, only when I felt like I had everything I needed, everything was perfect and just seemed right.
Discovering & Reigniting Passion for Ceramics
00:02:08
Speaker
I just started because I wanted to start. I wanted to get going. That's kind of how it's been. It's like,
00:02:13
Speaker
the growth of like my studio and everything looking wonderful and legit and looking like a legit Potter is still like mega in this process. And I'm not letting that hold me back. So I think that's a big thing that has helped me is just keep going, put my head down and just keep on doing what I love. And I'm going to add another one is just having a super positive support system. I think when we start out, we're really insecure. I mean, not even when we start out, I'm like,
00:02:43
Speaker
I think as artists, we're just always insecure and second guessing ourselves. But having a good support system around us, both on my social media and my immediate family and friends have all been super, super supportive. And that has truly helped me keep going. Absolutely love that. Shaping Nation, the most important thing, even if you don't have the resources, just get started. You can still make pottery, even if you don't have the resources. I love that so much.
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So tell me the story how you got started making pottery. We'll be here for 30 minutes.
00:03:18
Speaker
But I'll try to make it quick. When I was 21, I think my daughter, I had kids starting young. My daughter was just under two, I believe, and I wanted to go to school. I didn't go to school right after high school. I didn't go to college, and I needed something for me. I was like, you know what? My brain is dead. So I went to school, the local college there, and took night classes. My husband was taking like 25 credits during the
00:03:47
Speaker
every day and I needed to squeeze in some night classes. And one of them, one of the things offered was ceramics. And I was like, that sounds like super fun. I'm super artsy fartsy and I've never tried ceramics. So I will take that. It also sounds like an easy A, right? So I took that and just fell in love. I instantly loved it. And I think I kind of took to it easier than other people around me. Yeah, I really loved it. And then, you know, after that two month class or whatever it was,
00:04:18
Speaker
I didn't touch
Balancing Parenthood and Pottery
00:04:19
Speaker
pottery for eight years. I had two more kids and I'll stay at home mom life. And then when my youngest was two, I was like, I need to do something for me. My husband's gone through grad school. I feel like I've kind of taken a back seat with what I want to do with my life. And so when my youngest was two, I said it was time. And I was kind of playing with ideas like what I could do to make money.
00:04:45
Speaker
And that I would also love really picky with like having like a desk job or like working for someone else. I was like, I can't do that. So I was thinking of ideas, what I could do to start my own business. And so one of the, one of the things was like, you know what? I really liked that pottery glass.
00:05:01
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So why don't I try that again? And so I took a pottery class again at my local community college. I'm in Washington. So this was, I was near Seattle at time, Shoreline Community College. And yeah, I ended up taking ceramics too, since I already took ceramics one.
00:05:18
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eight years prior, but I was absolutely starting from the beginning. I didn't remember anything, but I was the only one in the ceramics too. There was like 20 in ceramics one. So it just combined me. So I was really on my own, which was awesome because I'm kind of a loner with
Embracing Mistakes and Feedback
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this. I like to put my headphones on. I like to get in the groove and do my own thing. I learned the best when I'm just kind of listening to myself and my body. And yeah, so I took two community college classes back to back. So probably like four months total.
00:05:49
Speaker
four or five months and I absolutely loved it. And I went into it knowing that I wanted to make this a business. So I think that a lot of people are like, Oh, did you lose the passion you had for it when it was just like a hobby or whatever? I was like, well that it actually was never a hobby. It was something that I was like, you know, I want to make this a business. I want to do this. I want to do something that I knew that in the past and I only did it for a little bit. I loved it and I want to nurture this and like grow it.
00:06:18
Speaker
And so I never like lost the love of something that I was like just played around with. But yeah, so that's kind of how I started. I took this class and I overused the class and I ended up having to, I kind of got kicked out in a way. They're like, you know what, you're, you're overusing the studio. You, you fill up our kiln way too fast and there's other students that need it. So I was like, you know, this is my sign. I need to go and start my own thing.
