We recently connected with Erin Allice and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Erin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
I started out in 2019 with an idea to sell my ceramics on Etsy simply as a way to make room for making more ceramics. I think this is something most people who make ceramics start out doing. What better way to fund a hobby right? After a time I realized that I was happiest making my ceramics vs going into a 9 to 5 job. This was especially more obvious to me after the COVID quarantine happened and we all got set into a work from home situation for almost 2 years. I had to figure out a way to go from a hobby to full-time ceramics job so I could quit my corporate job. It took a lot of work but I started out by really examining my costs to produce and figuring out ways to reduce that overhead to make it more viable such as making my own glazes instead of buying commercial ones. The other big factor is having the support of my husband in making this charge and scaling back on our own personal expenses like meal planning instead of eating out every dinner. It took a lot of effort but in November of 2021 I was able to make that job and do ceramics full time as my job.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have enjoyed ceramics ever since back in 1999 getting to work with clay on some senior projects for my AP art classes. However, the teachers I had in college never really made it seem like a profession one could pursue outside of being a teacher. My best friend Melissa Getty convinced me in 2018 to take a ceramics class with her at UNT and we had an amazing instructor and also just getting to be in a wonderful environment with creative people really helped me see that it was something I could do on my own at home. It has been a process of trying to merge my previous artistic aesthetic from a 2D style and translate that into clay. It has not always worked out but it has really forced me to grow and adapt my style into what it is now. I have always loved nature and getting to be out in it and I am always picking up and collecting things like rocks, feathers, shells, and dead bugs I find. Getting to incorporate that into my work has been really rewarding to see the final pieces.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
I currently sell my ceramics on Etsy as I have found it to be the best venue for handmade so far. It does have its drawbacks but I think that is why it is important to diversify how you get your income as a local maker. It is important to grow and be established locally such as in markets and shows on top of one’s e-commerce income.
Etsy may not be the best option for everyone who makes ceramics or is a maker and will need to weigh what is going to be the best fit for them. I found that with Etsy there is a lot of work that has to go into being able to sell and be successful on that platform to make it worth it. Taking the time to really complete all the listing and shop info requirements is a big first step but also learning how Etsy’s SEO works and how to translate that to your products to get the visibility you need is also a huge time commitment.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
For me, it has been coming to terms with one of ceramics sayings that “in ceramics, there are no guarantees”. So much can go wrong in the process or just have a different outcome than you expect. Sometimes a good one! Coming from a 2D art background where you are drawing on paper with inks or pens to ceramics where a lot of the process is out of your control has been a huge learning curve. Being able to adapt to these situations and change your process and not give up helps tremendously.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.greenfaeriedesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenfaeriedesigns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Greenfaeriedesigns
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-allice-1b244a113/
Image Credits
All images were taken by Erin Allice