The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Since Ceramics Monthly asked me to talk about the business part of my life as a potter, I would like to begin by sharing how I began building my career and discuss some important things I learned over the years.
Before anything else, though, I would like to say the most important thing I’ve learned is to keep experimenting with your work and don’t be afraid to make mistakes—those mistakes can widen your creativity and lead to surprising new
possibilities. Mistakes have led me to some of my favorite techniques!
Changing Careers and Passions
I was born in Osaka, Japan, and moved to the US when I was 21. After moving around for a while, I settled down in New York City. My career before I started pottery was as a musician, music producer, and record company owner in Manhattan. The stresses
started to get to me and I turned to making pottery as an escape. It quickly turned into my new passion, and I was lucky to start getting some sales early on. But it was a hard decision to actually leave the music business, which was familiar and
successful, and try a completely different medium, and a lot of my friends were really skeptical of my plans. In fact, they thought I was crazy to make pottery my life’s work, especially since I was already in my early 40s when I started with
ceramics. But I’m glad I made the change; I love every part of the work, including the business side. I see it as a game where I can present what I’m passionate about to an audience and strive for a satisfying response. It’s a lot
like performing music in that respect, and my life has become much more interesting and fulfilling as a result.
Speaking of the music business, I’ve noticed another parallel between ceramics and music during the last few decades. For music artists, being signed to a major record label and product placement in mega record stores used to be crucial for a successful
and lucrative career. Then in the early 2000s, internet subscription services exploded and record sales suffered. Out of necessity, many musicians turned to recording and selling their own music and managing their own promotion. Now only the biggest
names get serious support from recording companies and the mega record stores are gone. Similarly, the promotion and sales of ceramics have undergone a major shift. With most galleries taking some cut of profits and craft fairs becoming generally
less financially successful for the artists than in the past, it makes sense for potters to take control of promoting and selling their work online or in their own gallery space. I have found in my own career that it’s been crucial to pivot
this way to grow my business. However, I do still enjoy showing my work in other galleries from time to time. I’ve found that it can be a wonderful experience when I feel in sync with the gallery’s aims and vision, and it can definitely
help introduce my work to new audiences.
A New Studio Space and Gallery
When I was starting out as a potter in New York City, I worked in a group studio space, but I always wanted to have my own studio somewhere out in nature. In 2003, I moved with my family to Asheville, North Carolina, where I was able to set up a 1000-square-foot
(92.9-square-meter) home studio. I was making mostly functional, gas-fired pottery and developed a recognizable style for tableware and vases that I was very happy with. I started with a gas kiln, but later on built a wood-fired kiln and began to
make more sculptural, higher-end pieces. I loved experimenting with shapes, textures, and the surprising results of working with fire and ash, but I realized that to keep my business healthy I would need to continue developing my functional, more
affordable work as well as my sculptural pieces. Some potters feel that having two distinct lines of pottery can be confusing to customers, but I’ve found that often the functional pieces serve as an introduction for my customers to become future
collectors of my sculptural pieces.
Really good things started happening when I decided to open my own gallery/studio space in the River Arts District in Asheville 11 years ago. It was inspiring being part of a creative community of nearly 300 artists, and I enjoyed the give and take of
exchanging new ideas and building relationships with some amazing artists. Of course, Asheville has changed a lot since I moved here. It seems to be a common occurrence that when artists live and work in a certain area, that area attracts more people
to it and the nature of the area changes and becomes more expensive, gentrified, and touristy. Artists get priced out of their own neighborhoods. I saw it in New York—in the Village, Tribeca, Soho, and the Lower East Side. However, aside from
serious drawbacks, like rent insecurity for the artists working in the area, it does give us opportunities to meet and talk to our visitors, which can generate return customers and increase sales. But, dealing with visitors does take a lot of time
and energy, and I soon realized I needed to hire a gallery salesperson so I could also get some work done in the studio. This new staff member, Sayo Harris, turned out to be a very important member of my team.
