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Episode 322: Are You Spamming Your Email List? with Rebecca Ickes Carra

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.

Episode 321: Pursuing Creativity Slowly with Horacio Casillas

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…

Episode 320 : Making Connections with Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy

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…

Episode 319 : Figuring Out What Works for You with Andrew Linderman

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. 

Episode 318 : Values-Based Pricing with Me!

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.

Episode 317: How having a Full-time Job allows Cory Brown to be an Artist

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…

Episode 316 : Starting Before it’s Perfect with Juliette Davin

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. 

Episode 315: Slow Growth with Ricky Blanding

Today on the podcast, I’m discussing one of my favorite, most insightful, yet most difficult to stick to topics… growing slowly. If I could do it all over again, and go back 12 years in time, the one thing I would do differently would be to actually hold onto the work outside of starting my own business longer. I was in such a rush to feel the false legitimacy of being “full-time” that I missed out on the benefits (and support) that was possible when you weren’t only relying on your craft to pay the bills. This week’s podcast guest has strategic patience about growing his ceramics studio which is deeply refreshing. 

Episode 314: When Plans Change with Ben Carter

There are two very exciting things happening on the podcast this week! #1 - I’m excited to announce that for the first time since starting this podcast, we have a bit more support to help me get new episodes out into your headphones! For the next couple of months, the one and only Amaco is sponsoring the Maker’s Photography Styling System! And I couldn’t be more grateful & excited. #2 - This week’s interview with Ben Carter is actually Part 2! Part 1 can be found over on Ben’s show, Tales of a Red Clay Rambler. But you can really listen to them in whatever order you want, so don’t stress :) 

Episode 313: The Myth of Growth with Rebecca Ickes Carra

Why do you want to have 10,000 followers on Instagram? What will that do for you? Or rather… what do you think that will do? 
Today’s world is full of encouragements to grow - have more followers, make more content, do more, diversify income streams - do more and grow, grow, GROW! But have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “Why?” On this week’s episode, host Rebecca Ickes Carra sheds a bit of light on the Myth of Growth and how it might not solve the problems we think it will (it could in fact create more problems. Or at least create a deep feeling of burnout…). Encouraging us all to think critically, she also discusses the ways we can approach growth strategically in order to build the lives of our dreams.

Episode 312: On Reflective Learning with Tom Kemp

On today’s episode Tom Kemp manages to hold space for both a deeply philosophical conversation while at the same time providing pragmatic advice for all of us working to figure out how the heck to make a living from the things we make. I personally, have never connected much with the philosophy and the “what is art?” conversations that often spring up, but when married side-by-side with the realistic, and the pragmatic - the benefits of things like social media for artists to test out ideas in the marketplace alongside the difficult slog that is practicing a craft and teaching your body how to physically do something new in order to express that “what is art” idea?  Now that is a conversation I could have had last twice as long as this interview.

Episode 311: Choosing NOT to Grow with Becca Otis

Is the thing you are dreaming of doing actually going to provide you with the life you are dreaming of having? On today’s episode, I sit down with Becca Otis (yes, from Wheeltalk Podcast!) to dispel some of the myths behind a lot of goals us self-employed artists often set. Dream of owning your own studio & hosting classes, she’s done it. Dream of selling your work to make a living, she’s done it. Want to big name brands to contract you for elusive wholesale work? That’s how Becca actually started her business! And now… she’s intentionally working in someone else’s pottery business instead.

Episode 310: How a Big Goal Determines Everyday Decisions with Sam Lopez

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by all the things you think you are supposed to be doing as a maker in 2022? Post a reel every day to Instagram! Don’t use Etsy, build your own website! Raise your prices!! The world can often feel like it’s constantly yelling at us to change something, fix something, do something more, and more and more… And if you are anything like me, that ever-growing to-do list is impossible. There isn’t enough time in the day or resources available to accomplish all the world yells at me to do.

Episode 309: Organic Growth on Instagram in 2022 with Jackie Wright

Today’s guest has grown her Instagram from a few hundred to over 32 thousand (at the time I’m writing this) in about a year and a half. That’s right. Jackie Wright started intentionally using Instagram for her ceramics at the start of 2021. No paid ads, no clever tricks or outsourced marketing assistance. Oh, and she’s not a full-time potter either. She’s side-hustling. So if she can do it… well, I think you and I can do it too, can’t we?

Episode 308: Following your own inspiration with Kate Schroeder

What if you stopped making the kind of work you don’t actually like to make and decided to only make the "random" thing that really interests you? And what if doing that actually brought you more sales and more people interested in your work than you could have ever imagined?

That very thing is happening for Kate Schroeder and her Shelfies and on this episode, we get to hear all about the long road that led her to today's successes.

