We were lucky to catch up with Chancey Doster recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chancey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I don’t believe there is just one trait you must possess to be successful. I think there are multiple traits that work together to lead to success.

I think that time management is huge in succeeding. This takes a lot of drive and you have to be a good self starter, but it becomes easier over time! For me, this is something that I have absolutely had to strive for daily because it was not my strong suit when I started this journey. I am slowly getting better about it, though. I have to remember to set a schedule for every single day, block out time for my tasks, and stick to it. I don’t always check off everything on my to do list, but that’s okay as long as I’m striving for it, I always have the next day.

One important quality I don’t lack for success, however, is passion. I fell in love with clay the minute I tried it and have been doing it ever since. I have found the saying, “if you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life” to be so true and I hope that my love for it shines through each of my artworks!

You also have to remember to stay positive and persevere through all the downs, and trust me, there will be a ton of them. Of course we all have our days, but don’t let yourself get stuck in a negative place. Your following can always tell when your hearts not in it, and that’s not a great look! People want to see you loving what you’re doing. Remember why you started the journey you’re on, reset, and push forward. I have had many fails throughout the years with my pottery business, but I remember all the things I love about it and I remember I have loyal customers who depend on me. I say a little prayer, focus on my goals, and try again. That’s all you can do!

Above all else, though, setting obtainable goals for yourself is an absolute necessity for success. I cannot stress this enough!
When I started, I had a hard time looking at others who do the same, or similar, as me and wondering why I wasn’t where they were yet and I was hard on myself for not immediately being successful with my business. But in reality, they had years of experience and clientele build up on me. I had to take a step back and tell myself I am new here and the goals they are reaching is not what I needed to be striving for (yet). It took baby steps to get where I am today. As small as practicing certain things to perfect my techniques, or making one sale a month, or getting into juried shows.
Your goals will change and grow as you and your business change and grow, but be sure they are always obtainable for you along each step of the way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Chancey and I am the woman behind Chancey Doster Pottery. I am 27 years old and am blessed to be doing what I love full time out of my home studio in Bogart, Georgia!

I create a large variety of functional pottery, whether that be dinnerware, coffee mugs, gardening accessories, or home decor pieces. I think the functionality of it is what made me fall in love with it so much. It brings so much joy to be able to use your art work you put so much time, work, and love into. And even more joy to see someone else using and enjoying it!

I started young with my interest for art. I was always drawing and coloring with markers, making my own “books”, went to art camp, always enjoyed art at school, etc. As I got older, this love continued and developed. I found peace in drawing or painting and continued expanding my artistic talent throughout college.

I was a studio art major at UNG and they required me to take a ceramics class. I hadn’t touched clay before (minus those pinch pots you make in elementary school lol) and was so sure I would absolutely hate it – I was even a little angry that they were setting me up to fail. Well, you guessed it! I fell in love with ceramics and have been doing it ever since.

Since I’ve started doing pottery in 2017, I have tried a ton of different looks and styles. I still have not found my one style, and may never, because I love so many different looks and love using different techniques to create certain styles. However, I do specialize in hand painted pottery, as this combines my two passions (painting and pottery). I also believe this makes my pottery more unique than just glazing it as it allows my talent to shine through and adds a touch of my personality to each and every piece!

I have always been inspired by nature. I loved being outside as a kid, well, and even to this day. I just find peace and relaxation enjoying Gods creation, and using it as inspiration for my artworks. As a child, I enjoyed drawing animals and landscapes. And my high school art concentration was wildlife. Now, you’ll find a lot of my mugs contain paintings of different flowers, various wildlife, or landscapes. So, by combining my two passions, I use my God given talent to create artwork of His creations, hoping to bring joy to others around me!

Have you ever had to pivot?

For me, pottery was my pivot point. As I mentioned earlier, it was a required class for me that I honestly dreaded taking. Although I loved it after giving it a try, I did not see myself or plan to be doing this full time. I thought there was no way I ever could make a living off of selling my pottery!

After graduating college, I was working as a graphic designer in a company that just wasn’t a good fit for me. I took a leap and put in my two weeks with no other job in place (totally unlike me). I decided I would make and sell pottery while I looked for another job.

To my surprise, my pottery took off! I was getting orders and going to festivals and selling a lot and I was having fun while doing it. I continued applying for other jobs, but with no luck. I can only say God pointed me directly to where I was supposed to be.

There are definitely challenges, but through it all, I am confident that this was a positive pivot point in my life and led me to my dream career.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

One of the main things I think build a reputation is quality over quantity. Sure, there are people out there who can throw out hundreds of mugs per say, and ship them all over the world to stores for wholesale, but I believe putting your blood, sweat, and tears into your pieces shows how much you care for what you’re doing and how much you prioritize your customer’s satisfaction. I have customers tell me they can tell how much time and hard work I put into making each piece “perfect” and that’s one of my most favorite compliments I can ever get. Nothing makes me happier than my hard work getting noticed!

Along with focusing on quality, excellent customer service is so important. I often take custom orders, and, although I make it very clear that pottery is a bit unpredictable and expectations can lead to disappointment, I always make sure my customer is happy with the finished product. If they aren’t, I offer refunds or remake the item. If the piece breaks during shipping, I go ahead and replace it. Though it’s a lot of work and very time consuming, keeping happy clientele leads to a good reputation, recommendations, and returning customers!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chanceydosterpottery.Etsy.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/chanceydoster_pottery
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/chanceydosterpottery