The end of the season and moving into December

Living here in the greater Seagrove area has always been a bit of a different season for us. Where retail stores add more employees for the extra shopping we are at the point of planning for the spring. We have a full store for our December shoppers and there is really not enough weeks to fire a big kiln load. We do plan on getting out a firing on the small one, who will get a name as soon as she settles her self down. For now we shall refer to her as Wild Child.
This brings me back to thinking about December.
It is a good time for us to wind down and reevaluate the past year.
What worked.
What did not work.
What are our plans as we go into 2012?
This will be our 30 year anniversary in October and you would think after 30 years we would have this down.
But, customers change, tatse change, situations change, clay bodies change, chemicals change.
We are going into December with some new relationships for the next year and what we hope is a plan that will keep us both in the pottery this year.
Last year, truth be told, Mark worked 4 days a week elsewhere through June.
It is hard to take a two person operation and then send one person off to work some where else and then ask that said person to produce at the level he usually does.
I know many of you are gearing for the Holidays but in my mind I always hear one of the older potters who use to say, "if don't have it made by August then it's too late..."
August mind you.
But in many ways he is right in that a person should take the slow months to grind away and stock pile some work.
This year that is the plan.
That is the plan if the universe allows us a year without as many interruptions as we have had the past 3 years.
We are going to go for it.
We are pretending that all is going to work its way out and we are going to be able to keep ourselves working and paying the bills.
I am still thinking no shows as I want the studio here to be full of pots for customers.
And if the new things work out that just might cover the cost of the time it takes to go away for shows.
The other day I thought one should never have their eggs in one basket, how true.
So I am separating the eggs into 4-5 baskets.
Let's see how that works.

While we were in Va. I was walking around my mother's house.
My parents were great supports of the arts.
I snapped a few pictures.

The vase on the left and pitcher- early Whynot

above the microwave-back left Jugtown, front left Tom Gray- the rest Mark and the small one mine.

The down stairs bathroom with a mural down my Lee

The only painting that I know of that my father did- I studied this while I was there. As a kid I found this very scary and now I wish I could ask he about it....

  So off for some breakfast and a list of pots to be made.
Cheers,
M