Great Northern Contemporary Fair is a yearly fair, bringing a wide collection of jewellery, ceramics, glass, textiles, etc., allowing crafters to show, sell, and open the craft market. It has a range of audiences, from other crafters to everyday buyers and galleries/ shops looking for stock. The Great Northern is the best for me and my products, as I want to look into functionals. It's suited due to the audience it attracts, as that is the everyday object ideal audience. Also, thinking about my rough price listing and using my products is best from this place.
Tone, growing up in Norway, has heavily influenced her work, especially when looking at impressions of the winter landscapes in Norway. When the snow covers trees, rocks, paths and architecture, sharp edges become soft and everyday shapes may become unrecognisable. She tries to mirror this with her practice, with a range of wavy vases and softly distorted beakers, bowls and bottles. The colour range reflects snow, ice, and winter sky tones.
I like the simple, mutual colour pallet of tones and little details added to make the pieces. When looking further into her work, she does a range of exhibitions and has many shops, galleries and markets where she sells her work across the UK. She also has an online shop and works collaboratively at a ceramic shop, where she has opened classes. When looking at her products, most of the smaller pieces
price list
small vase £22-£36
mug £18-£22
set £35-£70
Robert Hunter Ceramics
Robert Hunter is a Scottish ceramicist who is now based in Ayr. His pieces consist of simple but strong forms exploring textual surface details. He is passionate about self-sourcing local organic materials, allowing him to make his unique piece. "This technique means that my collections are limited and truly reflect where I am at that time."
When looking at Hunter's work, I'm interested in the individuality and uniqueness of each piece, as no piece is the same as the other. This is something that I would like to explore, making my work more limited. It also brings a fascinating conversation to the buyers.
price list
mug - £30-£40
small bowl - £18- £35
large bowl £60 -£180
Eren Armitage
The collection of stoneware ceramics is a reflection of her diverse cultural background. Each piece is unique and handmade with great care and attention to detail. Her pieces are a celebration of her identity and a reflection of her appreciation for both cultures. Her goal is to create ceramics that evoke a sense of tranquillity and encourage people to appreciate the simple things in life. Eren believes that taking time to slow down and appreciate the beauty around us is important in today's fast-paced world.
price list
mugs £26-£35
bowls £30-£38
vases £55-£125
All these artists have shown their work at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair.
Initial Ideas
I decided to focus my work on functional objects, looking into mugs and how I can use glazes, coloured clays and slips to make my work individual and specific to my art. I also expanded on my research into coloured clay in tradition and innovation. This is something I want to explore deeper and expand in my work.
Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Manchester Craft and Design Center is located in central Manchester and is a place that has built a craft and design community; it has multiple workshops, galleries, exhibitions and shops where you can go in and watch and talk to the crafters. This was an interesting visit as it allowed me to explore different artists and see their work, what sells in a shop, and the prices of objects I'm similarly interested in making.
Jane Blease
Jane Blease has been a resident maker at The Manchester Craft and Design Centre since 2008, based upstairs in Studio 25. loving meeting her customers face to face and working with them to develop bespoke pieces. Jane Blease designs and makes wooden lighting, interior accessories and jewellery. Focusing on creating sustainable, quality products with minimal elegance and attention to detail to fit seamlessly into any environment.
price list
bookmark- £14
lampshades- £75- £230
Craig and Jones Clay
Cragg Jones Clay is a contemporary ceramics studio and shop based in the craft community centre where Nicky Jones and Sue Cragg make and sell handcrafted ceramics. Sue and Nicky’s work shows a distance from mass production – as handcrafted vessels, no two objects are identical. They need to create timeless, sustainable objects that will give pleasure in daily use. Both makers are influenced by Scandinavian design, and their work has a contemporary and rustic feel.
price list
mugs £12-£22
bowls £22-£32
jars £32-£36
Throwing and Mug Making
Being new to ceramics, I have only started throwing; this week, I have seen practising and getting more confident with my throws in the workshop. I spent a long time trimming these pieces, especially the bottom, as they were a bit wonky. This is a new skill that I hadn't done before, and I was very pleased with the outcome. Trim the clay at leather hard and be precise with your markings. We also did a session with Joe on handle pulling; I spent that day perfecting my techniques, pulling the handle and keeping it very wet. As my mugs were a bit smaller, I had to make smaller handles, which proved a bit more tricky getting the handle long and thin but not breaking it.
Pricing
How Much
costing time
- overheads: studio rent, bills, power, cleaning repairs
-business: postage, travel, photography, fairs and shows
-personal income: including your hourly rate per piece, enough to support yourself
costing an item
-raw material cost
-time to make an item
-retail mark up: range from 20%- 250%
- profit: roughly 20% profit per piece
sales
direct: websites, shows, fairs, markets
third party specifiers: interior designers, architects, consultants
indirect: stores, galleries, exhibitions, stocklist
market considerations
-market/audience
- clients: high end lower end
-production: adding to the cost?
other factors
-premium pricing, loss leader, product line pricing, discounts and increasing your overall price levels as work develops.
First Samples
My first selection of samples allowed me to practise throwing a mug shape, seeing the size I needed, and practising the handles needed on mugs. I used a mixture of red and crank with grog clay, which, although good for practising throwing, I didn't like how it reacted with my glazes. Having dark clay affects my glaze drastically, making it a metallic dark colour. I want to use ivory and crank clay for my next samples to see how this reacts with my glazes and coloured clay. I also want to explore more with detailed handles; I used very basic shapes and attachments to understand the fundamentals; however, I would like to expand my knowledge and be more playful in my work, exploring lots of different styles of handles and playing around with the exterior of my mugs.
References
https://www.jeanwhiteceramics.co.uk/
https://tonevonkroghceramics.wordpress.com/
https://www.hunterceramics.co.uk/
https://www.erenarmitage.com/
https://www.janeblease.co.uk/
https://www.craggjonesclay.com/