Yellow Door Pottery

As a full time artist I am always looking for new revenue streams, especially reoccurring ones. Knowing I make all kinds of ornaments a friend asked about a custom ornament for a family member depicting a new house purchase. I worked up a prototype and came up with this.

While we were discussing the ornament we simultaneously realized these would make great gifts for realtors and MLO’s (Mortgage Loan Originators) to purchase for their clients. I started promoting them on social media and had a few instant hits. This morning I started on my first batch for a realtor.

After they are fired, glazed and then fired again, I attach a ribbon for hanging and package in a cellphone bag with a note regarding using essential oils on the back of the ornament. The final product looks like this.

As I’ve been sharing these to social media I have had many follower “share” the posts with realtors they know. Some are as far away as Florida. I am hoping this will prove to be yet another revenue stream for my little business. I guess the moral of the story is be careful before you turn down a custom order. Thank you Josh Amyot for the original order.

Book suggestions: Verity by Colleen Hoover and Richard Russo’s Bridge of Sighs

When I used to consult businesses as a banker I would always tell them to have a business plan, but then don’t throw it in a drawer, use it as a living document because your business may surprise you and go in a different direction and you will need to revise it accordingly.

It seems as though I am living a bit of my own advice. If you’ve been following along on FB, and Instagram, you’ll have noticed my collaboration with Reynolds Farm in Averill Park NY.

I can’t say enough about what wonderful caring farmers they are. The animals are treated with love and respect. One of their specialties is goat milk soap from their Nigerian Dwarf goats. They are hand-milked and then Linda Reynolds makes soap from the milk. Amazing soap, like nothing you’ve ever smelled and the packaging is layered and thoughtful. Linda is an artist as well, so it’s an interesting combination, farmer/artist.

The idea to work together came after a visit to the farm (I can’t resist those goats). We got talking about soap dishes to sell with her soap. For a few weeks we went back and forth on design, true team work with no ego…I love working with women. Our final design was this…

Then we spoke about goat mugs, I ended up making mugs with the farm name on them. They are in the glaze firing in the kiln now, but I can give you a sneak peek.

I made one different from the rest, Linda thought it might be a good seller because the soap dishes with the goats on them where being snatched up. So this mug was made.

All in all to date this conversation between old friends has turned into 40 soap dishes, 8 “logo mugs” and eight (so far) goat mugs. This is my first time trying wholesale. It’s a very different game, but I enjoy it. I now have another business asking about the possibility of collaboration too. As I told my clients when I was a banker, “You can’t always predict where your business will go, be open to the possibilities”. Here I am, following my own advice.

While I don’t have a picture of Linda and me, I do have one of Matilda and me and let’s face it I have a bit of a crush on her really.

It’s seems trite by now to say 2020 has been an awful year, unprecedented really. COVID, political hell, Scientific evidence ignored, people turning ugly in a second like the flip of a switch, wildfires burning, sharks in the Hudson, the list goes on and on. Personally, for me, I’ve been out of work since Dec 12, 2019 due to health issues that leave me (for now) on Long Term Disability. Thank God for insurance, as it’s not as financially devastating as it could be. Like all health issues, some days are better than others. Because I am high risk for COVID due to COPD, I do very little outside the house.

All these months, like many of us I’ve had a list of things to do since being in lockdown. One of them was to change my office into a pottery show room. This would be a HUGE undertaking as it was filled with stuff….I wouldn’t go as far as to say I could do an episode of Hoarders, but bad. Also due to the lockdown, I had massive amounts of finished pottery taking over my dining room.

Last week I started on my task. I rearranged some furniture in there and removed the rest. I ordered extra shelving to help accommodate. I am at the point now where it’s just the actual “merchandising” to do. Each item needs a price tag and a barcode for the stores that carry my merchandise. This way I can just grab the pieces I want to deliver and they are ready. I also need to add many of the items to my website.

At the same time I ended up taking some of the furniture I pulled out and making a little nook for myself for reading, writing, napping, just peaceful and for me. It’s a bit crowded but in a cozy way. It’s tucked up in the eaves with a skylight. What a dream.

It’s been great having a purpose and a big job to tackle in my own time. When it’s complete I will be able to put my hands on items, without looking in 5 places. I’m almost there, the product has been transferred but it needs to be “displayed” in the best light possible.

Apparently I’m burying the lead here, but one of the biggest bonuses is that people can do in person shopping, by appointment only and following COVID regulations. I can take any cards, Venmo or Zellle as payment. Please call soon to set up your shopping adventure. Unique hand crafted gifts for everyone this holiday season.

Have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving,

Teri

Book suggestions, Hillbilly Elegy and Educated.

Thanks for asking. I have been spending quite a bit of time in the studio and am pleased with the output. My Wonky Pitchers are getting wonderful attention and I had only made a few, so I made 20 more.

A friend asked me to make nesting bowls (3 mixing bowls that fit inside of each other) I haven’t spent much time on the wheel recently and I love a challenge. Here are my first attempts, they are great bowls but they don’t quite nest properly. This still needs work. Upside I have 7 great bowls to sell.

And finally I made 3 different platters that are drying. The ones flipped upside down on the bowls are the curved platters and then finally a rectangular platter with handles.

The added benefit of the extra studio time, is I spend more time perfecting each items with sanding, smoothing, cleaning up tiny little divots. Please keep checking back as I am adding product constantly to the site.

Book suggestion: The Dutch House, the audio-version is read by Tom Hanks. Stay Safe, Teri

Due to several medical issues, I am out on disability from my day job, just in time to be quarantined due to COVID 19. I am considered “at risk” so I must stay home. I’ve been taking advantage of that situation as my health has allowed. It’s easy to get in a routine where you don’t add anything new to your inventory because you are filling orders. Due to all the downtime, I am stretching my clay muscles and coming up with some new ideas and challenging myself as well.

