Wheel Talk

Ryan and Becca share some thoughts about how to prepare your small business with the threat of uncertainty in the economy. Some folks have already been experiencing some of the uncertainty over the past couple of years with supply chain limitations and economic stressors. We hope this gets you thinking ahead to keep your business in a good spot in case of an economic downturn that's outside o...

Ryan and Becca answer a question about owning and managing a business as someone with ADHD or anxiety. We hope this conversation is relatable for a number of our listeners who run their own business or are thinking about it. Thanks for the question @alexa.michelle.pottery ! Resources Giffin Grip Mini @thatssoandrew_ Context Switching Listener Questions On this episode: - What are your thoughts on...

Ryan and Becca sit down with Liz Cohen from Liz Cohen Ceramics to chat about building a new home studio as a full time studio potter. They discuss a number of topics today, from transitioning to full time pottery, learning slipcasting, managing wholesale orders, finding & managing a studio assistant, body care in the studio, and plenty more. Thanks for joining us Liz! ----- Find more about Liz...

Ryan and Becca answer a number of listener questions related to studio practice. Some topics include renting studio space, vitrification, warping, loading kilns, refiring pieces, sanding pots, manual kilns, and plenty more. Some answers are quick, some longer, and plenty of fun discussion as always. Enjoy and thanks to everyone who sent us a question! Resources For Flux Sake Podcast DiamondCore To...

Ryan and Becca answer a question from @aleathabean about how to handle online updates from a seller's perspective. There are lots of tasks to do in preparation for an online update so having a good plan of attack is key. Ryan and Becca approach it differently so we have some options for you to spark some ideas from our discussion today. They each had a minor update and share some insights fro...

Ryan is joined by Curt Hammerly from Hammerly Ceramics to talk all about Instagram today. They discuss collaborations, the algorithm, Instagram stats, getting paid for Instagram Reels, and managing social media as a small business owner. Let us know if you enjoyed the topic and would like to hear more focused discussions like this with guests. If you missed our last discussion with Curt, check out...

Ryan and Becca expected this to be a quick episode talking all about slips vs underglazes. Before they get to shop talk, there’s plenty of movie talk and ample digressions along the way. We hope you enjoy our antics on this one. Artists mentioned in this episode: Jason Burnett - @jasonbburnett , Graphic Clay book Catie Miller - @catiemillerceramics Tim Kowalczyk - @timsceramics Amy Brummond - @pin...

Ryan and Becca jump into a topic for those out there wondering when they should consider selling, especially beginner potters. We both took a long time to start selling our work on a regular basis, but that's not the same timeline for everyone. Testing your work for food safety is the most important consideration to make sure you are putting out quality pieces for the public. Listen to our pa...

Ryan presented recently at Clay Con West, an up & coming clay conference hosted in St. George, Utah, and shared some ways you can diversify your pottery business income. He sells through many different avenues and talks about quite a few of them today. Slides also accompany this presentation if you'd like to follow along, which can be found on Ryan's website at the link below. We&apo...

Ryan and Becca look ahead to their personal and business goals for 2022, even though we're more than a month into the year already. They share specific sales numbers for the year ahead as well. We hope you're setting your own goals, prioritizing what's most important to you, and incorporating clay into your plans somehow. Enjoy and here's to a great year! What would you do if.....

Ryan and Becca talk about a recent post Becca shared on Instagram about giveaways that’s sparked some discussion so we decided it would be a good topic to cover here. Isaac Shue joins us for part of the episode as well to throw out some ideas while Becca’s visiting him this week. We also just realized how amazing gift cards can be for the business. We hope our discussion spark some thoughts in you...

Becca and Ryan spent a weekend recently at Clay Con West, an up & coming clay conference hosted in St. George, Utah, and share some insights about their background, process, their relationship, and growth of the podcast over time. There are many call outs about past episodes numbers where we discuss pricing, sharing your work on Instagram, glazing, and some of our guests we interview. They ans...

