I returned to the Northern Indiana Pottery Supply stop on the Michiana Pottery Tour this year. It was my third year as part of the tour (2014, 2015).
Our lineup had some familiar faces, some relatively new potters and some old pros from around the country.
Troy Bungart – pots, brushes and ribs
David – TV interview
I set up next to David Gamber who hauled his pots all the way from New Jersey. Nearby were southern Michigan potters Peter Fauver and Greg Allen. Across the aisle was Matt Wright, a grad student at Texas Tech who creates ceramic drums! We had a handful of younger Goshen potters including Sadie Misiuk, Seth Krabill, Alec Hoogland, and Garrett Delooze. Eric Botbyl from Tennessee and Troy Bungart are pottery tour veterans from other stops in previous years. Joel Pisowicz, who I met at the Michiana Christmas sale was also there this year next to our fantastic host, Moey Hart.
Garrett, Eric, Brett Kern, Troy
We had nice weather and the attendance seemed to be pretty solid again. I counted at least 134 people that passed through my booth on Saturday and 85 on Sunday. This lead to 23 transactions on Saturday and 12 Sunday. Altogether, 47 pots and one magnet left with happy customers: 26 on Saturday, 21 Sunday. Sunday’s total is slightly inflated because I had a special sale which allowed customers to pick three $10 pots for $20. Four customers took advantage of this offer which reinforces the idea that people love the feeling of getting a deal. These $10 pots are mostly one-off small cups or little experiments of form or glaze. I have raised the prices on my larger mugs and cups but I don’t want to completely overlook people that aren’t ready to invest such an amount into one of my handmade items.
Like the weekend before at the Middlebury Fall Festival, I set up a social media giveaway. I had another small group of participants. The winner this time was a potter out of Fort Wayne who made it to a few stops on the tour.
Moey hosted another fantastic stop and kept us well fed with smoked meat and plenty of other food. It was great to talk to the other potters and learn about their work. And one of my favorite parts of the tour is trading pots. I picked up some great stuff this year.
Moey Hart, Greg Allen, Greg Allen
David Gamber, Eric Botbyl, Troy Bungart
Alec Hoogland, Seth Krabill, Peter Fauver, Matt Wright
My wife was a little disappointed that I didn’t bring home any big mugs… but I guess she could always start making her own pots to trade!
Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us. Especially the return customers and friends that have supported me through the years. I hope to see you on the Michiana Pottery Tour next year!