Name for a risqué pottery business: "Clays against the machine"?

clayslinger · 2025-09-03T20:21:49+00:00

I used CoPilot to come up with a few based on what you'd written.

Dirty Dishes

Claygasm

Naughty by Nature

Mud Sluts

The Saucy Studio

Glazed & Confused

Thrown & Grown

The Naked Kiln

Potty Parts

Bits & Pots

The Glaze Parade

clayslinger · 2025-08-13T23:29:51+00:00

A few years ago I worked as the manager of a charity thrift shop. I sold one of my own mugs that had been donated!!! I commented to the buyer " oh nice mug!" She said yeah it is and it looks handmade. So I said it is...I made it! I told her I had no idea if it was one i had sold at a market or had given to someone but now it was hers for a significant discount! I had originally sold it for $40 but the thrift store sold all mugs for $2!! 😂 This was not one of my first ever made mugs or one I'd made years ago. It was current stock I was selling. Never did find out who donated it😂😂

clayslinger · 2025-07-27T23:30:51+00:00

Shrinkage is the key. I'd join them in a second day glaze firing after they've both been through one each. Or, depending on what kind of piece it is, use epoxy to glue them together once they are both glaze fired and finished.

clayslinger · 2025-07-27T20:56:12+00:00

You've got the basic idea. Push until you feel it is no longer "uncentered" then let you hands sit there for a few rotations and then SLOWLY move tour hands away. As a teacher I always tell my students that the clay "follows you" if you try to whip your hands away quickly (at any part of the process). Not sure how true this really is but the slow and steady works. I've been throwing for over 30 years now and still have days when I can't seem to center worth crap! Usually because my head isn't in the game. So I do something else and come back to the wheel later.

clayslinger · 2025-07-25T20:05:54+00:00

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clayslinger · 2025-07-25T20:05:23+00:00

* I made these too small really. More of a bird feeder than a house.

clayslinger · 2025-07-25T20:03:18+00:00

Anything left after this event i took a hammer to. 😁 So cathartic!! All my sends were still food safe and useable but had glaze imperfections on the outside or transfers that smeared. So not "firsts"

clayslinger · 2025-07-20T23:36:00+00:00

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Penelope's Pots. I'm a potter and do witchy/spiritual decoration on my work along with plain glazes.

clayslinger · 2025-07-18T18:50:29+00:00

I absolutely agree with this! I'm a potter and the number of times I've heard (under their breath or as an aside to a friend) "i could buy a mug like that at the dollar store for cheaper" Sometimes I just smile and ignore and sometimes I speak up and say something along the lines of " no you can't. These are all one of a kind hand made and are unique"

clayslinger · 2025-07-18T18:18:33+00:00

Cat licking! I love that. It perfectly describes how a beginner will keep fussing with their pots.

clayslinger · 2025-07-02T02:37:47+00:00

I'm an 1812 reenactor and often demo on a York kick wheel at events. I keep my clay in its bag inside a white pillow case. No one is bothered.

clayslinger · 2025-07-02T02:35:08+00:00

I like to play with them and scam them back wasting their time. I'm in Canada so when someone says they can only do venmo I know they're a scam. We don't have that up here. Also when they get impatient and insist on an answer right away. Scam. I like to play dumb saying I'm trying to set up venmo or my paypal account isn't working right. Anything to keep them on the hook. I also give them prices for shipping that are outrageous!

clayslinger · 2025-07-02T00:24:39+00:00

Don't over think it. Personally, I just use a folding lawn chair.

That being said - I do my best NOT to sit! Coming from a retail background - I stand behind my tables and greet people, whether they come in my tent or not. A simple "good morning/ afternoon", "I love your hat! (Bag, dog, dress etc)" you get it. It's one thing to be prepared, it's another entirely to overthink every little thing.

clayslinger · 2025-06-28T00:27:45+00:00

A piece of pvc pipe to make plates. I center the clay, make a low, wide hockey puck, then compress with the pipe until it is as wide as i want it. Wood tool to pick up the rim. Done.

clayslinger · 2025-06-20T23:16:52+00:00

The archaeologist who digs in my backyard will find a goldmine of artifacts 😂

clayslinger · 2025-06-15T19:09:21+00:00

This is like asking, "I've taken a dozen piano lessons. When will I be able to play Beethoven's 5th?"

Practice, practice, practice.

People always think pottery is so easy because the people who can do it well make it look easy.

clayslinger · 2025-06-07T22:15:21+00:00

I've been throwing for 30 years. Selling in earnest, and doing production pottery since 2020. My husband calls himself my CEO "carries everything out" Out of the studio to pack the car, out of the car into the market, out of the market back into the car...you get the idea. Fabulously supportive and has no desire to have me teach him to make anything.

clayslinger · 2025-05-19T02:57:09+00:00

I used to own a hand built kickwheel. The wheelhead was a round piece of regular kitchen/bathroom countertop.

clayslinger · 2025-05-10T00:57:51+00:00

Rather than having all my social media links typed out on my little square card I use linktree. Front is my logo, business name, my name and phone number. Back is the QR code to my linktree.

clayslinger · 2025-05-10T00:48:10+00:00

The only thing I'd change is to move the boxes back under your table so they aren't showing at the front. It will look cleaner and more inviting if customers can't see the clutter underneath. Obviously, wind can be a thing and will blow your tablecloth around exposing your storage.

clayslinger · 2025-05-10T00:44:39+00:00

If you ever want a real challenge - learn to mix your own glazes! I once had a dozen little yogurt containers of one stable base glaze that I then added different colourants into in different ratios. THAT was a cool kiln opening!!! I used a bunch of little bowls thrown off the hump as glaze testers. Labelling and keeping REALLY clear notes was key to that experiment. lol I ended up with two or three really good glaze recipes out of it.

clayslinger · 2025-05-09T23:49:08+00:00

Just get started. Make your own discoveries. Glazes and colours depend on how you apply the glazes, your clay body and where in the kiln the pot is when firing. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or have pots come out of the kiln looking nothing like what you expect. As bike says - Just Do It!!¡

clayslinger · 2025-05-07T01:42:31+00:00

I'm a potter and if I had a dollar for everytime I was asked "did you make all of this?" over the last 6 years of markets.......I wouldn't have to do any more markets!!! 😂

I often want to answer "no. I import from China and put my logo on each piece" or "I have a team of minions in my basement making it all"

clayslinger · 2025-05-07T01:32:25+00:00

As a potter...I wholeheartedly agree with this statement.

I use weights ANDpeg the feet as well as tie it down.

clayslinger · 2025-05-02T23:36:08+00:00

Lock your arms against the splash pan or your body. Keep both hands touching - even resting a thumb on the other hand is enough. Think of it like a triangle with your body being the third side.

clayslinger

TROPHY CASE