Wheel Talk

Ryan welcomes back Curt Hammerly from Hammerly Ceramics near Denver, CO. They discuss how he’s managed a team through a quickly growing business, taking on big projects with staff, & introducing pre-orders and older designs into his workflow. Thanks to Curt for joining us again! ----- Find more about Curt’s business below----- Instagram - @hammerlyceramics Website - hammerlyceramics.com #50 -...

Ryan is joined by Meghan Yarnell & Tony Young as they make the 14 hour drive back from Kansas where they participated in a soda kiln building workshop taught by Kevin Kowalski. Thanks to Isaac & Karina Shue for graciously hosting us at their home/studio in Harper, Kansas for 4 days. It was a great experience and we talk all about what we expected going in, key takeaways, life as high schoo...

Ryan and Becca just celebrated their 4 year anniversary of hosting Wheel Talk on August 22nd. Each of their lives & businesses have shifted so much in the past 4 years! Thanks so much for listening whether you've been here since the beginning or recently found us, sending us questions, leaving reviews, & sharing with friends over the years. Cheers to the next four years! Upcoming Work...

Ryan & Becca are joined by Ashley Ball to discuss an interesting proposal related to trying out a new show to her with potential versus sticking with a tried and true show she's done multiple times. We cover the situation from many different angles to give the best recommendation: financial potential, distance, length of show, interest level to be at the show, customer potential, expenses...

Ryan & Becca welcome Tzipporah from Sipor Ceramics to discuss juggling life as a full time mother of four while making & teaching pottery on the side. She's currently pursuing a new journey into hosting virtual classes to help build community for potters feeling isolated in their studios and also those hoping to learn more about throwing specific forms you may not already have experie...

Ryan & Becca are joined by Caroline Clark to discuss finding your market when your local community may not respond to your work as well as you hoped. We experiment with a few ideas to see what may work for Caroline and hope you enjoy. Thanks to Caroline for joining us! Listener Questions On this episode: -  Do you have any recommendations for finding your people (ie customers) when your work i...

Ryan & Becca are back after a long time since their last Q&A all the way back in episode 155. They answer many of your questions related to business, studio practice, and a few random ones. Thanks to everyone who continues to send us questions on Instagram and by email! Listener Questions Send us questions so we can answer anything you've been thinking about on a future episode. Send...

Ryan was lucky enough to chat with Deanna Poelsma of Glazed & Confused Creations while they are out of town at the Berea Craft Festival. She shares a range of insights from working in arts council administration, show application processes, jury process, application photos for her ceramic jewelry, art show plans for the future, and more. Thanks to Deanna for sharing her time during an art show...

Ryan & Becca answer a listener question they've gotten a couple times recently related to clay conferences. They share their experiences at NCECA and other regional clay conferences, especially Clay Con West. Consider researching other clay conferences in your area to get to know more of your local clay people, learn a few things, get outside of your comfort zone a bit, & explore a ne...

Ryan & Becca dig into a listener question related to subscription clubs where you offer a new pot each quarter at one price, plus a tangent into mug clubs for breweries. We go into some incentives you may want to consider to get customers to purchase, how to make each quarter’s offering unique, and how to structure payment. Enjoy this new discussion topic for us! What would you do if... all th...

Ryan & Becca are joined by Cindy Chiupka-Jozin from Green Cabin Pottery in Northern Ontario, Canada for another live Q&A segment. Today, we answer a question related to how much work you should take to a show, whether it's a local one day show or you're traveling for a multi-day show. We hope you enjoy and thanks to Cindy for joining us! Listener Questions On this episode: - I wa...

Ryan & Becca try out their new live Q&A segment with Lynne Brander from Grit & Grace Pottery to talk about a new teaching opportunity in collaboration with a local small business. We think this discussion will give you some brainstorm ideas for teaching workshops on your own. Thanks to Lynne for joining us! Listener Questions On this episode: - I have a question about teaching. I have...