00:06:46
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That's how it kind of started. I love that so much. So we're going to talk more about the business side of pottery later. But for now, you mentioned that you have a few kids. How do you balance between, you know, being a parent, wife and also pottery? Oh, I don't think that there is such thing as a balance. I mean, maybe someone has found the secret and they need to tell me what it is. But it is such a juggling act. I have three kids.
00:07:17
Speaker
the oldest being 13 and the youngest being seven. And they're all in extracurricular. And my husband, he works in Seattle, which is across the ferry. He only gets home late at night. So I am, I am the parent. If there's anything that happens at school, a kid gets a
00:07:31
Speaker
needs to get picked up because they're vomiting or like sports going to practices like mama is on it. So it is the amount of work I do that is like such a challenge for me to be able to get all the work that I have to do all these orders and yada yada yada and I want to get them done in a specific amount of time.
00:07:53
Speaker
is super difficult for me and I have to be super open. I think this is what helps the balance. Balance is I'm super open on Instagram with my customers and my followers that I am a mom and that is item number one.
00:08:14
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And, and then my business is super important too, but I gotta make sure like my kids are like set first. And so, and they know that things happen and a lot of people that follow me and purchase from me are also parents. And so I think they value.
00:08:30
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me being open and transparent about life situations. And so that adds a little less stress to my workload, knowing that people are like, you know what? When I get my piece, I get my piece. You need to make sure that everyone is taken care of. So I have to remind myself, like people are actually quite kind and understanding and patient. Like if they're buying handmade pottery, they know how long it takes. And I'm super open about that too. And they just want their piece when they get their piece, which I'm super grateful for.
00:08:59
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know about balance. I kind of go crazy sometimes. So I'm not a good example of being mentally stable as a mom and a full-time potter, but I'm trying my best. I absolutely love it. So you contribute your growth as an artist to making mistakes and learning from them. Can you tell me more about this? Yeah, I think as human beings, that's how we get through in life, right? We make mistakes and we learn from them. So my pottery business is no exception.
00:09:27
Speaker
If anyone has tried pottery, you know that it is super hard at the beginning. So I'm a mistake, mistake, mistake. You want to cry. You're like, I'm never going to be good at this. I'm never going to figure this out. I think having the mentality going into it, knowing that these mistakes are going to come, they're going to come frequent at first for a couple of years, probably, or at least they did for me. Obviously at the beginning, they're simple mistakes. Like you got a flopped piece. You can't center. You can't do this.
00:09:57
Speaker
You didn't attach that handle correctly and it cracked or whatever. These simple little mistakes that can add up and get really frustrating. But then later with business, like website issues or taking on orders in the wrong way or whatever, and then you get a little overwhelmed and you make kind of bigger mistakes that cause a lot of stress. Yeah, you just know that they're going to come and you look at it as a learning experience and you go, all right, well,
00:10:25
Speaker
that network so which is good because now I know that that didn't work and I'm gonna try this so yeah I think not just accepting that there are gonna be mistakes and acknowledging that those mistakes are are gonna be your friend because you're gonna learn from them and that's how your business will grow so just have go into it with kind of a positive mindset and go with the flow so what would you say that these mistakes throughout your pottery journey have helped your pottery and also your business mistakes
00:10:53
Speaker
Yes. Just like what I said, like you're going to learn from your mistakes. If you're paying attention and you realize that it's, you've done something wrong, you're going to do it differently. And so your business is going to naturally shift in the way that you want it to just by learning from all these sorts of things that are coming at you, curve balls all over the place. I can't, you know, I can't think of any mistake that I'm like, Oh my
00:11:19
Speaker
That has ruined me. I'm never going to get over that mistake. They've all ended up leading to something that was better. So as long as like, I don't, I don't get a mistake and I'm like, well, that's it. I'm done. I'm done with pottery. I'm done with this business. As long as I take it and I use that as fuel to learn something else, to try something new, then they always
Transition to Full-Time Pottery
00:11:44
Speaker
help.
