Welcome to Ceramics Tips

The Production Area:Shelves

One of the prime requirements on the workshop is plenty of shelf space for the tidy storage of all those little things like oxides, slip, slip trailers, notebooks, special tools, banding wheels, brushes, cones- the list goes forever. Nothing could be less efficient than having all these things lying around on the benches and having no place to put your potboards down.

Production Flow

Good Studio layout presents a rational flow from raw materials into freshly formed ware, to adequate drying space, sufficient glazing and firing facilities, and provides for the associated services of the business.

Promoting yourself

If you want your work to get the recognition it deserves, promotion and publicity need to become as important to you as making the work itself. Promoting yourself and producing publicity needs to be done on a regular basis, rather than being left until the last minute. It is also useful to take advice from other practitioners or arts organisations. You may be able to share their mailing lists and contacts and collaborate on joint publicity.

Leadership/decision making

How are you doing? Do you ever feel like the centipede that was told to put its best foot forward? When you´re having trouble making a decision, try these six preliminary questions. 1. What is my real objective? Why must I decide? 2. What is my deadline? When must I decide? 3. Can I break the decision down into smaller parts? 4. Will this decision be final? Or can I change my mind later? 5. What risks are involved? Are they worth it? 6. What new information do I need before I decide? Deciding to decide is often the hardest part. These six questions will help clarify your thoughts and actions so you can make the decision and take advantage of all the opportunities that come your way.

Time Utilisation

Pre-planning and awareness of the time-scales of those who can help you is the cornerstone to success. If your role is to raise money for the project as well as to publicise it once set up, you may need to allow as long as a year to promote a small to medium-scale project properly. Make a schedule of who you need to contact and when, so you don't miss an important deadline. If you are using publicity to raise awareness and funds for a project, make sure you know who you need to approach and how long each organisation will take to reach decisions about giving money.• To gain national publicity, you'll need to circulate colour and black and white images and information at least six months in advance for glossy magazines, quarterly journals and specialist periodicals or if you are seeking a ‘feature' on a TV arts programme.. For regional publicity, allow at least three months in advance to gain coverage in monthly publications and What's On guides. For local newspapers and radio, make an initial contact around a month in advance to get an editorial feature or interview. Listings can be left until ten days in advance.• If you pay for advertising, you may be more likely to get editorial coverage in the press.• It may be fruitful to go out and meet some of your ‘target' audience ‘face-to-face' to encourage involvement and support for your project; this could include visits to schools, business clubs, etc.

Size

Size
Size is another factor to consider when choosing your place. Small studios are usually about 600 square feet. Large studios are approximately 3000. Most are generally between 1500-2000 square feet. Your size should be based on the level of activity you plan to have at your location. Here are some questions to consider:
• How many kilns you will run?
• Where will your kilns vent?
• How many tables do you plan to put in the space and where will they be located?
• Is there enough space for bisque, finished ware, kiln shelves, stilts, posts, and other storage?
• Will you need an office?
• How much counter space you need?
• Where will your paint display and serving area be located?
• Will you offer food and beverages?
• Is your shop handicapped accessible?
• Will you plan to have activities or a room for small children who are not
painting?

Building contacts

If you regularly deal with publicity and promotion for visual arts projects, try to build up and keep up-to-date an annotated ‘contacts' list on index cards. Having a ‘named person' on a mailing list can save considerable time and energy when you start to follow up press releases, etc. If possible, put this mailing list onto a word processor which can print out sticky address labels and personalised letters for other promotions. If you store only names and addresses on a computer for your own personal use, you don't need to register under the Data Protection Act. When working with a host organisation on a project, be sure to liaise with the marketing/press/publicity staff over development of promotional material ir order to avoid confusion and duplication of material.

Ideas

Want to make some extra money? Talk to a florist in your area and see if you can supply him with pots for his plants or flowers. He has to buy them somewhere and it may as well be from you.

Why

Opening Your Ceramic Studio
So, you've been to a contemporary studio, spent some time painting, received your finished piece, and were so pleased with the experience that you're dreaming of
opening a studio of your own. This experience has been shared by many people nationwide. And although there are rewards to running your own business, sacrifices and hard work lie ahead. Yet, with the right preparation and a little determination, the sacrifices need not be so great, and the joy can be plentiful.

