Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tara Mulligan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

My creative journey started with my first bubbler- a sleek minimalist design with a regular bowl. It became my first sale when a high school friend showed interest after seeing my post on Instagram. Getting that interest in my work was a motivator to create more bubblers and led me to develop my favorite sculpted flower designs. 1 year and 8 months later, I sent them a complimentary upgraded version of the bubbler as a forever “thank you” for that early support.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I took my first ever pottery wheel class in summer of 2021 at The Pottery Studio and am still a member there today.

Like most students, learning to center clay, pull up walls, and keep a piece from falling apart seemed like an impossible task, but I was driven by the crumbs of improvement that came with hours of practicing every evening after my day job.

A great learning resource is social media- my TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube feeds are full of potters that inspire me with different techniques. I learned how to make my first Bubbler from a YouTube video! After some practice, I realized that Bubblers could look SO much more decorative with flowers sculpted on, which led to changing the shape of the bowl to a flower. I love that I have created a smoke-ware piece that is both functional and attractive.

The amazing thing about going to a communal pottery studio as opposed to an at-home studio, is that everyone’s passion creates the perfect environment for learning. Any piece with unintentional glaze drippings, cracks, or odd texture is meticulously examined by fellow members as they try to answer the question “Why did this happen?”. Be it the kiln temperature, placement in the kiln, glaze application, or clay type, pottery has a way of being unreliable and yet, so satisfying when your piece comes out exactly how you envisioned it, or even better.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My day job involves working with a variety of digital creators to manage sponsorship campaigns and provide support for channel growth. Once I justified scrolling on TikTok and IG Reels as “searching for new talent and marketing research”, it made me feel a liiiiitle less bad about the time I spend on my phone. I think working with these creatives and spotting patterns and trends helped me gain the confidence to be able to film and post my own pottery content (even though it felt embarrassing at first to bring a tripod into the studio). Once I started consistently posting videos of my work and process, I started building a following on these platforms. In April of 2022, I had my first TikTok reach over 1M views, which sold out all of my Bubblers on hand.

For any artists looking to build a social media following, consistency is key, which can be time-consuming when working a full time job. I like to film on the weekends to take advantage of the daylight and edit videos/photos to post during the next week. If you have photography experience, you’re at a huge advantage. I hired a friend to take photos of my work for the first time this year and was so impressed! She made my pieces look even better than they do in person. Shoutout to @ShelbyGordonPhoto

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I find the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is using my work to connect with others. Selling online is a great way to reach audiences internationally, but can lack a personal touch. The last in-person market I did at Frogtown Flea Crawl was so fun because I got to interact and hear feedback from customers. I designated half of my table as a “Haggle-Friendly Zone” because it contained mismatched and older pieces that don’t fit the current aesthetic of the designs I’m working on now. Think of it as the Curated vc Non-Curated side. On the “Haggle Side” was one plate, white with blue flower detailing that I made in 2021. The buyer for this piece asked if I planned on making a set of plates in that design, which, to be honest, was the last piece I thought of replicating. It was still nice to hear that kind of appreciation for an older piece.

Contact Info:

• Website: mulliganstudios.co
• Instagram: mulligan.studios
• Other: TikTok: @mulligan.studios

Image Credits
Shelby Gordon @ShelbyGordonPhoto for the photos of the pipes, mushroom bubbler, and pink set (mulliganstudios-06818)