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Samirah Steinmeyer | Episode 431
Samirah Steinmeyer began her small batch pottery business, Seedling Clayworks, in 2012. She has a bachelors degree in fine arts and a masters degree in landscape architecture. Her mother, a ceramics teacher, taught Samirah the basics of wheel throwing and hand building. She has been learning new techniques, improving her skills through practice and developing designs ever since. Landscapes, especially public lands, are her primary source of inspiration.
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Do you remember that first sale that you made?
Yes, I do. It was a little bowl and I had been working with the tornado theme so I had made a really defined swirl in the bottom of it. It was probably a three inch bowl. It was tiny but it came out looking kind of cool so I put that up on Etsy and somebody bought it for 7 dollars. I was so excited that I actually sold something and at the same time I was a little bit anxious hoping they like it. It was the first thing I made that was going out into the world.
How has selling your work effected the making of your work in terms of what you end up making?
Well in order to sell you do have to pay attention to what is selling. I’m Okay with paying attention to knowing if a lot of desert cups are selling I will make more of those. So I do pay attention to what is selling.
Do you offer only what you like to make? Or are you making what is selling?
Everything I make has come from a place of inspiration. I don’t think I have ever made anything that a person has asked me to make and I didn’t want to make. I have turned down orders before because I don’t want to make something that is just not inspiring to me or that doesn’t look like my work. I don;t think I’m jumping on trends just to make a sale. I love every design that I’ve made.
What is your favorite marketing platform?
I use Instagram. That is my only marketing.
If that is your only marketing, what makes a good Instagram feed?
I think it has to look like something that would be approachable. Not too personal or people may feel a little voyeuristic. I think it has to look like a business. Beautiful photos of course. I like feeds that show process and what a person is inspired by and shows the finished pieces and a nice combination of all of those and videos. That makes a good feed.
How did you up your photography skills?
Just practice. Over time I learned how to edit a little bit. Up the brightness so it would be nice and crisp. I take a lot of photos. If I am taking a photo of a cup I will take at least 6 photos and pick the best one.
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What is your favorite thing that you love about being a potter?
I love having an idea in your mind and then bringing it out into the world. Making something manifest from this intangible place in your imagination and getting to meet it as a tangible object in reality. It is an amazing feeling.
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In starting your business, what is one thing you would do differently if you could do it all over again?
That is a hard question. I don’t know. There are times I wish I would have known more about pricing and really paying myself what I should be paid. You have had a few guests that have talked about the issue of pricing and actually trying to make a livable wage. That means the prices need to by high and some people are really upset about it not being affordable. So that is something I have really struggled with.
Do you think you are good at what you do?
I do. Is that Okay?
Why does it make you feel uncomfortable to answer that way?
I don’t know. I will have to think about it. I have worked a lot to become what I do. I haven’t arrived at anything yet. I am going to get better. I am sure five years from now I am going to look back and wince a little bit. It is all a process of evolving and I am going to get better as I go and right now I feel good about it.
Book
The Language of Landscape by Anne Whiston Spirn
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