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Elana Noy | Episode 473
Alana Noy is a Brooklyn, New York potter where she runs Malka Dina, a studio that produces an evolving collection of home wares, jewelry, and art.
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How much does the market determine what you will make?
I guess a lot, now that I am being asked that question. To an extent. It’s not like I changed my aesthetic or anything. I just had to give up part of the idealization which was I am going to make these one of kind pieces and that will be my business. People see a picture and they want what is in the picture. So it changed things in that way. A lot of my pieces are still in the same style as when I first started.
How important is it to streamline your offerings?
Important. Without honing in on that stuff I just would never be able to get stuff out. It has been the only way I could ever leave the studio like at all. I still am here almost every day, but also just being able to get an order and not having a pit in my stomach thinking, I hope I can deliver this. Knowing that I have made that thing a number of times before and saying, yes, I can get you this piece in this amount of time and knowing that it is true is really important.
What is your basic marketing strategy right now?
I don’t know that I really have one. I’m kind of just making stuff and showing it people and hope that they like it. I mean that is really kind of it. I don’t really know what else I can do. I am not a big business where I am going to have ads anywhere or things like that. And I also know there is a cap on how big I want to be anyway. I don’t want to get to a point where I start outsourcing manufacturing. I don’t want to a manufacturer , I want to be a maker.
Tell me about the significance of having your own website and it’s impact on your business.
I do get orders for things on my website even though they are to order. So I know that I do need to figure out a way to make time to have stock on my website. Because I think it really would have a big impact on my business if I could keep my web shop stocked. Also, just having good photos on my website, I think, is part of why I get press reaching out to me. They usually just tell me which photos from my website they like and ask for higher res images. So it sort of gives them, if they are laying out a page, or a spread in their mind, they already have images they know that they can plug in there. So having that ready for them has been really helpful.
Do you ever take commission work?
I guess I have done slightly customized stuff but not totally they give me an idea and then I produce it for them.
How do you go about approaching boutiques or stores to carry your work? What is your sales pitch like to them?
I send them my line sheet. I have made my line sheet also into a sort of a look book. I think coming from jewelry and having been interested in fashion has helped a lot. When I first got out of college I did merchandising. So knowing how to style things and work that in has sort of helped. I am not just sending pictures of my pieces on a white back group but I am giving them a sort of atmosphere. I let that do the work for me. A lot of my customers are people I met at trade shows and I am still just working with.
What will you need to have done in order to consider yourself successful?
If I can have a full-time paid employee, that will mean that I have done something that worked. That is my ultimate dream. I would love to hire my intern full time.
Book
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Contact:
Instagram: @malka_dina