LIVE from NCECA! Our recording of the joint (but mostly Paul interviewing me) episode with the Potter’s Cast is here! We touched the surface on a lot of business topics in this one hour. Anything from the importance of finding your own work before market research, how business is mostly just the scientific process on repeat, and a lot lot more, including direct questions from the live audience that was sitting in front of us the whole time. The room was absolutely packed and frankly, I was a bit stunned. Any one of the questions Paul asked me could be their entire own episode by themselves, so if there is a subject you were wishing we had time to dive deeper on, send me and email and let me know! I’m working on trying to compile more of my post-NCECA thoughts for future episodes and I’d love to know what you are most interested in. Send over your ideas to: podcast@makers-playbook.com If all the NCECA talk the last few months has you feeling all the FOMO (fear of missing out), please know that I am here for you. FOMO sucks, and it’s not a feeling I want to encourage in this world. In fact, my own history with FOMO is a huge reason I wanted to build The Community. I’ve realized that one of the massive benefits of a digital space is the way we can show up for each other on a regular basis. Rather than having 4 intense days of hyper-energetic interaction, only to drop back down to zero, like a little kid after a sugar high (aka what NCECA can feel like)… Online, we can embrace a consistency within our usual daily or weekly routines. We can be more present to each other than I was ever able to be with anyone at NCECA. Long story short, if watching what seemed like every maker you follow online show up to NCECA caused you to feel a great deal of FOMO. Or if you attended NCECA and felt that massive shock of returning back to everyday life, where there wasn’t a group of ready and willing makers to nerd out with you - Consider having a peek at The Community. There’s a 2 week free trial when you visit makersplaybook.com/community and you are more than welcome to take advantage of it to have a peek around and see if this just might be the place for you. If not, no worries. Either way, you can learn more at makersplaybook.com/community

How often do you remember the name of someone’s Instagram account before you actually learn their real name? It’s a little weird. But it can also be freeing for some people, because it means you can choose how much of yourself you want to share. You can create an alter-ego of sorts. Not a dishonest representation of yourself - I’m not suggesting we start “catfishing” - but instead, the ability to create a comfort zone for what you share publicly and what you choose to keep private. Not to mention, how building a brand name can help you create space between the public and the private. This, of course, also means what we all experience as users online is not always the full story of what is happening in real life for any maker we might follow, which is the big question I’ve had for Kim Ferguson of Khaos Creates for a long time. Between seeing snippets of a wholesale jewelry line and hearing about her acceptance into a local residency -I had no idea, until we chatted that she was balancing all of that while still working a full-time job! Understanding what life actually looks like is exactly why I started this very podcast, so, of course, I’m excited for you to hear Kim’s story this week where we shed a bit of light on the difference between the instagrammable Khaos Creates and the lovely human that is Kim.

If there was a store that was only open for 10 minutes out of the year, would you go to it? Do you think it would even stay in business? What would the business model even look like for such a store? This sounds crazy to describe doesn’t it... Every business advisor out there would tell you that a store needs to be available to people when the people are ready to purchase. Random last minute birthday gifts, mother’s day, of course the lead up to the crazy end of year shopping season. Especially in the US, we are used to stores being available nearly any time we want. And we aren’t even talking about online shopping yet… But here’s the spoiler: I’m not talking hypothetically. Because, when you do the math, 10 minutes, is about how long there is work available to purchase from Not Work Related’s website over the course of 1 year. Sarah’s incredible design heavy work sells out in less than 2 minutes. And the time intensive nature of her designs mean she and the Not Work Related’s team only do 5 stock drops on her website per year. 5 times 2 equals 10. 10 minutes. If this intro hasn’t hooked you in just yet to sticking with us for part two of my conversation with Sarah Hussaini of Not Work Related, let me just say this: The point of sharing this, and so many other stories here on the Maker’s Playbook podcast is to show you - There is no single right or wrong way to make this crazy dream work. Yes, that means you might have to try and possibly fail at some options before you figure out what works for you. But I hope, most of all, that it means as you listen to Sarah’s story, you will be encouraged to find the solution that works for your life circumstances specifically.HEADS UP: There is adult language in this episode, so please be aware before deciding to listen without headphones in public spaces or around little ones.

Building a business as an independent maker can be hard. And when you add on top of that the financial realities of doing it in an urban center… well, it takes a special level of drive, determination, work ethic and grit to make that happen. All of which, I can safely say Sarah Hussaini undoubtedly has. Sarah (owner of Not Work Related) and I connect on a lot business topics. So many, that I couldn’t contain all of the nuggets of hard earned knowledge in one episode. That’s right my friends, settle in because this is only part ONE of my chat with Sarah. Next week, we’ll be coming back for part 2.

A heads up: This episode does contain a bit of adult language.

