Making Smalls

I live in a town that gets 3 million tourist visitors a year. Because of this the small things I make are my biggest sellers because they are easy to pack in a suitcase for the trip home. Mugs are a big seller because coffee is such a big part of our daily beverage ritual. Other things that sell quickly are spoon rests, cactus refrigerator magnets, cactus Christmas tree ornaments and cactus ring holders. You can see the theme here. If it’s got an artsy cactus on it and it fits in a suitcase, there’s a good chance someone is going to buy it. The nice thing about smalls is that they are easy to tuck in between larger pieces in my kiln. The last load that I fired was almost entirely filled with small things because the shops in town that I sell at were running low on them. Another nice thing about smalls is that they are easy to use as glaze experiments because if it doesn’t work out, there’s not a big loss in materials or time. I have to admit, that I have the best sales months when my booth has lots of smalls besides my larger work.