Oh my. What happened to March? After the February update, I set myself a target of two updates a month for this site, and now it is April and there has been a grand total of zero posts since that decision. Eeek! I’m sorry about this – I do post on Instagram much more regularly, but I know that not everyone is on Instagram (you sensible people with better things to do with your lives!) so I will try and do better here so no one misses out.
So, let’s do some updating. Firstly, big, huge, massive news – I’ve managed to get a place in the ballot at Potfest in the Pens in October!! This will be my biggest show to date and I’m delighted to have been accepted – and that a number of my potter friends will be there too. October sounds like it’s a long way off, but I’m starting to think about things now. There’s a lot to consider – not least what to make for my competition piece. (Each year there’s a themed competition voted on by those who attend the show. This year it’s ‘nursery rhymes’. I’ve had an idea rumbling around for the last couple of weeks and thanks to a good walk today, it’s got a good deal more refined!)
If that sounds like a long way off, I’ll also be at Penrith show on 15 July, and I’m also hoping to get a bit of publicity next month which will help me to reach a new audience – so it’s all go! It’s definitely putting a bit of pressure on idea development, but that’s perhaps a good thing. I’ll be shifting focus from development of ideas back into making for the next couple of weeks to make sure I have some stock on hand, and hope to ‘buy’ some more development time later in the month.
The second important piece of news is, due to the (exciting) publicity I’m hoping for next month, I’ve pulled forward my online shop development considerably. A shopfront exists, I’ve bought some boxes and packing peanuts and I’ve learned the difference between ‘Drop and Go’ and ‘Click and Drop’ (honestly, don’t ask, the Post Office and Royal Mail don’t make comparing the two schemes easy).
I’m currently refining my new shop site (which will be linked to this site) with the goal of a ‘soft’ launch later this month. To begin with, there will just be a few pieces available, but in time I’ll look to get more on. I’ll be looking to make updates to the shop as part of my regular making cycle.
Well I think this is more than long enough for one post. Plenty for this potter to be getting on with, which is definitely a very good thing. x