Episode 307: Repetitive Practice as the Key to Success with Rich Brown

For most everyone I’ve spoken with in the last year and a half of the podcast, one thing has been true - As soon as they touched clay, they were hooked. It was like a siren call, an addiction, where their whole life they began to rearrange in order to figure out how to carve out more time to have their hands in the mud. That mesmerizing experience that is true for so many of us, often has us jump straight from our first class at the local community studio to “how do I sell this so that I can quit my job?” in the span of just a few months. But what does it actually take to quit your job and go full-time in pottery? What SKILLS do you need in order to actually be able to make a living from the things you make? Are there certain goals you need to hit to make this thing viable? Today’s guest sheds a bit of light on his experience with these very questions.

Episode 306: Falling into a Life of Ceramics with John Britt

When you see a super well know potter's name somewhere - on the cover of a book, on a list of speakers at a conference, or anywhere else - do you ever wonder how they got there? Did they always know they wanted to do this? Or was their path a bit more windy (perhaps like yours and mine)? Have they reached this particular level of success because of a clearly laid out plan, or was it really most luck and timing? Well my friends, one of those names that pop up in my head as more of a name on a book rather than the person themselves is John Britt and on today's episode, you just might be surprised how he came to have his name on the cover of that book that’s probably on your shelf right now…

Episode 305: A Virtual Home for Makers with Rebecca Ickes Carra

On today’s solo episode, I’m sharing why I’ve spent the last 4 months building a virtual home for makers - The Community by the Maker’s Playbook - and a few of the things that make this online space particularly special to me. I know without a doubt that I would not have the business I have today without the support of a community of colleagues. 

Episode 304: Building a Communal Space with Kenny Sing of Turn Studio

Kenny Sing of Turn Studio & I chat this week about how his Instagram originally started out simply as a place to share the processes he was testing out, without the intention of reaching 83,000++ followers. We also dig into his passion for teaching and why he's building his community studio space (plus how building a studio actually works and all the hard cost realities of doing that).

Episode 303: Making Space for Our Personal Lives as a Full-time Maker with Lucy Fagella

On this week’s episode, I virtually sit down with Lucy Fagella to discuss how she’s shifted her business over the course of the last 20+ years as a full-time studio potter. We chat about the realities of parenting and being a full-time maker as well as how to make sure you are taking care of your body amidst the physical demands of ceramics. Lucy has navigated the big shift from predominantly cash-based in-person market sales to credit card processing and online shops (and as may come as a shock to some, would rather spend a day packing up boxes & shipping labels than loading a car and driving to a show).

Episode 302: Committing to a Goal and Sticking to it with Delvin Goode

Have you ever talked yourself out of going after a goal because the logistics just felt impossible? Like pursuing a master’s degree when you can’t attend a school in person? Or setting up a home studio space when you work in a job that forces you to move locations every couple of years? Pretty difficult right? But not impossible. Or at least, you can’t use that excuse any more, because today’s guest on the podcast, Del of D Goode Art has managed to work with all of those logistical limitations while also creating some incredibly iconic work.

Episode 301: A Lifelong Pursuit of Learning with Adam Field

We are back! Season 3 of the Maker’s Playbook podcast kicks off with Adam Field! In this episode, Adam and I dig into how he managed to say yes to a multi-year residency program at the Archie Bray with 2 kiddos in tow, how he integrates social media into his studio practice, and the vulnerability it took to walk away from a consistent 6-figure sales-generating partnership with the Four Seasons when the style of his work needed to change. This is a conversation I know I personally will be returning to frequently.

Episode 217 - The Social Responsibility of Businesses (and different business models to pursue)

It’s taken me longer than expected to finish writing this episode. But I suppose that should come as no surprise given the constant influx of world news being thrown at us. At times like this, just like in 2020 and so many other moments of social awakening in the last few years, our work as artists can feel disconnected with the immediate needs of the world. On this week’s solo episode, I’m peeling back the curtain on how I process that for myself. Alongside my originally planned episode of discussing a few of the various business models you can choose in order to create a business that serves your life and not the other way around. 

Episode 216 - Building and Growing Our Communities with Phi Le of Illuminated Clay

Do you think of the word “business” as a dirty word? Does the idea of starting a business seem like the last thing that might bring about the change we so desperately need in the world? Could a business possibly do as much good for our communities as a non-profit organization? Well, this week’s podcast guest is building a business on their terms. And it’s one creating quite an impact.

Episode 215 - On Burnout and the Search for Balance Nicole Dacey

Burnout - If it wasn’t a word in your vocabulary before 2020, it probably is now. It’s a topic talked about a lot in the land of the self-employed and generally, the tactics for avoiding it are always given by someone who’s just recently, slowly, crawling out of it. But don’t worry - Nicole Dacey and I aren’t going to give you any of those tactics you’ve heard a million times. No, instead, we settled in for a simple, candid, straightforward conversation about the twists and turns your career can take and the many ways burnout can show up even when you are doing things you love. 

