Everywhere you turn, someone is telling you you need your own website. EVERYONE is doing it. Well, its true. It is the future, whether you are a business or not. Computers have become a way of life. Getting a domain name is less expensive than ever before, no reason not to jump on the band wagon.

I firmly believe though, that if you have a business, you HAVE to have a website in order to succeed. Maybe you are doing alright without one-now; but believe me - times, they are a changing and if you want your business to grow, you seriously need to get your own website.

So you have a Domain Name. Now, what do you do with it? Yes, having a domain name is the first step, but having a domain name is not the same as having a website. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down to business.

Face it, most ceramists are ceramists. Most are not computer savvy and most don’t know the first thing about how to navigate on the computer. Other than visiting other sites and playing around with emails, the common ceramist has minimal or no knowledge of how to conduct business on the wide wide world of the web/internet.

To help the lesser techno-literate amongst the ceramists, let me break down some of the basics to starting your online presence on your own domain.

1. Secure a domain name
2. Select a host/server to support your site
3. Determine a budget
4. Determine what you want your site to do (sell, provide information, have a shopping-cart/check out system, etc)
5. Decide if you want to do this yourself or hire help
6. Decide on a program to set-it up like front Page, Publisher, Wordpress or others if you are to do it yourself. Most host sites will provide this.
7. Locate templates and design a logo. Make your own or use those that come with your program or host site
8. Prepare photos, set policies, shipping procedures, payment methods.
9. Organize your templates as to how you want to present data
10. Input your data
11. Upload to the internet
12. Know how to maintain your website
13. Advertise

The above steps are simplified and their inclusion is to give some idea of what you are getting yourself into. It is not as intimidating as it seems.

To read more on how to set up your own website, click here.

About 15 years ago, I was interviewed by the editors of Arts & Crafts Magazine, a leading ceramic publication at that time. During the interview, I was asked what I saw for the future of ceramics. I prophesied that in order to survive, Ceramic Shops/studios would need to turn to the internet in order to compete and succeed.

Today, I repeat the mantra. It is imperative that you utilize the internet in promoting your business and your product. Everyone, whether you are a fully functioning store, a home studio, a hobbyist wanting to sell some wares, or someone making and selling finished items on any scale, the web can make the difference of coasting along or really succeeding. Buyers are loving the ability to search the net and find new products and ideas, they are loving the convenience. Don’t you want to receive part of the millions of dollars being spent daily on the internet?

It does not have to be fancy, but an internet presence with your own website is crucial. It is no longer the matter of saying, ‘maybe one of these days’ - it is NOW. The future is here. Face it, you are using the internet-you’re here, so why limit yourself to only doing the surfing and buying?

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The other day, I replied to someone’s question regarding how to price bisque for resale. I received a return email wondering how I could charge that much unless I lived in a big city. I pondered this concern and decided this would be a great topic for CMEZ as we all want fair compensation for our efforts.

It does not matter if you are in the field as a hobby or as a professional. It does not matter if you have a home studio or a commercial outlet. It is imperative that you give competitive pricing but not at the risk of losing money or giving away your product, time or talent. The basic formula for pricing is just that, a basic formula. There is always room for some modification to meet particular situations. You do have to agree on one thing however; unless you are a philanthropist or extremely benevolent, you are selling your wares for a profit.

One thing worth mentioning, it is always easier to lower your prices to make a sale than to raise the prices when you see you are losing money, but to do that, you need a basic price, or beginning point. Customers love discounts and sales, but really hate price increases.

It does not matter if you live in a small town or a big city. When pricing your wares, it is important that you consider all costs and overhead into your pricing structure. Many amateurs and even some professionals forget about recovering their expenses. In pricing you should consider the following costs: Cost of mold and replacements, cost for shipping, cost for slip, cost for tools and casting equipment and their replacement or repair, cost for chemicals, cost for kiln and kiln maintenance and repair or replacement, cost for electricity, cost for storage/rent, cost for waste removal, cost for utilities (heat, water, etc), cost for loss and errors, cost for other consumable supplies such as paints and brushes, costs for advertising, cost for loss, cost for help, and most importantly value of your time.

The following is a basic formula to figure your resale pricing (there are exceptions)

Greenware = 10-12% of mold costs
Firing = 50% of greenware price
Cleaning greenware = 50% of greenware price (and up)
Simple glazing= 150% of greenware (50% for paint, 50% for 2nd fire, 50% for time-be sure to include first firing and greenware costs)
Finished Items = 4-10 times cost of greenware (and up- depending upon time and supply costs)

For further information about pricing your ceramics, click here

What is name branding? It is a name that is recognized for a specific product. You will find this in all fields from automobiles (Ford, Cadillac, Lamborgini) to equipment (John Deere, Kenmore, Hoover) to common household products (Pam, Lysol, Kleenex) and includes the arts (DaVinci, Piccaso, Russell, Rockwell). It is no different in the field of clay arts and ceramics. Surely you have heard of Wedgewood, Hull, Mikasa, Pfaltzgraff, etc.

Obviously the key to becoming name recognized is to have an idea that is different from another’s. Expanding that idea into a product line requires some imagination and creativity. As mentioned previously, most artist don’t start out with anything in mind more than expressing their imagination and creativity into a tangible form.

Jeanette McCall became famous because of her master baking skills. She created the wedding cake for Prince Charles and Lady Diana because of her skill and name recognition. She transferred her excellent decorating skills to ceramics and with her brush, painted designs and created ceramic sculptures that are in great demand. see Icing on the Cake

Florence Ward started as a hobby in her kitchen in the 1940s as therapy and developed molds of Victorian figures that were copied many times over by other companies and artist, but managed to get her own ‘recognition’ for her attention to details and originality. See Florence’s Ceramics. Her pieces are easily recognized by the stamp on the bottom Florences Ceramics or Florence of Pasadena.

Addis E Hull, Hull Pottery was founded in 1905 Hull pottery is distinctive primarily because of its painting technique. Many vases and objects de art were airbrushed and utility ware was most noticeably a brown glaze with white drips around the rim. They were well known for their figural cookie jars. During the Mid 80’s unionization and foreign reproduction lead to their closing their doors, but you will see their items are still popular and in high demand among collectors and decorators today. See Hull Pottery.

All are not success stories, a modern day example of this is a company called Mud Pie. They took mold cast forms and modified them by attaching bits of clay to create bows, flowers, etc. thereby creating some unique decorative pieces. I had some difficulty recently finding a reference for the Mud Pie Ceramics that I have come to know and wonder if they changed their name or dissolved their company. From small beginnings a group of ladies built a sizeable business whose trademark was that most everything was painted white and had sculpted roses or other flowers attached. There are now many companies out there with the same name which shows success can be in the name chosen, and I believe they picked a name that was too common. I do run across their items on gift shop shelves occasionally and come across specific pieces on eBay and other online sites. They are easily recognizable.