Clay Storage

Clay Storage
Ageing of clays improves its plasticity and you will need an area to store at least one month's supply of clay so that you can allow your clay stocks to age effectively. This area is ideally placed between the clay preparation area and the production area. The clay store is best if it is dark and damp as this encourages the development of the necessary souring bacteria. The clay must be kept from drying out.

Ceramic Business

If you are starting your ceramic business you need to take location, marketing, design and storage into consideration. You may have found a wonderful creative outlet but business is business so craft an intelligent plan and execute. Make sure if you are not a business person that you have good advisors on issues of money, management and publicity. Reap the benefits of your own business and your own product by starting a ceramic business.

Location

Location, Location, Location
Although this is a common phrase, prospective owners sometimes choose to ignore it or don't understand what it really means. In a nutshell – you have to open where the money is. Consider city populations and types. Several years ago, it was thought that a town with a population of at least 60,000 people could sustain a studio. In some cases, it could. Yet strong factors include a city's character, its affluence, and whether it is a college town, year-round or seasonal resort. Ask yourself the following:
• Have upper-income families moved to the town to make it their oasis from asphalt, traffic, and noise?
• Do other activities in which families participate, such as movies and shopping malls, exist in the area?
• Is another big city is within an hour's drive? The answers to all these play a part in determining the likely flow of traffic into your studio.

Research

Research
The most important questions to address when setting out to promote or publicise what you do are:
• who are you trying to attract?
what is the most effective way to do it?
There isn't a standard format for publicity and every situation needs individual attention.
You need to:
• Plan carefully and well in advance.
• Decide which groups you particularly want to attract – business people, schools, private collectors, tourists, etc – and direct the majority of your publicity at those ‘target groups'.
• Decide on your budget for publicity and examine each item for cost-effectiveness.
• Don't under-estimate the value of free publicity – which comes from sending press releases and good photographs to local, regional and national press and media or to the specialist visual arts, crafts and media magazines.
Although colour postcards are a relatively cheap way of publicising your work to a wide range of people, they are not generally suitable for reproduction in the art and craft press and need to be supplemented by sending transparencies or black and white photographs to key magazines.

Importance of Documentation

Documentation It is essential to document your work throughout the year as the visual description of your work forms the basis of all your publicity and promotion.

Packing your ceramics

1. Wrap the pieces individually in several layers of bubble wrap. 2. Get a box for each individual work, with a couple of inches space to spare all-round. Make sure the bases are already securely taped up. 3. Place a snugly fitting piece of Styrofoam on the bottom of the chosen box and lay a wrapped artwork on it. 4. Cut to size walls of one inch Styrofoam and insert them into the sides of the box. 5. Fill the empty spaces on the sides and on top with extra Styrofoam pellets, shredded paper or another filling material. Make sure all spaces are filled properly. 6. Place another piece of custom cut Styrofoam on top. 7. Close the lid on the box and tape it up securely. 8. Take this box and place it in another larger larger box, placing custom cut one inch Styrofoam pieces on the top, bottom and all sides, so you get a snug fit. 9. Place a sheet of paper with the name of the recipient and the sender (you) inside this box. 10. Tape up securely. 11. Label outside with with sender and recipient.

Interviews: Be honest and as candid as possible

Be honest and as candid as possible.
Tell the truth—even if your answer is “I don't know.” Refer the reporter to another expert, or Offer to get back to the reporter with information, and then follow up on your offer.

Web promotion

General promotion
Making sure your work is included on indexes, registers and multimedia databases is a valuable form of promotion. These are accessed by a wide range of people including commissioners, agents, curators, collectors and others with work opportunities on offer.
Increasingly, visual artists are looking to the Internet and to World Wide Web pages to promote their work. Although there are still issues to resolve as regards reproduction and copyright rights, the ability to make connections across the globe to new and very large audiences has proved for some artists a risk worth taking.

The Kiln Area

The Kiln Area
Locate the kiln as close as possible to the workshop. Have plenty of space to store kiln furniture and door bricks, and room to put pots when packing and unloading the kiln. Ventilation is of major importance in the kiln area, and an outside kiln is a good idea. The area should be free of rubbish. Fuel tanks, burners, flues and dampers should be readily accessible.