Ryan and Becca answer some listener questions about selling at art shows and business branding. It's a batch of related questions that we continue getting from our listeners, which we love getting a chance to chat about on a regular basis. Thanks for listening! Resources: Episode #86 - Art show Q&A (pt 1) Episode #87 - Art show Q&A (pt 2) Listener Questions Send us questions so we can...

Ryan & Becca share a couple stories outside of their worlds of clay to start off today's episode. They then dig into their 2021 goals and results, with real numbers! We like to share these intimate details with you for a number of reasons that can be helpful for our peers including: 1) what goals we set for our businesses 2) what sales numbers we hit & did not 4) ongoing mental stress...

Ryan & Becca are back for another question and answer episode covering a range of topics from a new game Becca got recently. We also get into a longer topic at the end (around the 1 hr 45 min mark) for an idea Ryan has been thinking about to help build some inventory this winter & teaching some of his process to other aspiring potters. Thanks to everyone who continues to send us questions...

Ryan & Becca discuss some of the difference between approaching your small business with an artist versus entrepreneur mindset. We also discover a new term that we love: "solopreneur." We have some hard truths discussed on today's episode that can help you look at your business in a slightly different way, how you spend your time making, and some considerations as you move into...

Ryan & Rachel are being interviewed by Becca today! They chat about being a spouse/partner to someone running a small business, transitioning to becoming a full time potter, and how the business affects their relationship. It’s a little different of an episode than normal, but was fun to chat just like we would if we’re hanging out off the microphone. Listener Questions Send us questions so we...

Ryan & Becca answer loads of listener questions related to finishing techniques, attention to your pot bottoms, tool care, bat preferences, and other studio process topics. We always appreciate you all continually sending us questions. Enjoy! What would you do if... you met your favorite potter in the wild? Listener Questions On this episode: Thanks to @jdtceramics , @nuttermudder , @goodwheel...

Ryan & Becca answer lots of questions from our buddy Andrew Linderman ( @lindermanpottery ) about scouting a new studio space and effectively moving from your current studio. There are many considerations when looking at potential studio spaces: square footage, flooring, ease of moving in and out of the studio, lighting, water access, electrical access, and equipment placement. There are plent...

Ryan & Becca start off with some Thanksgiving talk: favorite sides, desserts, and whether turkey is overrated.  They answer some listener questions before diving into Becca's most recent Fancy cup update (aka "cupdate").  Each of them have their own ways of preparing an update and deciding how they went afterwards. Becca also got a new studio addition in a recent trade. We hope...

Ryan & Becca have a good conversation with Trevor Daugherty, a nearby ceramic artist working out of his home studio in Goshen, Indiana. Trevor shares some great experiences participating in the Michiana Pottery Tour, atmospheric firing process, transitioning to becoming a full time potter, why Mystery Boxes are the best, different ways to sell his work, and how he markets his work to customers...

Ryan & Becca recap Becca's experience at her latest holiday show in Indianapolis. It was her first show in quite some time and wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but has some good insights about it all. There are some great customer stories, long days, and no shortage of funny moments. We're so happy to share it all with you. Becca's FANCY 'cupdate' starts at  12...

Ryan & Becca answer some listener questions regarding vitrification, cold weather impact on your studio materials, & a number of them related to loading your kiln. They go into lots of specifics about their own kiln loading and firings. Stick around long enough to hear a good bickering session about kiln logging. Resources https://digitalfire.com/glossary/vitrification Listener Questions O...

Ryan & Becca are joined today by a great friend in clay, Amy Brummond from Pine Zen Pottery. Amy shares lots of stories about her handbuilding process, body longevity in the studio, refining her business skills over time, building her Instagram, and learning the clay process on your own. Head over to her account if you haven't seen her work yet. We had such a good time with Amy and hope y...

We have a special episode today from Becca's time at the Indiana Clay Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Becca was joined by Rebecca Graves Prowse (Gravesco Pottery) and Josh Heim (JH Pottery Works) on a panel discussion titled "Successful Art Business Practices in Indiana," moderated by Justin Rothshank. Enjoy this candid discussion among a few of our best friends in clay. Makers...