Career Snapshot
Years as a Professional Potter
23
Number of Pots Made in a Year
a few thousand
Education
6 months Greenwich House Pottery, New York City 3 months YWCA classes, New York City
The Time It Takes (Percentages)
Making work (including firing): 40% Promotion/Selling: 40% Office/Bookkeeping: 20%
Favorite Tool
hands
Process
wood firing
Where It Goes
Galleries: my own: 48%, other galleries: 4% Online: 48%
Harris wasn’t always busy with customers, so during slow periods I asked her to work on creating a website with me. This led to putting together a web store. She also organized my customer info and maintained an email list so I could send out mailings
about upcoming open kiln sales and workshops. I began promoting my business on Facebook, and then my daughter got me to start on Instagram in 2010. Posting photos of my work as often as possible really helped me find my audience.
All these developments proved extremely helpful during the pandemic. Despite all the frightening news and the limitations caused by the shutdown, I felt I had to find some advantages, to “go against the wind” for my business to survive. So,
I concentrated heavily on promoting more online open-kiln sales and doing workshops on Zoom. And of course, making pottery.
After the pandemic started to fade I was happy to see that customers and collectors had become more comfortable buying my work online and not just through my gallery. I was gradually able to stop doing art fairs and relying on other galleries for
sales since I could present my work through my own gallery along with my website and social media. Zoom workshops also really took off, and I started attracting customers and students not just in the US, but from all over the world. In addition, I’ve
been very fortunate to be invited to give in-person workshops in many different countries, including France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Chile, Brazil, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Australia. I never thought before that becoming a potter would be
a good way to see the world. So my advice concerning social media is—use it!
One last thing I learned that I’d like to pass on is the importance of getting away from your work once in a while. As a potter, it’s easy for me to slip into constant workaholic mode. But I learned as I got older that I had to carve out time
for other things that also make me happy, like spending time with my family, cooking, playing and composing on the banjo, and traveling. These things in turn inspire me, enrich my work, and help keep me somewhat balanced in this unpredictable but
always fascinating pottery-making life.
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The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Since Ceramics Monthly asked me to talk about the business part of my life as a potter, I would like to begin by sharing how I began building my career and discuss some important things I learned over the years.
Before anything else, though, I would like to say the most important thing I’ve learned is to keep experimenting with your work and don’t be afraid to make mistakes—those mistakes can widen your creativity and lead to surprising new possibilities. Mistakes have led me to some of my favorite techniques!
Changing Careers and Passions
I was born in Osaka, Japan, and moved to the US when I was 21. After moving around for a while, I settled down in New York City. My career before I started pottery was as a musician, music producer, and record company owner in Manhattan. The stresses started to get to me and I turned to making pottery as an escape. It quickly turned into my new passion, and I was lucky to start getting some sales early on. But it was a hard decision to actually leave the music business, which was familiar and successful, and try a completely different medium, and a lot of my friends were really skeptical of my plans. In fact, they thought I was crazy to make pottery my life’s work, especially since I was already in my early 40s when I started with ceramics. But I’m glad I made the change; I love every part of the work, including the business side. I see it as a game where I can present what I’m passionate about to an audience and strive for a satisfying response. It’s a lot like performing music in that respect, and my life has become much more interesting and fulfilling as a result.
Speaking of the music business, I’ve noticed another parallel between ceramics and music during the last few decades. For music artists, being signed to a major record label and product placement in mega record stores used to be crucial for a successful and lucrative career. Then in the early 2000s, internet subscription services exploded and record sales suffered. Out of necessity, many musicians turned to recording and selling their own music and managing their own promotion. Now only the biggest names get serious support from recording companies and the mega record stores are gone. Similarly, the promotion and sales of ceramics have undergone a major shift. With most galleries taking some cut of profits and craft fairs becoming generally less financially successful for the artists than in the past, it makes sense for potters to take control of promoting and selling their work online or in their own gallery space. I have found in my own career that it’s been crucial to pivot this way to grow my business. However, I do still enjoy showing my work in other galleries from time to time. I’ve found that it can be a wonderful experience when I feel in sync with the gallery’s aims and vision, and it can definitely help introduce my work to new audiences.