00:11:45
Speaker
They always help. I want, I want to make less mistakes in the future. It's not like, I love mistakes. These are wonderful. Oh, they're so stressful. But getting through that, pushing through that stress is inevitably going to make you a stronger and a better and more efficient and more confident business owner. I absolutely agree. I love that. Shaping Nation. There are going to be mistakes, plenty of mistakes along your pottery journey.
00:12:10
Speaker
And that's okay. Just learn from them and keep growing. I love that. So let's talk about your pottery. Can you tell me a story how you started making the pottery that you make today? Yeah, I make a lot of different things, but story of how I created, I started creating what I make today. You know, I, my whole business is on Instagram. Everything I do is advertised.
00:12:34
Speaker
or like everyone sees my behind the scenes. I'm kind of getting the creative process going on Instagram, like on my stories. And I really value my customer base or my fan following or whatever you want to call it. And I love bringing them into the creative process. So I take a lot of clues or a lot of polls or a lot of suggestions that I gather from my people to know what I should be creating, what's going to
00:13:04
Speaker
be the most valuable for the people that I'm making my work for and staying true to like what I want to make. But I, it's funny because I started off thinking at the beginning that I wanted to, I was not going to be the potter that made mugs.
00:13:20
Speaker
I'm not making mugs. Everyone does mugs. I was so over saturated and I want to be different. And then I quickly realized everyone wants mugs. And I quickly realized that I love making mugs. So I kind of get away from it. And it's done me really well. So I don't want to get away from it. And I it's my favorite thing to create now.
00:13:44
Speaker
but it was just so funny. So I was like, I'm gonna do something no one else has done before. Whatever, I'm gonna be super creative and then I'm making mugs. But mugs are, for me, my happy place. And they're a happy place for so many people. You don't find too many people that wouldn't love to get a handmade mug from someone as a gift or whatever. I definitely agree with you, because I actually really like enjoying making mugs myself.
00:14:14
Speaker
And I know a lot of people don't like it, but I enjoy it myself as well. How do you look like making a mug? You're so fun. Yeah, I agree. Like from the start, I pretty much like, I mean, when I couldn't make a handle for a while, it was a little bit frustrating. But after I got that down, I was like, yes, I love this. I know the freaking handle, right? Once you got that down, it's like smooth sailing. Yes, I absolutely agree.
00:14:37
Speaker
So the pottery you make is rather simple in design. What made you go down this route for your pottery instead of going to something else? Yeah, I think, I mean, I never really, I don't think I've ever thought about it in depth. I think it was naturally my style, what I gravitate towards.
00:15:00
Speaker
I've always thought simple as best. And also like when I'm making and I'm making it with the idea of selling, I liked the idea of being able to produce a lot and making it more affordable for the customer in a way. There's a lot of mugs out there that are super beautiful and super detailed. And then they go for, you know, several hundred dollars and only so many people can afford that, which is,
00:15:29
Speaker
Totally great for the people selling them and the people that can afford them or the people that save up for them. I think that's amazing but for the way I wanted to sell my pieces and market myself was a little bit more affordable and I really like the process of Making so much that I'm like if I'm spending so much time on this one piece That's taking away time that I could be spending it all like all these other pieces that I want to make So being able to kind of get through work
00:15:58
Speaker
quickly. It's just the way that I like to work and to enjoy my work and to value going into work every day and be like, oh my gosh, I still got to work on that mug. I've been working on it for three days. I want to constantly be moving and growing and be able to have a customer base that feels like they can buy from me.