One of the most surprising things for many makers pursuing self-employment is that the brainstorming, troubleshooting, and all-around scientific method of experimenting, testing, observing, and pivoting never really ends (unfortunately or fortunately, depending on the day). The strategy you had for selling your pots 10 years ago might not work today, and it can feel like you are back at the drawing board, practically starting from scratch all over again. What you decide today, well in 3 years or maybe even 1 year, you might have to change again… But before you feel too hopeless, know that it is possible to grow and shift with the times. Because Katherine Mahoney has been doing just that, across 3 different countries, for the past 40 years.

What if there was a way to grow your audience or broaden your reach without hustling on social media? What if you could focus on fostering a handful of really close relationships with people who understood and appreciated your work, and then in turn, spent their own time working to promote that work and get it out to a curated audience of people interested in possibly purchasing that work? Does it sound too good to be true? Well, this week on the podcast, we talk about a possible business model that can do just these things. But it also gets talked down upon a lot in the industry because of what you might have to give up in order to enjoy it…

My chat this week with Virgil Ortiz is packed with insights. From pragmatic business advice, like protecting your intellectual property, to the less tangible topics of manifestation and trusting that things have a way of working out. The history of clay for the Cochiti people and how Virgil’s work, truly almost accidentally and yet oh so beautifully connects generations of storytellers is nothing less than astonishing.

“There’s only so much people can show you until you actually go and do it and fail and practice and practice until you get it….” This week on the podcast, I virtually sit down with Yairs Abraham who started his self-taught pottery journey in Buenos Aires, then moved to New Zealand, and now is potting away in his home studio in what spare time a baby and full-time job allows. But here’s the catch… he prefers it that way. And if his fantastically designed website is any indication, he’s definitely found the right solution for himself!

This week, my conversation with Page Kelly of Zephyr Valley Ceramics twists and turns, much like her career paths. A self-proclaimed “late bloomer,” there is this stunning moment in this conversation at about the 46-ish minute marker when Page discusses the narrative body of work she is currently producing, where I hear literally every experience she has had in the last 2 decades - inside and outside of working in clay - come together. It’s an encouraging moment, especially for those of us that feel like we are getting started in this beautiful journey a bit… well, later than others. Note: There is a tiny bit of adult language in the latter half of this episode, so if you are listening around kiddos are in a community setting, you might want to choose to pop on some headphones.

For all of you out there who have been listening to the podcast and thinking, “It’s too late for me to make a career move… I’m too far into this corporate job with the 401ks and the healthcare and all the stuff…” Well, this episode, my friends, is for you. Rebecca of GravesCo sheds light on the decades of experience she had before she “magically”created an “overnight success.” We also nerd out a bit on the way spreadsheets allow us to make creative decisions and I for one, am not so subtly vying for a spot as a new biz-bestie with the powerhouse woman. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to go from a solo maker to the leader of a team, you aren’t going to want to miss this episode.

Ceramics is not exactly an easily mobile art form. And depending on what you are making, it can take up a fair bit of space. So what the heck do you do when you move to New York City, but you know you are only going to be there for 2-4 years? And yet, you are fresh in the beginning stages of getting your business off the ground? Well, that’s exactly what Alex Olson is working on figuring out and this week we’re talking all about it, along with the reality of trying to build new healthy routines - both physically to ensure the longevity of working in clay, and mentally, when leaving in as busy of a place as NYC - that keep us inspired for the long game of making a living from the things we make.

In order to have kept my small business afloat for the last 12+ years, I had to learn a LOT of other skills that have absolutely nothing to do with crafting a photo. In fact, as you’ve heard from many past guests here on the podcast, once you go full-time with your craft, more often than not, you aren’t spending 100% of your time IN that craft. Instead, there’s admin and website updates and taxes and paperwork and customer service and…. Well, the list goes on, but I think you get the idea. To make a living from the things we make, there are a lot of skills required. But where the heck can you learn some of these skills? Well, for me, it was through in-person conferences. But thanks to the demands a global pandemic put on the world, all of those in-person conferences have realized they can provide these important resources to a heck of a lot more makers throughout the world if they hold a virtual conference. And starting in 2023, a brand new virtual summit is arriving. This week on the podcast, I’m chatting with the creator of Ceramicon. Elisabeth Young’s dream for Ceramicon is to offer an accessible way for people to learn multiple pottery techniques and business strategies from the artists they love and I’ll be joining the 17 other makers and small business owners, sharing some of our hard earned lessons in the pursuit of making a living from the things we make.

How often do you find yourself listening to another maker or hearing about another artist’s story to get to where they are now and saying, “Well that worked for them but I…” But I’m not in my 20s. But I’m married. But I have a dog, but I… It can be really easy for any of us (myself included) to come up with all the reasons we can not do something. Until, you hear about someone who, even with all of those things, is doing the thing. This week on the podcast I’m chatting with Ido Ferber who has picked up and moved to Tokyo in order to studio ceramics. No, not directly from undergrad. And no, not even by himself. Ido and his wife, who is a maker in who own right, have both moved abroad to figure out how to make a living from the things they make.

