Old School Sales | Krista Cameron | Episode 621

Krista Cameron | Episode 621

Krista Cameron has been passionate about pottery for over 16 years and has a Diploma in Ceramics from St. Lawrence College and has been participating in regional exhibits and sales since 1998. Krista’s current studio is found near Charleston Lake nestled among the rocks and pine trees, a beautiful setting which she endeavors to capture in her art. Krista has been showing in Eastern Ontario since 2000. Krista sells her work at The Green Gecko and Casual Living. Krista teaches pottery at her Charleston Lake, Ontario studio and in Brockville at Hilltop Studio.

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How do you work with commissions?

Well after the first couple of commissions where you can’t quite make what is in the mind of the person asking for the commission, I developed this technique where I would invite the person to my studio and we would make the item together. This might not be the method for every body but it really works for me. My customers come to my studio, I discuss shrinkage with them, if it’s something that needs to be a specific size then we do the math. I have them do the shrinkage math and then I go over it with them to make sure it’s right. If there are multiple items we weigh out the clay and they keep weighing out the clay while I do a little wheel prep. Then I throw the object. I have them in on the shaping of the object or if they decide they want it slightly different then that is their decision because it is what they have in their mind that is so hard to translate. I let them pick a color of what is here in the studio and not something I have to make up and test. I have done that before. It’s not worth your time unless you are ordering a whole dinner ware set.

What you just described was different than what I expected! What you described was like the idea of being a police sketch artist. You are with the customer listening to them as they tell you their idea and you are kind of sketching it out for them until you get to the point where you can say, this is the cup. Is that accurate?

That’s right! So I throw it with them here. I say, Do you want that curve a little higher on the cup? Do you want it a little lower on the cup? How do you want this? After I have one of them the right size and shape then I can go ahead and make them and they can leave. I have one at least made while they are here.

What does that do to their sense of buy in to their cup? Or their piece?

There are two happy people when they come to pick it up! Right? A couple of times that I have done commissions you can tell they are thinking, That is not what I was expecting. After I developed this process they tell every body that it is theirs, they have ownership over it. Right? Like they have been there for the making of it. So they are always much more happy with the final outcome.

When you have a commission through a store you are waiting for the piece to sell and then you get your money. Is that accurate?

That’s accurate. That’s accurate and in those cases a lot of that is whatever I feel like making I take to the store. It is not like the store is ordering 12 of this and 12 of that. It is more of what I had made and I take it to the store and I say, Do you guys want to see if you can sell this? The a lot of times they do. It is in a store called Casual Living which is a high end furniture store and I am probably one of the lower price points in the store, which really helps you to sell. So my work is next to a really beautiful sofa.

I like the idea of complementary association? Do you only sell through the complementary type association when you are having a store represent your work?

I would say yes, except for my last show which is in a gallery. It is in a gallery location so we will see how those sales go. Because they are very one off and the platters are very much food oriented but a lot of work I find that isn’t dinner ware type work doesn’t sell nearly as much in my rural community, as I would like.

Do you prefer to sell when you don’t get your money upfront compared to where you only get paid when you make the sale?

I have lived my life where I am not paycheck to paycheck so getting the money at the back end doesn’t matter to me nearly as much as long as I can keep on top of , Okay, this is every six months I have to make sure that the transaction has happened. Or, I have to touch base there. As opposed to I tend to live a very busy life and I have a lot going on so I can’t let things slide. I am not the best business person in keeping up with that. I know that is one of my weak points so I have to keep on top of it.

How do you keep track of what work is actually out there so you don’t miss out on them selling something and it just gets forgotten?

It is very important that you keep an inventory list of what’s there and then if it’s six months or three months or whatever the appointed time, is to double check that and come back to that.

What is your favorite thing to do on a day off?

On a day off is kayak. I like to go and check my bees in the morning and then kayak in the afternoon. And in the kayak, my husband who is a musician, who go out and we usually have some wine and a baguette and some cheeses so we make it a little picnic.