00:16:20
Speaker
Absolutely loved and I definitely agree sometimes you got to keep it simple to keep growing. I love that So something that I love you. Do is that with your pottery is you add little alterations like? Altering the handle a little bit. Can you tell me a little bit more about this? just like your last question and me saying like I really like to Do new things and get through things so that I can try something new I get really my personality. I guess I get
00:16:50
Speaker
really antsy and I want to try something new and as we know as potters there are infinite ways to do anything like you can make an infinite amount of pieces functional or non-functional infinite ways of designing and all that kind of stuff so I don't want to limit myself
00:17:09
Speaker
To one handle design or or anything like that, so anytime something comes into my mind that's a good idea i'm going to try a handle like that so yeah and and I love to make different shapes according to like everyone has a different hand right.
00:17:26
Speaker
Some people have larger hands. Some people have smaller hands. Some people like that two finger hold. Some people want their entire hand to be able to fit in it this way or this way. So I like to make a variety of styles so that I'm not limiting myself to just one customer type.
00:17:41
Speaker
Um, so I get a lot of people are like, I want, you know, those, those huge handles. I got a huge hand. I want a huge handle. So I'm like, you know, I'll make a mug like that. A mug option like that. And then people want a 12 ounces, a tiny little handle. So I'm like, yeah, I'll make that too. Cause I want to be able to reach a wide audience with all these certain different designs and styles and shapes and sizes. Absolutely love that. What are some ways that you like to add some alterations and add a little bit of flair to your own pottery?
00:18:11
Speaker
how you make different handles, what are some ways you like to alter? I just like to play around with it in the moment. I don't even go into it thinking ahead. I usually am just like in the moment, whatever feels right. So like with pulling handles, I'd be pulling a handle and then
00:18:31
Speaker
And then the naturally it like looks a certain way. I'm like, that's different than I usually do. But I actually kind of like that. Let's, let's play with that. So just being in the moment. I'm not the potter that sketches out my work. I'm really bad at that. I really like to do things in the moment because things with clay
00:18:47
Speaker
they form differently every time and you can see something new every time and you can just like pause. You could be, you could make a mistake, right? I can pull it and like it chopped off and I'm like, ah, oh, I like, I like that short little thing right there. I'm going to wrap that down and try that. So being, being open to speaking of mistakes, making mistakes while you're creating, because those mistakes could lead to something you're like, I was not thinking about that. Now that I see it, I really like it and I'm going to try something
00:19:17
Speaker
funky with it. So yeah, and like, whenever you think of something, sometimes I'll think of a design before I start just in my head. I'm like, that's gonna be so ugly. I don't even know why I'm even trying. And then you try and you're like, whoa, actually, this looks really dope.
Social Media & Personal Design Evolution
00:19:33
Speaker
I'm gonna like move forward with it. And then sometimes you think something's gonna look dope and amazing. And then you try and you're like, this, no, it's not working. It's not working. So don't ever just cheat yourself or, or short yourself and think that something's not gonna look good. Just try it all. And you never know.
00:19:48
Speaker
some excellent advice right there. I love it. So let's talk about the business side of pottery. Can you tell me the moment when you decided to go full time with your pottery? It wasn't a moment. It was more of like elite, like a, I don't even know really when it happened. I can't give you like a day, but I was very fortunate with the fact that my husband had a job. I'm married and my husband,
00:20:14
Speaker
had a job that could pay the bills, albeit fairly. He was just out of grad school and I was doing a postdoc and oh, if anyone's ever done a postdoc, it's like residency for doctors and he paid shit. But he was able to cover the bills and that's about it.
00:20:36
Speaker
I didn't feel pressure, super pressure, like I have got to provide for my family. Like they're, they're waiting for my paycheck in order to pay this bill. Um, so I think I was, I was able to go into it kind of chill and not, not feel like I needed to rush anything, but I got asked by a friend of my sister if I could do a bulk
00:21:03
Speaker
set of mugs or tumblers. I had never done anything bulk. I was never making things that looked identical, really. And she asked for 150. And I told myself, I was not allowed to say no to these opportunities just because I was always afraid or I was nervous that I wasn't going to succeed.
