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Trevor Foster | Episode 509
Trevor Foster has been working full time with ceramics for the past 10 years. Trevor has a BFA in Ceramics from the University of Washington were he studied under Akio Takamori and Doug Jeck. He operated a delft ceramics factory in Seattle for 2 years as an apprentice to Charles Kraftt. Trevor currently operates a ceramics studio in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Trevor’s ceramics have been exhibited in 6 different countries over the past 2 years.
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Why would you run a Kickstarter to fund the lifestyle or the trips that you have been doing? Why Kickstarter?
Kickstarter has some good sides and some bad sides. I will start with the bad thing about Kickstarter is it kind of has this beg kind of feel to it that I don’t like at all, where you are asking for support. So I try to approach it from a different perspective and just try to make a product that it is at a price point that people can afford. Because it is kind of like you are wholesaling to individuals the way you take the orders before you fulfill them, it makes it so that I can offer a piece at the best price possible. That is what I kind of aim to do with my Kickstarters.
Tell me what that looks like then, wholesaling.
So rather than, if somebody wants to order one cup, that is kind of difficult, you have to get the packaging for it, wrap it up, bring it to the post office, so if you could get 150 people to do that then you can get all the boxes organized and get all the firings lined up and make a few trips to the post office instead of all these individual ones. It just kind of makes it so the whole process flows smoother. And I can pass the savings on to the people that support the Kickstarter.
Why Kickstarter as opposed to Indigogo?
I think I did it several years ago and Kickstarter was a little more popular. But I think Kickstarter has a really good format. It is a short video and specific rewards, and I kind of like the idea if you are all in or all out.
How do you go about setting about your rewards? Do you have different levels for people?
Yeah, again, the part about Kickstarter that I like the best is that I can make something that people can afford, the lowest possible price point that I could ever do. I set that up as the basic first reward and then the subsequent rewards I can still keep pretty affordable. I try to have a low level, mid level, upper level.
How about setting goals for yourself for Kickstarter? Is it better to have a lower goal so you can reach it or is it better to have a higher goal?
I kind of believe in the lower goal. Or what you think would make it worthwhile. So far I have done two and I have doubled the goal both times.
Is there a premium time for how long you would like your Kickstarter to last?
From what I have read 30 days is the golden ticket.
Do you ever have any shipping losses as you are sending them around the world?
Yes, as I am sure you and your audience know about this. These materials are not the most resilient and I do lose somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 percent of all orders that I have shipped out.
What happens when you lose something? What is your standard response?
I just eat it and send another one.
Does that mean you make more than enough for back up?
Yes. You always have to pad it a little bit with an extra five or ten percent.
My last question for you: Do you have a good joke?
I heard a good pottery joke the other day. So I will try that one.
So there is a lottery and it’s three million dollars and it turns out three people get the same number. So they have to split it three ways, each one getting a million dollars. A doctor was one of the winners, and he decides, I’m going to buy an island and cash out and retire and drink Mai Tais in the sun. The second winner is a social worker and he decides he is going to retire, cash out his 401K and just play golf for the rest of his life. The third winner is a potter and he decides he is just going to keep doing craft fairs until the money runs out.
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Instagram: @trevorfosterstudio