Production Potter Takes a Break | Ryan Ball | Episode 610

Ryan Ball | Episode 610

Ryan Ball is a Twin Cities, Minnesota based potter originally from Louisiana. Working mostly in midrange white clay, Ryan produces a wide range of functional wares. Ryan pulls from a decade of production studio experience, employing colorful glazes of his own design over soft, inviting forms decorated with slip textures.

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How do you know what size of a business you want to design your ceramic studio to be geared towards?

Well, I know how I wanted my studio to be by slowly growing out of previous work spaces. So every time I have had a work space I was always having to expand and contract every time I got into the studio and that was taking up more and more of my time. I was making so many pots that if it was a community studio I would spill out into people’s space and out of respect i would not over take other people’s spaces indefinitely. So I would find that half an hour before and after I was making was just spent on setting up because I didn’t have the amount of space I needed. That is why I am in a 24 by 24 garage right now. And it is ideal for me currently and I am sure I will grow out of it eventually too.

When you are thinking about your customer base how do you know which products they are going to be clambering to get?

That’s a tricky question. I have found that the only way to know that is by bringing new stuff to your audience and see who buys what, but also with the caveat that some times you just sell a bunch of a thing and it is just coincidence. Something sells well one time and then I bring it to the next show and I won’t sell a single one, so I think it is really important for you to just make what you want to make and hopefully people want to respond to that.

Do you think that initial sales was because of your excitement level the first time around and the second time around when you weren’t necessarily as thrilled about it you weren’t pushing it the same way?

I think a lot of it has to do with what the show is. I have heard you talk to a lot of potters about finding your market and sometimes you might make a product that you had a really small market for and once you fill that need than those people aren’t going to come back and buy that same thing so you have to either bring it to a different market or come up with a new product.

Do you like the idea that your ceramics are a product?

Yeah, I like working within the world of functional ceramics because that gives me a box to work within because I think of myself as more of a maker than an artist. So having those requirements of , I’m making a mug and it has to work as a mug, that is a good starting point and a good set of parameters to work within.

Do you find it is important to test the market, find out what is selling, and then to narrow in on a specific line?

I would say yes and no. I try to stay inside a loose set of parameters for a line of things but kind of as a reaction to having been a production potter and making the exact same thing over and over again, it is nice to have subtle differences within a line of work. So I kind of like working on a theme but not within very strict guidelines.

How are you keeping track of your customer base?

Well, I do a couple of shows locally on a regular yearly basis and it is fun to go to those shows and meet with some customers who maybe have’t been to that show for a couple of years and they see my new work and they say, What happened to that old thing that you were doing? and I say, Well, it got old I guess! What do you think of this new stuff? And sometimes they will react positively and some times they will remind me of something that I used to do that I don’t really have a good reason why I stopped and I will revive that.

Do you keep an email list?

Currently I have a very badly kept email list. It is mostly just social media shout outs. I think when you are paying to be a part of a show, I depend a lot of that money going towards advertising for the show and getting customers for me. Because once I get a customer they follow me through my social media. I don’t like getting lots of emails so I don’t like sending lots of emails.

How do you go about pricing your work?

Oh boy, everybody hates that question for sure. You know, honestly every couple of years I look at my pots and think, These got a little bit nicer. And I raise my prices a little bit more but I don’t really have a hard and fast system it’s just baseline I kind of add up the amount of time that was spent on a piece and just go from there. I know there is a lot of different thought processes that people go through, but for me I pick a price and I stick with it and once the work gets better I raise it a little bit.