Ryan & Becca dive into a very new topic for the time: Chat GPT. We explain what it is, examples of how we could consider using it as small business owners who sell pottery, and what moral & ethical questions should be considered as it gets more mainstream. Let us know your thoughts about this new technology as it becomes more relevant these days. Resources https://www.brickyardnetwork.org/...

Ryan & Becca answer a listener questions related to all you studio techs out there. Aletha, one of our long time listeners and interview guests ( episode #147 ), has a question related to deciding when to make teachable moments when confronting glazing issues from students when you're in charge of loading & unloading the kilns as the studio tech. We cover it from a range of scenarios...

Ryan and Becca are excited to have Tim Kowalczyk from Tims Ceramics on to cover a range of topics and answer a couple listener questions. We chat about selling through galleries, testing new processes, being "academic" with how you talk about your work, taking yourself a little less seriously, artist statements, & applying to shows. We hope you enjoy the discussion and big thanks to...

Ryan shares a scary situation that happened to him recently before Ryan & Becca answer a few listener questions. On today's episode, the questions relate to trading with other artists, a sticky situation for a pottery teacher, and working with other artists on collaborations. Thanks for listening and enjoy! Listener Questions On this episode: - How do you approach other artists about trad...

Ryan and Becca are happy to have Hope Limyansky-Smith on the podcast to talk about a range of topics including: teaching in a high school setting, managing social media as an educator, production of her own work, analyzing Meta Verified, and plenty of laughs along the way. We thank Hope for her time and we anticipate you will enjoy the conversation as well. ----- Find more about Hope's busine...

Ryan & Becca compare the pros & cons of offering "free" shipping for your online shop. Becca prefers offering free shipping and Ryan prefers adding shipping charges at the end, making for an interesting debate. Let us know your thoughts and how you approach this question. Listener Questions On this episode: - When setting up your booth, is an outside L or inside L better for brin...

Ryan & Becca are trying out a shoot the sh!t episode just for fun. We cover family, paying taxes, online orders, plumbing issues, alternative firing methods, and fidget stones. Enjoy and let us know whether we should keep doing these or not. Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast Becca’s Patreon: https://patreon.com/superpotlady Follow u...

Ryan & Becca discuss a question that came in related to finding a consistent style, but having interest in experimenting with new designs. We cover the potential drawbacks & positives to introducing new designs, how to avoid surprising your customers, and the timeline you could consider as you experiment. We've both changed up our styles over time, some more drastic than others, but i...

Ryan & Becca answer a couple listener questions before getting into an in-depth discussion about pricing small items like Becca's fidget stones. Her fidget stones are a bit different because they require many hours of rock tumbling to smooth them, but doesn't require more effort for her necessarily. They also get into other factors that help you determine your price on an item and ho...

Ryan & Becca are joined by Erica, Ryan's studio assistant, to chat all about their experiences during NCECA 2023 in Cincinnati, OH. Thanks for all the great companies & folks we met and reconnected with during the entire week! It was such a great experience and we can't wait for next year! Catch us at Clay Con West 2024 in St. George, Utah in January as well. ----- Find more abou...

Ryan & Becca are joined by Lindsey & Donte, co-hosts of The Mud Peddlers Podcast, to discuss the topic of "Learning Through Collaboration" live at the NCECA 2023 clay conference hosted in Cincinnati, OH. We hope you enjoy the discussion as the four of us have varied perspectives on what collaboration means to us as makers, small business owners, friends, and individuals. Thanks t...

Ryan & Becca answer a couple listener questions specific to pricing your work depending on the medium you’re selling in & confidence in yourself. Topics include pricing to sell to a local restaurant or pricing at local shows. Your prices don’t have to be set in stone, so be open to changing them when you think it’s needed. Listener Questions On this episode: - Do you think the majority of...

Ryan and Becca welcome back Andrew from That's So Andrew to talk in depth about his stationary business, which is very focused on wholesale. We get into building a catalog, setting your terms, selling at big trade shows, benefits of selling on Faire, efficiencies in packing large orders, and tons more. Thanks to Andrew for joining us once again since his last chat with us back in 2020. Episod...