I have also committed to clean up this website and to add product as soon as possible otherwise I put it off for months and get deplorably behind. Perhaps that should be a resolution each year, because I do have the good intentions, it’s just that I like creating much more.

Some of my newer items are various covered boxes in unusual shapes. I have also started sculpting birds, the first load is in the kiln as I write this and making what I lovingly call Wonky Pitchers that are in no way perfect, nor are they meant to be, but they are to be whimsical. Too I am working on nested mixing bowls, a fun and challenging project that I have always wanted to perfect.

I’ve never had great chunks of time to spend in my studio, it’s usually a few hours here and there, this break has been a luxury I would have never had normally. Always look for the positive. Stay safe and busy. Book recommendation “The Girl Who Lived”, gripping and compelling.

Stay safe, Teri

Hi Friends,

During this uncertain time of pandemic and COVID, please note the precautions being taken. Due to the high firing temperature, COVID will not be present in your item. Each item will be throughly wiped down with antiseptic wipes to ensure cleanliness before leaving the shop. I purchase my supplies in bulk, therefore all packaging has been in my shop well before the outbreak.

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As I am considered “At Risk” I follow stringent procedures in my home and shop. Please don’t be offended if you are picking up a purchase and the item is left on my stoop. In the event I come to the door, I will be wearing a mask. While in the shop, you’ll be required to wear a mask, I also have wipes and hand sanitizer available for use.

Thank you for your understanding, stay healthy and safe.

Teri Spadafora, Owner and Potter

A few weeks back my dear friend Kim offered me a wonderful opportunity to travel throughout Germany and Austria to go to the Christmas Markets. If you are unfamiliar with the idea of Christmas Markets, they are basically huge, outdoor art and craft fairs with food and drink. Each booth is decorated more beautifully than the last. Talk about inspiration. My booth game (as it is) leaves little to be desired. I’ve only done a few shows so I am still very much in the planning stage.

This is a typical outdoor booth.

Here we are enjoying some of the mulled wine.

In Munich we visited several markets. The last one we went to was in the evening. Every thing was lit up. There were a few large tents with booths as well as food and drink. This is where the famous “Oktoberfest” is held. Here are a few shots of the booths we saw.

There was entertainment everywhere. The selection of food could only be described as global, many corners of the world were represented.

Today we move on to Vienna Austria. As with any new country I visit, I read up on some of the history of the City/Country. Of course the decimation of the Jewish community and culture gives one a reality slap across the face. How does one decipher the juxtaposition of this friendly,loving, warm, society, with the horror of knowing the Jewish population went from 192,000 in Austria before the war to 7,000 after? I know how, I’ve read books regarding the “final solution”. What worries me is the parallels I see between 1938 and 2018 in both Europe as well as the US. When good people stand by and do nothing….we become implicit. If you relate to Christian teachings, please remember “whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.”

Teri

Well the piece dried slowly, for weeks and every few days I smoothed some of the edges and worked on forming handles. It was all taking shape well. Just as it was almost finished drying the corners of the tray started to crack. I filled the corners in and smoothed it over. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Clay has memory, and it usually remembers what you don’t want it to. As I put it in the kiln for the first fire, I knew there was a good chance the corners would continue to crack.

Amazingly it came out fine. I applied the glazes, two different colors applied in layers. Instead of laying it flat on the shelf, I laid down a thin layer of grog so as the tray shrunk and moved in the firing, it would slide easily along. The next morning as I opened the kiln, I saw the corners cracked. It looks like I’ll be adding a kintsugi finish. Which means using liquid gold (or something like that) to repair a broken pot. Here is a photo of glazed and unglazed areas of the tray as a comparison.

Knowing this was probably going to be an issue I had already started another tray. Learning from my earlier issues. This one was made thicker and tried to do very little adjusting to it after I formed it. I also used a combination of clays to get some added depth when it is glazed.

I am very excited about where this one is going. I’ll post the final pictures of this as well as the Kintsugi repair on the first tray when they are completed.

Many potters will not do commissioned work if it isn’t something within their normal scope for many valid reasons. I will take on a commissioned work if it intrigues me. Recently a friend asked for a large tray, much larger than anything I’ve done before. I said I’d give it a go even though I do not have,

1. A slab roller
2. A mold for it
3. Experience with hand building large.

What I did have was a curiosity about how the heck I was going to do it. I follow approximately 2 million potters, some new, some with decades of experience. I learn from them all. Recently there was a potter who used a cookie sheet for a mold for a large tray…well dang I’d sacrifice a cookie sheet to my pottery studio if this works.

Ok..item number one…no slab roller. A slab roller is like a table sized pasta maker for pottery, it makes lovely huge sheets of even clay and there isn’t one in my studio (it’s my next big purchase). I did it the old fashioned method. I threw it…not like wheel thrown, but literally threw it back and forth on the table, flattening it took it a bit more each time I threw it.

And ended up with this massive piece of clay. Trust me it takes practice.

Number two, no mold…in comes the sacrificial cookie sheet. Clay has memory and moving huge sheets of clay can instill in the clay, a good place to crack, air bubbles, and weak points. I used packing paper to work and move the clay.

Number three…no experience hand-building that large…when did no experience ever stop me? I live for no experience. I love the unknown and to take a chance. I embrace change. I jump in the deep end and figure it out.

Here is where we are with this order today. It’s doing a extremely slow weighted dry so it won’t warp.

And here it is up close. The glaze will do some amazing things with this texture. Yes it still needs clean up, but I think I may be on to something here. Follow me and you can see my progress. Teri🦊