Pricing Work

I am not my customer

I can confidently say that pricing my work is one of my biggest struggles as the owner of a small pottery business. As a frugal artist, I am not my customer. Since day one I've had to constantly tell myself that my price-point is not for me. Yet, all the work I make and sell is derived from what I want/need in my home. To get over the fear of losing customers from high prices, I’ve had to rethink what affordability means to me and how that translates to others. Redefining my own notions of value, worth, time & effort is not easy but something I constantly need to grapple with.

After not raising my prices for several years, I finally bit the bullet last fall and a $48 cup became $52. I felt terrible about it. That might not seem like a big deal to some, but I agonized about it for months. For so long, I wanted to keep a cup under $50. It was really important to me and my small business that I keep a cup accessible, all the while knowing quite well that I cannot compete with a cheap mug from Crate & Barrel that's $14 or a cup from Target that's $7.

Making heirloom-quality work that is made with my own two hands adds value and worth and I know my process speaks for itself. I know I don't need to sell the idea of less is more, but it is the hope that anyone who buys my work gets a lot of use (and joy!) from my small-batch functional wares. My ceramics are made to last a lifetime, yet I still often feel bad that my cups and bowls cost what they do, in part because of my own issues around money.

I think like an artist. I run my business like an artist. That’s a huge strength, I know it is, but it can be limiting and unpopular in this grind of capitalism and entrepreneurship. My idea of keeping a cup under fifty bucks for so long eventually began to hold me back. So much so, that I stopped making some pieces that were “pricier” for fear that I would lose customers or waste my time by making work that wouldn’t sell. I know it’s not the most logical or biz savvy way of thinking, but the thoughts do find themselves in my brain.

I share my perspective because I want to be open about how my studio operates. Every year I tweak and adjust what gets made, why and for how much. There’s no correct way of doing it, every artist or craftsmen will have their own methods and I’m here to share how I go about it.

A lot of factors go into figuring out the retail number. It’s not simply cost of clay and the time it takes to make that piece on the wheel. When I price a pot, I am taking into account all the other expenses—like packing material, promotional collateral, website domain, firing costs, tools, studio upkeep, etc.

Time is intertwined with money so it’s hard not to mention here. People often ask: How long does it take to make a pot? The answer is never straightforward because soo many steps are involved, but I like to respond that it takes 4 weeks and 10 minutes. In reality, I can throw a cup on the wheel in 5 minutes, but it won’t be finished for another month since there are so many stages in pottery. Clay needs constant attention through all the various phases and transformation between raw material to vitrified stoneware.

Understanding your time is a big part of understanding the pricing and what to charge for a handmade item. In addition to the actual making, the time it takes to experiment, to fail, to promote, to update the website, to style, to photograph, to ship, and more goes into the equation. I wear all the hats, and enjoy doing so, but I can’t forget to account for it. When I start to think about everything that this little biz does, it’s overwhelming and often feels like I am undervaluing my work.

Experience and skill can’t be forgotten either! After selling work for almost 10 years, I’m still figuring it out. This monthly newsletter is here for transparency and I want to thank you for following along. If you’re a potter or maker, let me know how you price your work and what your struggles are below!

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The Evolution of the Double Bowl

Here’s the story of my Double Bowl and how it’s evolved in design, material and price.

New developments in the studio have me returning to an old favorite. After not making these for over 3 years, I’m bringing back my much-loved and bestseller: the Double Bowl in natural sand stoneware. The intention of the Double Bowl was to create a snacking bowl to house anything with a pit—like cherries, olives or dates, but its true beginning was a sculpture.

The first prototype wasn’t a bowl at all, but rather a sculptural cup. The idea came from experimentation—my art influences my pottery and vice versa. While playing in the studio in early 2016, I began attaching small, 1”-2” wheel-thrown clay shapes together. One piece in particular ended up looking like a cup that had a secondary little cup attached to its side. I was smitten with this odd shape and thought if I could tweak the proportions then I could have a “useful” bowl that encouraged a bit of play and imagination.

The more functional Double Bowl was born, and I began making these in small batches. They were a total hit and I made these for 4 years before I burned out on them. I couldn’t keep up with the popularity—they were so time-consuming to make that I didn’t have much room for other exploration. It’s wonderful to make something that so many people want, yet it felt like I was making them all the time, and still wasn’t making much money from them. Even if the demand was there, the design was beginning to feel dull to me.

Double Bowls // 2016-2022

Looking back, the main reason I stopped making this special bowl was because I thought I couldn’t make them affordable. Just a few years into self-employment, I was quite worried that if my work was priced too high, I would lose customers. In 2019, I was selling them for $78. I was losing money on them and they were a time-suck. (In the time it takes to make these, I can throw 6 cups, yet I wasn’t charging anywhere near the price of 6 cups for this bowl!) So instead of raising the price on them significantly, I just halted production. That’s not always the answer but at the time it was for me. Most people would probably say that was a mistake, but it allowed me to focus on other ideas and I’m ok with that.

A few years ago, I was selling work at a large craft fair in San Francisco. My sister had come to help me since it was an intense 3 days and doing it alone would be really hard. As I was busy with another customer, some well-dressed dude came up to my booth and was excited about my Double Bowl. He hadn’t seen anything like this before. He then asked my sister how much it was. She said “it’s $78”. He then proceeded to offer his unsolicited advice and said that “it was overpriced”. My sister quickly responded “This is handmade and it’s not overpriced! Do you know how long it takes to make something like this?” This is the kind of stuff that messes with my brain and I’m glad I wasn’t the one dealing with this rude passerby. I know it’s not overpriced, yet I want everyone to feel like they’re getting good value for my work.

Around the same time, I was looking into getting these made by someone else. The idea was off-putting at first, I was very much against it for years. (Again, my artist brain talking here.) But I was at a point where I thought I should give it a try. It took several months to get the prototyping and molds done and was really excited that this next step of outsourcing my Double Bowl could be the solution. Perhaps I didn’t have to stop offering the bowl altogether, but a new version needed to present itself.

So, in 2020, I began offering Double Bowls in porcelain that were slip-cast and made off-site in a small studio in Portland. They came in two sizes and were still technically handmade, just not by me. They were being fired at a different temperature so they had to be made in a different clay body that was new me. This was my first foray into having outside help—a big step for my business that required money up front. I felt thrilled, relieved and nervous all at the same time. Version 2.0 was still small-scale production and I could continue to offer the unique design but in a new material that felt fresh.

For years, so many have asked if I would ever bring back that first version, and for a long time I said I was done. But, never say never! By the end of 2022, I started having the desire to bring back my original stoneware design. My work is strongest when it focuses on ‘function meets play’ and that’s a big part of why I want to make these myself again. I’m listening to my instinct and I’ve started taking pre-orders for the next iteration. Version 3.0 will be sold for $110 and although it is priced too low for wholesale (that’s a completely other topic!) I feel good about this price.

Sometimes, a long break is what I need to find the mental energy to tackle an old design. As an artist, I need the balance of repetition with a mix of newness. I’m looking forward to making this design in-house again but will be tweaking the glaze recipe, because I want to push it forward in a slightly new direction. It’s all about evolving in the studio, learning from mistakes and trying new things. The progression of my Double Bowl is the perfect example of how I’ve slowly adapted while also staying in touch with what works for me. I’m certain this iteration won’t be the last.