00:21:22
Speaker
So I was like, absolutely, I can do that for sure. And then, you know, I hang up and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I don't think I can do this. There's no, I don't know what I would just did, but you know what? I'm going to do it. Cause I said yes. And I'm going to look real stupid now if I can't do it. So I think that moment would use, I would say maybe that's the moment that I was like, I'm going to have to be full time right now because I have 150 tumblers to create before.
00:21:48
Speaker
two month timeframe and I'm going to be in the studio for a long time. So it's mostly like, okay, family, I know usually I'm, I'm able to come out of my studio and hang out with you guys, but right now just don't mess with me. Cause I told this person I was going to get them tumblers and I got to get them tumblers. And so I ended up just like forcing myself to be full time at that time. I wasn't making money like a full time. I barely charged them anything. This is my first time.
00:22:14
Speaker
And so I was like too scared that they were going to beat crap pieces. And, and we all know that we charge less. We feel a little bit better if they're not so good. And so, yeah, I think that was kind of the kickoff to like, mom is going to be spending a lot of time in the studio. And then after that opportunity, I had more wholesale things come my way. Ballerina Farm was a huge one. Two to 300 mugs a month. Again, I was like, I don't know if I can do this.
00:22:43
Speaker
but I said yes immediately. So I was like, who, who says no to such an opportunity? These are probably going to be not the best, but I'm going to try my freaking hardest to make them the best mugs that I can do. And it was a hit and these wholesale companies really made me go full time. And yeah, I guess eventually I realized that I was like, I'm a full time potter. It felt really good to say, but it took me a while to realize I was full time potting.
00:23:12
Speaker
as a business just because I didn't, I didn't think about it until people were like, are you a full-time barter? I'm like, I guess like I'm in there all the time. So I guess I'm a full-time barter, but yeah. Do you still do wholesale now? You know, I, I've told everyone I made an announcement last the end of last year that I was going to take a break from wholesale wholesale was how I really got started, how things got.
00:23:37
Speaker
like took off at the very beginning I did like little shop updates and just like pieces that I created that I wanted to create and then hope that people would like and that I put up on an Etsy shop but that I hated that I hated it so much because
00:23:55
Speaker
You know, I'm also brand new, so I don't have as much exposure. But those pieces, I would be like, shop update, come buy my stuff. And then you'd have a chunk that would go, which is great. But then you'd have a chunk that would stay.
00:24:10
Speaker
And I'd be like, I don't know what to do with this stuff. Like, do I keep being like, oh, reminder, there's stuff on my shop. Go check it out. And that killed me every single time I had to like kind of remind people like, Hey, this lady's still up there. You want her? Someone take her, please. I, that made me super uncomfortable. And so I navigated away from doing shop updates because I would just end up taking stuff down and just giving it away. Just someone take it.
00:24:39
Speaker
So the second that wholesale popped up, I was like, this is magic because I only had to deal with one person and she's taking all my stuff and I get paid upfront. And then eventually I navigated to pre-orders, which took up, which was super successful. I'm so grateful that I transitioned to doing pre-orders because again, that takes away that lingering product in my shop.
00:25:04
Speaker
I no longer have a lingering product. I take what I, what I get orders come in and then I shut it down and no lingering product. I just make what people bought. But yeah, so I did. So that ended up taking so much of my time. The pre-orders last year, having to navigate or having to tackle both wholesale and pre-orders. I was working two times the amount of time that I should have been working. It was very, very stressful.
