Tiny House Pottery

I was taking a closer look at Etsy.com tonight in amazement of how far marketing art has come in the last 15 years. It was about that time I was really starting to make a strong run at being a professional potter, doing crafts fairs, farmers’ markets and trying to figure out what to make. Ebay wasn’t even a household name and the web was just starting to become interesting.

Today there seem to be many online marketing opportunities for artists but I suspect it’s still very hard to carve out a living from art, especially under today’s economic dark cloud. But it does make me wonder where I’d be today had I had all the tools available now.

Not wishing this to be true, I’ve had a lot of great times these past 15 years. I’m just becoming reinvigorated to re-start making pots along side my writing, blogging, tiny house building, day job, and being a dad and husband. This plast piece is of course the most important thing I do. All the rest would have no meaning without them.

I used Google SketchUp, the free 3D drawing tool, to put together a quick illustration of what I imagine my future pottery studio looking like. I thought a picture would give you a better idea of what I’m thinking of building.

• Studio – The larger building on the left would be the main studio and would measure 12′ by 12′. I’ve worked in very small places before and although 12′ by 12′ seems small I know from past experience it would do nicely for the production level I could maintain.
• Showroom – The trailer tiny house in the foreground would fit inside a standard 10′ by 10′ crafts-fair booth. It’s a 6′ by 6′ tiny house on a trailer that mimics the main studio in proportions. I figure it needs to be small enough for the trailer tongue to fit inside the space and also provide a little walking space around the outside.
• Kiln Shed – In the background is the kiln shed, an 8′ by 8′ shed with a metal roof for a small gas kiln. I also have some ideas for a solar kiln but they are completely untested and probably a pipe dream so I’ll probably end up with a gas kiln.

I’ve also been thinking more and more about the type of pots I’d make. I’ll post those in a few days. I’ll also see if I can scrape together some old photos of my past studios and the post I made before the internet took off, and me with it. Stay tuned.

Update: I actually drew the plans for a similar market trailer and posted it on Tiny House Design. The plans are free and available under a creative commons licence.

A long time ago I was a potter and made a small living from making and selling porcelain tableware. I traveled to crafts fairs and farmers’ markets in my little loaded down Civic almost every weekend. I was a kid, idealistic, and not a very good business man.

Now that I’m older, a little wiser but still not a very good business man, I think it might still be a good idea to start making pots again someday. But things are different now with the web as a communication, marketing, and sales tool and I don’t think I’d ever attempt to make any one thing my sole source of income, especially a pottery business.

But I really miss making pots and my 15 year old pottery we still use around the house is starting to show a little wear and tear. Mostly I just know that deep down I’m really just a potter and would be very happy spending time at the wheel every day and taking my pots to market from time to time. Now… if I could only make that work financially… hmmmmm…

Tiny House + Pottery

My interest in tiny houses has been exploding this last year and the other night I remembered some crazy ideas I had about ways to display my pots at fairs. I imagined a small trailer with hinged doors that could be pulled into a crafts fair. It would serve as the transportation, storage, and display for my pottery. It would fit inside a 10′ by 10′ standard booth space and could be locked up and secured for a multi-day fair. At the time I had no money or the right vehicle to tow such a trailer, so I never acted on it.

But now imagine that tiny house trailer that is meant to display potter sitting at a crafts fair among the standard canopies. It would have hinged window openings with shelves and display shelves on the interior. People could walk all the way around the house and look at the pots displayed on the outside and they could step inside to see the rest of them. I personally think it would be quite a sight.

The Studio

The first pottery studio I built was 10′ by 16′ and seems to be very workable. Right now I’m imagining that I’d build another tiny house to serve as the studio. It would look almost exactly like the trailer except larger. I’d also build a small kiln shed in the exact same style. The three structures would become the brand for the pottery business while serving their very real function as studio and showroom.

Type of Pottery

I’ll make utilitarian hand-thrown high-fired (probably porcelain) pottery. I’ll glaze it white without any ornate decoration. The form of the pots will be the primary aesthetic. I’ll make things that are intended for daily use with a focus on eliminating the need for plastics in the kitchen. For example I’ll make small dishes with simple lids so leftovers can be put away in the containers from which they were served.

Cost

I’ll keep cost relatively low. I will not try to compete with mass produced products but I won’t price my pots so high that most people can’t afford them.

Timing

To be able to do all this I’ll need a bit more land that our suburban lot can provide. Julia and I have been day dreaming for some time about moving back to Mendocino County or at least finding a larger piece of property where ever it makes sense for us to raise Katie.

Once I had a place to build a tiny studio, I’d then need some time on a regular basis to make pots. I’m pretty certain we’re stuck where we are now for a couple of years but who knows what kind of break we’ll get. Everyday this dream and others gets closer.

This blog is the future home of the pottery business I just described. I’ll be posting more as ideas develop, like plans for the studio and drawings of the pots I plan to make. If you’re looking to see what I’m doing in the mean time take a look at my Tiny Free House, and Nine Tiny Feet. My most popular blog is Tiny House Design.