Taking Pause to reflect and Celebrate 2023 things
I made a recap reel on Instagram to celebrate and acknowledge all the things that happened in 2023, but I wanted to go a little deeper here, and highlight some things: both good and not-so-good that happened last year. Honestly, 2023 was a pretty great year for me, and for some reason I feel guilty about saying things are good, when I know that’s not the case for everyone, but I have also had years where I have really struggled, so please know I am not just sunshine and roses all the time.
2023 was the first year I was a full time artist for the entire year. I quit my last freelance client in April of 2022, and experimented to find my audience and a production plan that worked for me (if you’re curious the 2022 recap is here). Then I implemented more of what worked in 2023, alternating between shop updates and pre-orders and it was a pretty successful model for my small business. I’m excited to do more of that this year and figure out what will translate well to a new EU market as we prepare to move to Portugal this summer.
Mariana and I at our show opening in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal. March 2023.
I got to spend almost two full months in Portugal last February and March working with Mariana in her studio. We created a collaborative body of work together, had a gallery show with over 200 guests in attendance, were interviewed and featured in the local paper, and I made a solo body of work that I then shared with my small (but hopefully growing) EU and UK audiences. I was fortunate enough to ship my art to new collectors in Spain, France, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, and beyond. It was a litmus test of sorts, to see if my work had an audience in the EU, and try to figure out cost effective shipping options there ahead of our move.
My Instagram page in February 2023, just before my first viral reel.
My Instagram audience grew like crazy last year, having started over at zero in 2022, I had about 5,000 eyes on my art in the beginning of 2023. I invested time and energy researching Instagram, trying to engage with the nice people that had been supporting me, and figuring out how to take better photos and videos of my work to share. I had a few reels go viral over the year, and I closed out 2023 with 27,000 people following along on my art journey! To be clear, “follower count” is not something that’s hugely important, but attracting people who connect with my art and would like to own some of it is. And oh boy, have I gotten so many messages from lovely people all over who would like to have some of my art— even more than I can possibly keep up with!
I’ve been strength training with a pro for a few years now, to help in my studio practice, and to help with rotator cuff and meniscus issues. Unfortunately the “hip thing” has forced me to slow way down in the gym.
Part of my trouble with keeping up with demand has been a chronic pain in my low back and hip. This began at the end of 2022, and by April 2023 got to a place that was debilitating for a few weeks. There were several weeks that it was so painful, nothing helped. I have seen several doctors, had x rays and MRI’s and physical therapy, and a variety of speculated diagnosis (pulled labrum, torn labrum, arthritis in my hip, lumbar spine issues, and most recently SI joint issue), with no actual diagnosis, resolution, or course of treatment to alleviate the pain. (I’ll spare you the details on how hard it is to schedule appointments, how long it all takes, and how costly it’s been, plus fighting with my insurance to cover things). Not sharing this seeking sympathy, but to note- what are the things that aggravate this hip thing the most? Throwing pots, and lifting weights. Two of my favorite things. It’s really hindered my production capacity over the last year, and I am hoping to get it sorted out this year, as I have switched doctors and will have a second opinion next week.
Plant Shelfie Bookends in various stages of completion.
Last year I found ways to power through and keep working, I had hired an assistant to help out with the holiday push in 2022, and she was so wonderful we extended it to be a regular thing in 2023. She really helped me keep the studio clean, and did a lot of the smaller tasks so I could focus on throwing and finish work. I thought things were going really well, but in April she pointed out that she found me to be too negative and didn’t want to work with me anymore. (This is a very oversimplified explanation) Admittedly I didn’t handle this information as well as I could have, I felt blindsided and surprised and things ended in a way I regret, but it did give me pause. I realized that despite having managed people in my corporate job for years, I was rusty on being a “boss” especially in my own small business. The whole experience really shook me for several months. Even now, I’m still feeling badly about it all, but it’s an experience I’m trying to learn and grow from. I’ve had a few people help in the studio the rest of the year, but I think I’ve finally met my studio assistant match! She’s smart, curious and has a great attention to detail, and I look forward to the days she’s in the studio with me and hope we can grow together this year.
Just before my first assistant quit, I took a pretty hefty pre-order thinking I had help to knock it out in the 8 week window I promised, but between not having the help I thought, the hip thing, and a broken kiln, I got very behind. This became sort of a theme for all of my pre-orders last year. I shipped things a few weeks late in May, and began working on testing slip casting and molds to help expedite my process (if you’re not a clay person, you may not know that this is a totally different skill set, that was not something I had lots of experience with). I made a mold from one of my pots, and tested a few monstera leaf attachments, and it seemed to work! So I posted a pre-order when I had about 8 pots made (but not fired), thinking I was ahead of the game this time. Only, the clay body I used for the molds … well let’s just say it didn’t work. As they dried, the attached leaves literally pulled away from the body of the pots and cracked the pots all the way through. Right about this time, I also got COVID for the first time, and I was super sick for 2 weeks. When I got upright again I had to start over, throwing the forms and attaching the leaves. So this was another pre-order where I got stupidly behind.
