I was sitting here thinking about all of the things I have to do & I started freaking out. Then I looked around at what I need to do right now & saw all of this:
The most beautiful To Do List.
This right here is me making pottery for a living.
I have absolutely nothing to freak out over.
My very good friend, Tanya King recently photographed my new pottery and I love how the images turned out. Tanya’s style suits my pottery so well and I am oh so lucky to count her as a friend. The Vancouver One Of A Kind folks also liked Tanya’s pictures and are using the one of my Dots! espresso cups on their home page! Check out Tanya’s work, she’s so talented:
I’m so excited to share with you pictures of my new pots. Below you will see a new Sake set in black, a sugar dish and creamer set in blue and a micro-mini vase in black.
I’m really happy with how the glazes and new shapes are working together, now I just need to come up with a name for this new line…
In the meantime, I’d love to know – what do you think of these new pieces?
2 Comments »When I first started talking about selling my pottery as a business some people warned me about custom orders. Most suggested I don’t do it.
However, I’ve learned that it’s often best for me to follow my instincts. I felt optimistic and positive about taking a custom order so when the request came up I said, “Yes!” Really though, custom pieces weren’t that scary of a concept to me, I figured that if didn’t work out, I’d just stop doing it. I took my first custom order right after the Vancouver One Of A Kind Show and so far I’ve been having a great time.
What has helped keep my experience on a positive note is that I sort out the details right from the first conversation, the Big Ones first:
• The glaze colours you see on my pottery are the glazes I use. I may or may not be able to veer too far away from this palette.
• I can usually have something made from beginning to end in 4 weeks, give or take, depending on the design, glazing and number of pieces.
• I promise to amaze you with my talent.
Custom orders have made me push my boundaries and they’ve opened my mind to new designs. It’s been exciting not just for me but also for the clients. We work together and they get to be part of the design process. It’s fun seeing an idea come to life for both of us.
For one person I glazed a Dragonfly Mug white instead of my usual clear. I loved how it turned out (as did she) and I started making more. They’ve been a big hit at the shows.
One of my very first customers asked me if I could make plates. I was truthful, I hadn’t made any before but I would do my best. I got to work and I love how they are turning out, so much so that I have it on my list to make a set for myself. Best of all, he likes them too!
I’ve recently been working on a completely new design that I’m really happy with. It came about from someone asking me to do something “more” with a glaze. I was like, “Umm… ok.” I got an idea, ran with it and I can’t wait for my next firing. I’ll post pictures here first!
I have a whole new line of pots forming in part because I decided to say, “Yes!” to custom orders. My design skills, my pottery skills, my business – myself – are evolving, and it’s exhilarating.
Have you been thinking you might like some custom Mena Dragonfly pottery? I’d love to hear all about it.
No Comments »I have been making dragonfly stuff for years. One of the first teapots I made has a dragonfly for the knob on the teapot lid. I still have that teapot it’s a light blueish-green. After I made that one (about a decade ago) I made a bunch of teapots and mugs with dragonflies on them and almost all of them were glazed oribe green – a dark green and one of my most favourite glazes from the West End Community Centre.
I gave all those teapots and mugs away. The only one I have is the first one. I had always meant to make myself an oribe green dragonfly teapot but I left that studio and that glaze before I made it. In fact, almost everything I made at the WECC I gave away. Sometimes I’m surprised at how little pottery I have from those days, but then I go to my Mom’s house, open her cupboards and see a collection of my very early works: the wonky bowls, the leaning mugs with the twisted handles, the out-of-proportion handled mugs, the casserole dish with the slightly peeling handles…
When I started making pottery on a regular basis again my main goal was to make a teapot, and that was what I did. When I was figuring out my initial three lines for the business I knew there was going to be a Dragonfly line. There will always be a Dragonfly line. If I make pottery without dragonflies involved somehow (either directly or on the periphery) then there would be something missing from what I’m doing.
