I’m looking for someone to sell my pottery for me. I’ve been potting for 50+ years, and while I still enjoy making new work, I have lost interest in marketing it. Ideally, I will find someone who is willing to take on that part of the process, in exchange for 50% of the price, leaving me free to just keep producing pottery. I’m posting this here, hoping my pottery friends and customers will pass it along to anyone you know who might be interested.
Here is how I imagine it might work. I will set retail prices on the pots, and then once the work sells, my marketing person will send me 50% of that amount. I want someone to pick up work from my studio in downtown Charlottesville, and be responsible for all the marketing from that point forward – e.g., photographing, describing, posting, selling and shipping. Since I already have a lot of time and effort sunk into my online store, my new marketing partner is welcome to start by using that site. But there are plenty of other ways to sell pots, in person and online, and as long as the pots sell, I am open to creative solutions.
I have already signed up for the Virginia Clay Festival in September, 2021 and have planned do the Artisans Studio Tour. But if I find someone to take on this job soon, I’ll skip the Tour. I’m willing to attend the Clay Festival, doing it in conjunction with whoever takes on this job, if it feels like a good way to learn about marketing my work. But I can also skip both events – whatever works best for my new marketing person.
I’m looking for someone who:
Is adept at photography and writing
Knows social media and online selling
Will come here regularly to pick up new work
Can handle selling and shipping work
Has space and resources to warehouse the pottery (this final point is negotiable)
I can see this working for an individual looking for flexible part-time work. It could become a starting place for someone who hopes eventually to represent a number of different artisans and product lines. Another possible match might be someone already engaged in marketing something that could combine well with handmade pottery – e.g., someone growing plants and flowers, or artisanal foods.
I make a range of functional stoneware pottery. Here are links to see my pots on my website and online store. To provide a sense of monetary scale for this job, as of today, there is $24,000 (retail value) of stock listed in my square online store. In addition (at a rough guess) there’s another $10,000 work here not yet online and about $4,000 in two local consignment galleries – Cville Arts and Crozet Depot.
Just to be clear — I intend to make what I want, working at my own pace, and then pass the work on to be sold. I have no interest in suggestions or pressure to produce pots that sell. Please help me by spreading word of my search to anyone you think might be interested.
Thanks!
Nan
434-263-4023
nan@nanrothwellpottery.com