00:25:33
Speaker
exhausting. I felt like I was running every day. So I told everyone, wholesale has got to take a back seat for this next year. I make a lot less doing wholesale. You know, wholesale when you're hand making work, when you're doing handmade, it's not like you're still putting in the same amount of time and then charging like half the price, right? So I decided to take a little bit of a break, but I have a lot of wholesale
00:26:03
Speaker
clients that really value working with me and I value working with them. So I'm going to try to hop back on the wholesale train just a little bit next year. So let's go a little bit deeper into pre-orders. What do you think makes a good pre-order sale? What makes a good pre-order sale? Oh, that's a loaded question. So when I started doing
00:26:29
Speaker
pre-orders, it was just one style of mug. And I saw another potter do it because I was instantly like, wow, what's a pre-order? And what is she doing? And why is she doing that? And how did she do it? And you know, everything just looked, it sounded immediately like I want to do this because I don't want this lingering product thing anymore. And I also have like kind of an ADD kind of mentality going into the studio and I'm like,
00:26:55
Speaker
What do I make today? What do I want to do? There's so many things I can do. What do I want to start with? And then I end up getting no work done because I don't know where to start. And so with pre-orders, it's just laid out for me. I know what I need to do. I know how many pieces I need to make. I know what to glaze them. I know, you know, all the things I just know. So I'm able to just get to work. And that's really, really beneficial for the way that my brain works.
00:27:23
Speaker
Um, now, as far as like how to make a successful pre-order, I mean, to each their own, but for me, you know, I like to, like I said, I like to really involve my customer base in the creation process so that they feel like they're a part of the whole process. They're a part of these pieces being made. They had input. And I think when they have input and they see that I'm, I'm actually using their input, cause I do lots of polls of like,
00:27:52
Speaker
Would you like this glaze with this glaze? Or do you like this body shape or this handle shape with this mug? And they're part of the whole process, which is super fun for me and super fun for them. And I think it allows them to feel like they contributed to it. And so they're more inclined to be like, I want to buy that mug because like, she's doing what I suggested. And I'm very open with the making process, like behind the scenes stuff, they get to see everything being made. And so they're
00:28:21
Speaker
They get to also purchase a piece that they saw being made. And so yeah, I do that for weeks. I create a line with my customers. And people are like, I want a butter dish. Can you please do a butter dish? And so I'll do a butter dish. Do you like this kind of butter dish or this kind of butter dish? Do you like it in this place or this place? And so I can create a line as many pieces as I can do within the timeframe that I'm willing to take a break from making money.
00:28:49
Speaker
And then when it's all said and done, I promote all the pieces I'm going to be offering in that sale. And again, this is all on social media. I don't do anything elsewhere. Social media, Instagram has been such a blessing in that regard. I hate it otherwise. Like anything else, social media, I'm like, oh, this is such a curse to humanity. But for small businesses, it's amazing. And yeah, I'll promote what I'm going to be offering for like weeks.
00:29:18
Speaker
and then set a date and say, Hey, be here, be square. This is the time of my sale. If you want something, you know, make sure you're on time because things go quickly and they've always been on time. The second I, 10 a.m. I say, I set that live and it's just like, they're all there. They're all there. They listen very well. So I think being very communicative prior to the sale,
00:29:45
Speaker
not only advertising
Finding Joy and Personal Style
00:29:47
Speaker
what you're going to be creating, being open about all the details of your sale, what time it's going to happen, what's going to be offered, how to navigate your website. Sometimes websites can be a little harder to navigate. And so like, I'll do a whole screen recording of like how to navigate the sale, just to make sure that everyone knows what's going on. Yeah. And I, and I ask questions like, or I have them ask questions and
00:30:13
Speaker
I share them on my story so that they can, one question can answer it for all the people that are probably thinking that question too. So I try to cover all my bases and so far the pre-orders have been super successful and they helped me really get work done. Cause if you take on a pre-order and you've taken lots of people's money and they're expecting pieces, you will get work done. You will be like, okay, it's time to get shit done.