So I started really practicing my teapots. I made a whole lot of them. I was making so many teapots that I wrote ab
out my step by step process – I think I had teapots on the brain. Throughout my teapot practice I was challenged again and again. I have made a lot of dud teapots, either the glaze ran into the spout opening, or fused the lid to the pot, or the spout dribbled horribly, in Newfoundland they call this a “stingey teapot,” and I don’t sell, give away or use stingey teapots. Instead I collect them on top of my shelves in the studio, a reminder of how far I’ve come in a short time.
My teapots now are a lot better. And believe me, these teapots have to meet a very high standard – mine. But I think I got teapotted-out, so I decided to stop making them for a bit. I don’t mind if Dragonfly Teapots are rare, it kind of feels like they should be.
However I did have one Dragonfly Teapot on hand and I do believe it is THE BEST teapot I have ever made. I contemplated selling it and posted it online with this comment:
I love this teapot. It will be hard to part with. It should really go to a good home.
The day after it went up online I was visiting with one of my VIP clients, I was dropping off some new pottery for him when we started talking about teapots. During that conversation I realized that I actually know where all of the Dragonfly Teapots are – and not just the ones I’ve given to family and friends; I have sold a few but the funny thing is, I know all of the people who bought them. I was telling Mr. VIP about this, he loved the story and decided to by my best Dragonfly Teapot, so now I know where that one is too.
I know that as the business grows, as I get back into making more Dragonfly Teapots, it’s highly likely that a stranger will buy one and I may never know where it goes or what happens to it. But for now I’m going to relish this time, when I know where all of my Dragonfly Teapots are.
1 Comment »If you’ve read this blog before then you know that I love, Love, LOVE talking with people about my pottery. I also love craft shows and art markets so I’m pretty excited about the next few weeks; between March 26 and May 29 I have FIVE shows! FIVE!
I’m looking forward to meeting a whole bunch of new people.
Part of the reason why I took the plunge into turning my hobby into my livelihood is that I just really, really want you all to have a piece of my pottery. I love sharing my pots with people. At the One Of A Kind Show last December I gave away the very first set of Dots! Mini Vases and that was a lot of fun so at each show this Spring I’ll be having a draw for more pottery. There will be a different giveaway at each show.
(If you can’t make it to a Show, don’t fret – you can get a free gift too – I’m still giving away a little surprise with the next few orders in my online shops.)
Here are all the Show details:
This year Portobello West is at a brand new location – the Creekside Community Centre in Olympic Village. I’ll be there for the March, April and May shows:
Saturday, March 26 & Sunday, March 27 – 11:00am to 5:00pm each day
Sunday, April 24 – 11:00am to 5:00pm
Sunday, May 29 – 11:00am to 5:00pm
Admission is $2, unless you snag a Portobello West Membership which is $15 for an entire year of Portobello Shows.
Make It! is a cross between a craft show and a party with local DJs spinning tunes while you shop.
At the Croatian Cultural Centre
Friday, April 15 – 4:00pm to 9:00pm
Saturday, April 16 – 11:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday, April 17 – 11:00am to 5:00pm
Admission is $5 for the entire weekend or can click here to get $2 off.
Got Craft? is a modern twist on the conventional craft fair. Plus the first 45 people through the door get a swag bag, some of which will include a special little somethin’ from yours truly.
At the Royal Canadian Legion, on the 2nd floor (sorry, there is no wheelchair access)
Sunday, May 8 – 10:00am to 5:00pm
Admission is $3.
I have three new colours in the Dots! line and I’m so excited to share them with you. To celebrate I’m giving stuff away!
The next 5 shoppers will get a little something extra in their package!
That’s right, if you are amongst the next 5 people to buy something from one of my online shops you’ll get an extra little gift along with your order. The gift is a special, limited edition piece not available in the shops.
Plus! Each customer will receive a discount code for a future purchase.
Shop at Etsy (prices in US dollars).
Shop at BigCartel (prices in Canadian dollars).
I was in the studio one day with some pots that had been freshly glazed white and I had a brand new jar of bright orange glaze. It seemed that the two should go together, but how?
I dripped a dot of orange inside a white bowl and something about it just felt so right.