The irony of publishing this episode on Black Friday isn't lost on me. But here's the thing: Your emails are NOT the same as the big box stores. At least, not if you are actually (regularly) engaging with the people who have trusted you enough to give you their email address... The true irony is that oftentimes, thanks to our nerves around feeling like we might be spamming people, we wind up only emailing them when we have a shop update or an announcement about a market or show.

But what feels more spammy? Only hearing from someone when they want you to buy something or consistently learning more about an artistic process and the artist behind the pieces on a regular basis, that then culminates in the opportunity to purchase that work? On this week's solo episode, I'm dispelling some of the common myths about email marketing and how popping into your subscribers inbox is not the same as the big box stores sending endless emails to all of us this weekend.

Dream with me for a minute - What if instead of stressing out over figuring out everything, you simply take the next step? This week on the podcast, I’m interviewing Horacio Casillas, who is currently a resident at Companion Gallery. And he’s spending this unique time as a resident artist doing just that - taking the time to slow down and think. He doesn’t have the next 5 years of life already plotted out and ticking off the to-do list towards whatever crazy goal that demands to push harder and wake up earlier and grind. Instead (despite giving himself set work hours), he’s allowing himself to reflect and make at a pace that leaves space for new ideas. And as soon as you see his unique style of work, no doubt, you might be a bit more convinced (like me) that there’s something to be said for a bit of slowness in our lives…

You’ve just walked into a new gallery exhibition, and immediately you start thinking about the artist who created these amazing works in front of you. You dream of working in the arts and what that would be like. But have you ever thought about all the other ways you could also work in the arts? To put on that one exhibit there is also a gallery, and thus, a gallery owner (not to mention gallery employees), there’s potentially a marketing company that helps the gallery spread the word on new features, there might be writers and art critics that write reviews, and there may have even been a curator pulling all of these various pieces and people together. So, when we really get to thinking about it, there are a lot of ways to make a living working in the arts. And, as you are about to hear from this week’s guest, perhaps, if your goal has been to make an impact - to raise awareness around important social issues - well… maybe making the art isn’t always the fastest or biggest or most direct way to make that impact…

Should I sell online? Or should I sell at in-person markets? Should I accept wholesale? Should I teach? These are just a handful of the myriad of questions we makers often ask ourselves when trying to figure out how the heck to get our small businesses off the ground. But it’s hard to know what the right choice is for yourself until you try many of these things. And when I say try, I don’t necessarily mean just throwing up a table at one in-person market, where it rains on one day of the weekend, or maybe the hosts of the market don’t do as much marketing beforehand and the turn out was bad, so now you’ve decided that in-person markets are crap and you’re never do one again… No, often times we have to try all of these different routes to supporting our craft a couple of times, or maybe, if you’re like today’s podcast guest… 22 times. That’s right, twenty two.

Pricing your art… It’s part math, part alchemy, and a whole lot of emotion. It should just be simple math, but somehow it's never that simple. On today's solo episode I dig into the differences between cost-based pricing and value-based pricing (and why the second one is so important specifically for artists). Of course, as is true with most things in life - The topic is a bit more complex than we would probably prefer.If you are looking for more support and help in navigating the complex questions we all have to answer in order to even try to make a living from the things we make, come check out the conversations happening inside of The Community - where makers from all over the world, newbies and makers a few decades into their career, are problem-solving together in order to figure out how the heck to take this shared dream of all of ours - to make a living from the things we make - from dream to reality. Learn more at: https://www.makersplaybook.com/community/

Most of us dream about quitting our full-time jobs in order to do what we love. In fact, that might just be why you are listening to this very podcast. But what if, instead of thinking of your full-time job as the thing holding you back from being creative, you approached it from the perspective of the thing that allows you to be creative. Maybe not necessarily while doing that job (although this week’s guest one could argue gets to do that too), but thanks to the reliability of that job - you get to make whatever you want to make. Whatever you are most curious about. Without worrying about whether or not you can sell it…

How many of us feel like we need to have every single detail figured out before we start something? I know I sure do. If this is your first podcast episode, you will soon figure out, I am awfully (obsessively) Type A for being a creative. And while at times that has served me really well in systematizing processes and being organized in order to use my time efficiently, at other times… it’s slowed me down. Analyzing every pro & con to every website platform out there for months and months before just simply starting the darn thing! Sound familiar? It can be scary to start, so I think (at least it’s true for me) we give ourselves a false feeling of security by analyzing things until their final breath, thinking we can solve every possible problem that might come up before we even start. When, in reality, you just have to start in order to figure it all out. At least, that was the case for this week’s podcast guest, Juliette Davin.Juliette is one of the founding members of our online membership, The Community - where makers from all over the world are joining together to have meaningful conversations around many of the questions that plague us all - Etsy vs. your own website, how to start an email list, managing Instagram without loosing your sanity, how to price your work, and so much more!