Hello Accy Webbers - here's my first Blog attempt. Well, my second really. My first go disappeared into the ether as I was trying to upload some photos to go with it 
Hopefully I'll have more luck this time.
As some of you may know, I'm a semi-retired potter. After 10 years in business, I left my rented studio in August. Sales were down, and the rent kept going up. It just didn't make sense any longer. So I gave away my kiln, my slab roller and most of my equipment to another potter. Good karma, I know, but still I shed a tear or two - the end of an era.
I did keep my wheel, but dismantled it and stashed it in my garage. There's no chance of working from home, (too small, and hubby's pride and joy takes up the garage) so I resigned myself to joining the local Potter's Guild and becoming a hobby potter again.
Trouble was, they didn't welcome me with open arms like I thought they might. They're short on room, and were worried that I might make too many pots. As if! So I was rootless for a bit, until a kind soul offered to let me share her home studio. Turns out she lives in my town, had built a sunroom on the back of her house to house a studio for herself, then never used it. It had filled up with junk (sorry, things) and would need some organizing. But it looked great! She also had a potter's wheel and two kilns for me to use. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Happily I moved in, and set about making a few pots here and there, just to pay for my clay, and recompense my friend for the use of her electricity etc. So far it's working out really well.
I was determined to refuse any orders, and just make a few pots as I felt like it. But then came the email from Langdon Hall - a fancy shmantcy hotel and spa about an hour's drive away. I'd done work for them before, mainly dishes for their breakfast buffet table, biggish quantities, and they only contact me every couple of years. As I hadn't heard from them in some time, I didn't bother to let them know I was out of business. Then, just three weeks after I divested myself of my equipment, in came an email requesting 40 cereal bowls and saucers as soon as I could make them. Not a huge order, but respectable. I dithered a bit, wanting to say yes (the $ would come in handy) but not sure if my new digs would work out. Heck, I hadn't even fired the kilns yet in my friend's garden shed. I did accept the order, and I'm happy to say all worked out well. A few prayers to the kiln gods (the ONLY gods I'll pray to) must have helped. Here are a few pics....
Hopefully I'll have more luck this time.As some of you may know, I'm a semi-retired potter. After 10 years in business, I left my rented studio in August. Sales were down, and the rent kept going up. It just didn't make sense any longer. So I gave away my kiln, my slab roller and most of my equipment to another potter. Good karma, I know, but still I shed a tear or two - the end of an era.
I did keep my wheel, but dismantled it and stashed it in my garage. There's no chance of working from home, (too small, and hubby's pride and joy takes up the garage) so I resigned myself to joining the local Potter's Guild and becoming a hobby potter again.
Trouble was, they didn't welcome me with open arms like I thought they might. They're short on room, and were worried that I might make too many pots. As if! So I was rootless for a bit, until a kind soul offered to let me share her home studio. Turns out she lives in my town, had built a sunroom on the back of her house to house a studio for herself, then never used it. It had filled up with junk (sorry, things) and would need some organizing. But it looked great! She also had a potter's wheel and two kilns for me to use. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Happily I moved in, and set about making a few pots here and there, just to pay for my clay, and recompense my friend for the use of her electricity etc. So far it's working out really well.
I was determined to refuse any orders, and just make a few pots as I felt like it. But then came the email from Langdon Hall - a fancy shmantcy hotel and spa about an hour's drive away. I'd done work for them before, mainly dishes for their breakfast buffet table, biggish quantities, and they only contact me every couple of years. As I hadn't heard from them in some time, I didn't bother to let them know I was out of business. Then, just three weeks after I divested myself of my equipment, in came an email requesting 40 cereal bowls and saucers as soon as I could make them. Not a huge order, but respectable. I dithered a bit, wanting to say yes (the $ would come in handy) but not sure if my new digs would work out. Heck, I hadn't even fired the kilns yet in my friend's garden shed. I did accept the order, and I'm happy to say all worked out well. A few prayers to the kiln gods (the ONLY gods I'll pray to) must have helped. Here are a few pics....