A New Studio Space and Gallery
When I was starting out as a potter in New York City, I worked in a group studio space, but I always wanted to have my own studio somewhere out in nature. In 2003, I moved with my family to Asheville, North Carolina, where I was able to set up a 1000-square-foot (92.9-square-meter) home studio. I was making mostly functional, gas-fired pottery and developed a recognizable style for tableware and vases that I was very happy with. I started with a gas kiln, but later on built a wood-fired kiln and began to make more sculptural, higher-end pieces. I loved experimenting with shapes, textures, and the surprising results of working with fire and ash, but I realized that to keep my business healthy I would need to continue developing my functional, more affordable work as well as my sculptural pieces. Some potters feel that having two distinct lines of pottery can be confusing to customers, but I’ve found that often the functional pieces serve as an introduction for my customers to become future collectors of my sculptural pieces.
Really good things started happening when I decided to open my own gallery/studio space in the River Arts District in Asheville 11 years ago. It was inspiring being part of a creative community of nearly 300 artists, and I enjoyed the give and take of exchanging new ideas and building relationships with some amazing artists. Of course, Asheville has changed a lot since I moved here. It seems to be a common occurrence that when artists live and work in a certain area, that area attracts more people to it and the nature of the area changes and becomes more expensive, gentrified, and touristy. Artists get priced out of their own neighborhoods. I saw it in New York—in the Village, Tribeca, Soho, and the Lower East Side. However, aside from serious drawbacks, like rent insecurity for the artists working in the area, it does give us opportunities to meet and talk to our visitors, which can generate return customers and increase sales. But, dealing with visitors does take a lot of time and energy, and I soon realized I needed to hire a gallery salesperson so I could also get some work done in the studio. This new staff member, Sayo Harris, turned out to be a very important member of my team.
Career Snapshot
Years as a Professional Potter
23
Number of Pots Made in a Year
a few thousand
Education
6 months Greenwich House Pottery, New York City
3 months YWCA classes, New York City
The Time It Takes (Percentages)
Making work (including firing): 40%
Promotion/Selling: 40%
Office/Bookkeeping: 20%
Favorite Tool
hands
Process
wood firing
Where It Goes
Galleries: my own: 48%, other galleries: 4%
Online: 48%
Learn More
akirasatake.com
Instagram: @akirasatake
Facebook: @akirasatakeceramics
New Developments
Harris wasn’t always busy with customers, so during slow periods I asked her to work on creating a website with me. This led to putting together a web store. She also organized my customer info and maintained an email list so I could send out mailings about upcoming open kiln sales and workshops. I began promoting my business on Facebook, and then my daughter got me to start on Instagram in 2010. Posting photos of my work as often as possible really helped me find my audience.
All these developments proved extremely helpful during the pandemic. Despite all the frightening news and the limitations caused by the shutdown, I felt I had to find some advantages, to “go against the wind” for my business to survive. So, I concentrated heavily on promoting more online open-kiln sales and doing workshops on Zoom. And of course, making pottery.
After the pandemic started to fade I was happy to see that customers and collectors had become more comfortable buying my work online and not just through my gallery. I was gradually able to stop doing art fairs and relying on other galleries for sales since I could present my work through my own gallery along with my website and social media. Zoom workshops also really took off, and I started attracting customers and students not just in the US, but from all over the world. In addition, I’ve been very fortunate to be invited to give in-person workshops in many different countries, including France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Chile, Brazil, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Australia. I never thought before that becoming a potter would be a good way to see the world. So my advice concerning social media is—use it!
One last thing I learned that I’d like to pass on is the importance of getting away from your work once in a while. As a potter, it’s easy for me to slip into constant workaholic mode. But I learned as I got older that I had to carve out time for other things that also make me happy, like spending time with my family, cooking, playing and composing on the banjo, and traveling. These things in turn inspire me, enrich my work, and help keep me somewhat balanced in this unpredictable but always fascinating pottery-making life.
Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
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