Caryn Newman | Episode 1211
Caryn Newman creates functional stoneware and porcelain ceramics with a focus on timeless, accessible design. Caryn trained in traditional Japanese production techniques during a two‑year apprenticeship with Richard Bennett at the Great Barrington Pottery in the 1970s. Caryn later co‑founded Crow Hill Pottery in Abbot Village, Maine, and established Willowood Pottery in 2012.
Clay Call
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Is it important to sell your work?
Yes, it is beginning with covid, when I was lucky enough to have my studio right here, I made a lot of pottery. I made pots ahead, so I’m very picky now about what I make.
Is it critical also, then, if you’re going to be a seller of your work, is it critical to market your word?
It is, and because I really don’t do big shows anymore, I sell most of my work locally, in addition to what I sell on the website, including the craft Co Op that I’m part of,
You mentioned earlier in our conversation about the importance of keeping a mailing list, whether it’s emails or addresses. How do you go about collecting those and building that list?
I hand write every receipt for everything I sell, and I asked them if they would share their snail mail and email address, and I have it on a spreadsheet, and you use that to print labels for the postcards that I create, and I have that open studio sale.
Every receipt is, is a great way to be able to give somebody their, you know, their receipt. But are you also using any kind of electronic apps to be able to keep track of sales?
I have a spreadsheet that I track all of my sales on. I use square to for the credit card processing, but I know I don’t use anything, any app other than that.
What does a typical work day look like for you?
Well, I love what I do, and sometimes I can’t even sleep at night because I’m thinking about what I want to make the next day. My teacher Richard used to say, Are you throwing in your sleep? Because that is a good sign for a potter. Are you practicing what you’re learning? So I’m ready to go. I’m a morning person. I like to get into the studio early. I do some cleaning first, if it hasn’t been done the night before, and I have something in mind that I’m going to make, and I just go for it.
You’ve been in ceramics since the 70s… What is one thing that if a young potter comes to you and wants to make a life in ceramics, what’s the one bit of advice you would say, This is essential?
You have to be passionate about what you’re going to do, and you probably have to have enough money so that it’s not a struggle, whether it’s a side hustle or being very smart about marketing, it’s something that a lot of people don’t focus on. We used to say, when we were trying to have a business in Maine, where we were in a very rural, poor area. We make art. We don’t really want to think about the selling, but it is part of it. I mean, we’re not doing it just for the fun of it. You want the response from the public and a reason to go back in the studio next week.
Book
Nerikomi, The Art Of Colored Clay by Thomas Doadley
Contact
Instagram: @willowoodpotter