00:30:40
Speaker
I need to put my head down. I have a list of what I need to do. All I gotta do is make it. And let's hope that I don't have a series of cracked handles or anything like that that postpones the delivery date of their piece. But it's a great work, a great way to be motivated in getting work done. Love that. That was some excellent advice right there for anyone that wants to start doing pre-order. I love that. So let's talk about discovering your voice. Can you tell me about the moment when you knew you were heading the right direction with your pottery?
00:31:10
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was a natural progression of, like I said, when I started taking on those tumblers and I'm promoting on Instagram and people are like, I love that. Oh my gosh, you should do more of those. And then I started doing mugs for Ballerina Farm. And I was very fortunate that Hannah from Ballerina Farm was like, you just do whatever you want. She was super not picky, had zero input of what she wanted. She just wanted mugs. And so that gave me the freedom.
00:31:40
Speaker
of creating exactly what I wanted and she was going to take them. She was going to take them. And so I never felt like I needed to create a certain look because other people wanted it. Like I, I cannot make something that I don't like and then sell it. So I think I was very fortunate that I was able to do what I wanted to do from the very beginning and then
00:32:08
Speaker
that got me a lot of exposure doing these wholesales, especially for ballerina farm. I definitely attribute my beginning success to being lucky enough that she found me and asked for these mugs every month. But yeah, they instantly, people loved it. They encouraged me. And then I was like, I'm always going to do what I want to do and not
00:32:31
Speaker
put my designs on the backseat because other people are expecting something else. Hopefully that's what you mean by finding your voice. Yes, absolutely. I love that. I love that. Shaping Nation, the most important thing is to make what you want first because what you want to make matters the most. I love that. So you have been making pottery for five years. Would you have done anything different during those five years? Oh, no.
00:33:01
Speaker
No, I almost wish that I had started sooner. I probably would have worked out a little bit more on eating healthier and all that kind of stuff, taking care of my mental health. Because that took a little bit of a backseat while I was trying to really grow this business. I've been neck deep in getting this business underway, but other than that, I've absolutely loved every second of it.
00:33:26
Speaker
The fact that it is such a stressful thing as an artist and creating your own business, but the fact that I continue to do it means that I really, really love it. I'm the type of person that if it's not worth it, it's not happening. I quit things easily if I'm not super passionate about it. And there have been so many stresses with this job.
00:33:53
Speaker
And then I just like don't care. I just want to keep going. I want to keep going. And that has proven to me that this is the thing that I'm supposed to be doing. I absolutely love that. Terry, it has been great chat today. And as we're coming to close here, what is one thing you want to hammer home with my listeners today? Well, if your listeners are all potters, I'm assuming they are. I would say, like, just have fun. I think go into it.
00:34:22
Speaker
having fun and don't feel like you have to have everything perfect before you start. Be true to what you want to create. Be true to your own design. Find who you are. You can emulate and imitate other people's work. And then as soon as you want to create your own business, feel comfortable creating from what you've learned your own style and run with it and enjoy the process. It's a crazy process. There's ups and downs. You take
00:34:51
Speaker
with pottery, two steps forward, one step back all the time. Sometimes one step forward, two steps back. But know that if you continue practicing and continue on this journey, you will get better. You will learn to overcome these obstacles and be more confident in what you're doing. That was some excellent parting words advice. Terry, it has been so great sharing with you today. Where can my listeners go and learn more about you?
00:35:16
Speaker
I like I said, I'm only on Instagram. I have a website, but it is only to host my sales. So that there, my website is used for a hot 10 minutes. And then I'm back on Instagram. So hots by Terry is my handle and come and see what I'm up to do lots of behind the scenes stories. Come and join.
00:35:38
Speaker
Hey thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. If you want to discover how close you are to actually discovering your own unique voice with your pottery, I put together a free four question quiz. It's very short. Take 30 seconds for you to take. If you want to know how close you are to finding your own unique voice, go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash quiz or you can simply go to shapingyourpottery.com and it'll be right there at the top.
00:36:06
Speaker
I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and I'll see you guys next time.