Episode 214 - Having a Non-Negotiable with Mike Tavares

What if you set up your life around one non-negotiable? How would that inform the decisions you make every day? How would that change your day-to-day schedule - where you live, what you choose to do for work (if it’s outside of the non-negotiable), how you commute… all of it. Maybe it’s a radical idea, but when I heard today’s podcast guest, Mike Tavares, describe this decision it was a big lightbulb moment. 

Episode 213 - Taking Big Risks with Leila of Tierra Madera Ceramics

What’s the through-line for everyone thinking about going full-time with their art? Or even for those who are already full-time and self-employed? No matter what, aside from a slightly obsessive passion for our craft the big elephant in the room for us all is Risk. And today’s podcast guest stared risk in the face and said yes anyway.

Episode 212 - Growing as an Artist through Community Support with the Village Potters

Our first ever panel is on the podcast this week! I’m chatting with not one, but two of the founding members of the Village Potters Clay Center in Asheville, North Carolina - a brilliant community studio that clearly has cracked the code on not only helping potters and artists push themselves creatively but also in creating sustainable partnerships and viable businesses.

Episode 211 -The Importance of a Consistent Photography Style

Today, my photography tips come directly from a recent email conversation I was having with another maker about how things “should” look on Instagram. As in, do all of your photos have to have the same colors so the feed looks cohesive? Do you need to have a pattern to your posts? At the heart of all of these questions about the look of photos and the flow of a feed on Instagram to me was one thing: Your Style. Because the specifics of whether or not you have a pattern or whether or not it’s all one color, are less important than making sure everything feels cohesive together.

Episode 210 - Creating an Efficient Photography System

Photography can be overwhelming if you don’t have an efficient system for it. But it is possible to have an efficient system for it! And if you don’t believe on that - because you’ve been totally exhausted and frustrated by the google search results so far... Well, I’ve asked a few past students to share their experiences on the podcast.

Episode 209 - Being a Business Owner with Curt Hammerly

Have you ever thought, "If I only had a larger Instagram following then..." But have you thought about what it would really take to do that? How many hours it would take to create the content to grow that audience? There's no one that knows that reality much better than the one and only Curt Hammerly of Hammerly Ceramics.

Episode 208 - The Perks of Disparate Life Experiences with Kisha Reed of Peaks Candles

Our final new interview episode before a little holiday and end-of-year break is an insightful one. So often all of us can feel like we're behind... As if we could be so much farther along with our making practices or small business had we only known 10 years ago that this is what we were going to want to do. But what if all those disparate life experiences are actually creating the precise set of skills you might need in the future to in fact launch your business?

Episode 207: Crafting a Life that Works for You with Bryan Hopkins

I've heard it said more than once by makers of many kinds: Being a self-employed artist isn't a job you turn off. It's more a way of life. There are certain choices we can make that can make life more stressful or more in tune with the kind of business (and making practice!) we want to have.  

Episode 206: Why Your Sales Results have Nothing to do with the Value of Your Work

It's the holiday season and makers around the world are hustling to get their listings online and take advantage of increased sales during this time of year. But what if your sales aren't going as planned? What if you haven't sold as much as you'd hoped? What if you haven't sold ANYTHING? What does it all mean?

Episode 205: Succeeding by Specializing with Matt Katz

Is there a singular aspect of your craft that you love above every other step of the process? For the ceramicists that are listening, there are SO many steps to our process! Making clay, building or throwing, trimming, glazing, firing... And there are seemingly endless options within any given one of those steps.

How are we supposed to become proficient in all of these things?!

Episode 204 - Building a Commissions-Based Business with David T Kim

This week I chat with David T Kim, an independent, full-time ceramicist, living and working in Chicago, focused predominately on creating custom work for some of the greatest restaurants the city has to offer.

Episode 203 - with Rosa Wiland Holmes

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Well, if I had that many followers, then I could sell more and quit my full-time job”?Getting more followers is the solution to all my small business dreams!"

Or perhaps, you've been watching a bit of TV and thought, “Well, if I was on the Great Pottery Throw Down, I could quickly increase my audience size, sell loads of pots, quit my full-time job and all of life's problems would be solved!"

Episode 201 - How to Sustain going Full-time with Sunshine Cobb

Season 2 is here! We are kicking things off with the one and only Sunshine Cobb.

Sunshine and I dig right into it from the beginning. From sharing, oversharing, and the importance of boundaries as makers and educators, to diversifying income streams, to deciding what you are willing to give up to make these crazy full-time artist lives of ours work. We talk about moving cross country, the importance of mental health, self-care, and how to sustain your art practice for the long run. This intro barely grazes the surface. There is A LOT in this episode!