Mariana visited for 5 weeks, overlapping with this broken Monstera planter debacle and bout with COVID. We made a big body of collaborative work together- a continuance of our Com Fusion (With Fusion) Collection. We had a wonderful time sharing techniques and tools and ideas. We also did some planning for the ceramics community center we plan to open in Portugal this year, and prior to her arrival we did a raffle for a few of the collaborative pieces we had made earlier in the year, to help fund her travel to Portland for our collaboration. Y’all really helped get her here, and that was such an amazing display of community minded support. We really were overwhelmed and inspired by your interest and kindness.
In September, I also had another Instagram reel featuring my Plant Shelfie Bookends go viral. As exciting as it is to be able to reach so many people, it’s sort of been a blessing and a curse, because I started to see other people making bookends that looked just like mine. Lots of people were sharing the reel (yay), and some of them were straight up tagging other artists and asking them to make the bookends for them. I have some complicated, conflicting feelings about this. As an artist, it’s so hard to create something new and original. I suspect I am not the first person to create planter bookends, but when I started prototyping them in 2021 I did extensive searches online to see what was out there already. All I saw were some clunky little concrete bookends made for succulents, and I worked hard to create something different. I’m thrilled to inspire other artists, but it’s been hard for me to see so many people trying to make planter bookends that look exactly like what I have been working on for a few years now. I can’t control it or stop it, and I certainly can’t make enough for all the people who want them, but it’s still been challenging for me to get to a good place with it mentally. I want to open a community center and collaborate with people, so I’ve been trying to reframe my thinking on the whole concept of copying. In the end, I decided that I would just need to keep switching up my designs to stay ahead of the rest and keep it fresh. And my new curvy Plant Shelfie Bookends were created! (Plus I have more new designs in the works)
Plates and Bowls from the October drop (most are still sitting in my studio).
The last quarter of the year was a bit of a blur, making and shipping work. All the grumblings about a down economy, and conversations with other artists talking about slow or no sales, made me very nervous going into October. And my October drop was kind of a bust. To be fair I made mostly plates and platters and introduced my new Gatsby pots- maybe the work was too different than what was expected from my collectors, but it was clear nobody wants me to make dish ware! Ha! (those plates are still posted on super sale btw). Gatsby had a better reception, thankfully, but I was nervous about November and December.
Thankfully, my November pre-order and December shop updates exceeded my expectations! When I post pre-orders, I set a limit on the quantities that can be purchased before they are sold out, and had planned to offer small quantities of Plant Shelfie Bookends, Monstera Planters, and Pole Dancing Planters. Capping each at a quantity of 10, 8 and 8 respectively, for a total of 26 pieces. The bookends blew out immediately and nobody was shopping the other items, so I turned the inventory control off on the bookends and went to the gym, thinking I would just adjust the inventory on the other pots and still cap total orders at 26 pieces. When I came out of the gym 45 minutes later, 42 pieces had sold! Oops. A great problem to have, but a problem for hitting the self-imposed deadline I had promised. And of course I was sick again twice between October and November, and then our plans for our Portugal move went sideways, when Portugal announced changes to the immigration process and tax breaks for immigrants in November. We had to shift gears and get visa applications in before December 31st. There’s a whole blog about that if you’re interested.
So yeah, 2023 was great for growing my business, but it was not easy. I learned a ton, and realized I still have so much to learn and room to grow as a mentor, boss, and human. I learned pre-orders are great, but it’s better to start with longer lead times, because something ALWAYS happens to derail me. I’m trying to do better.
A few photos of the ceramic tiles and architecture in Portugal.
In 2024, we’ll be (hopefully) moving to Portugal, opening the ceramics community center there with Mariana, AND I’m working on some ways to be able keep offering some of my work here in the US when we move, and to be able to come back for a few months a year to keep working here too. Also on the horizon: collaborating with artists whose work I admire, fundraising for the community center, hosting ceramic artists in Portugal and so much more. I’m excited to share more, as things develop, but we’re sort of in immigration limbo at the moment and it makes it very hard to plan anything. Thanks for being here, and for your patience with me if you’ve purchased work and had to waiter longer than expected, or if you’re hoping to grab bookends or something else- thanks for your patience as I figure that out too. I promise more work is coming, I just don’t know how soon.
At the end of 2023 I processed 527 orders for 977 pieces of art (this includes ornaments, garland and pots)! Wow!
I can’t say it enough: I am so amazed and grateful that so many people have connected with the art I am creating. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to be a full time artist, after dreaming and working towards this my whole life. If you’re dreaming of the same (or chasing another dream), keep chasing it! I’m 46 years old and it took me this long to make it happen. It’s never too late if you are determined.
Thank you for reading. 2024 updates are coming soon.