I recently had the incredible opportunity to hike the Dolomites in Italy, and as happens, I had jet lag after travel on both ends of the trip. Naturally I thought about pottery. And luckily I had a brilliant idea!
As soon as I registered Lady E as a business, I started thinking about my themes. After all, branding is critical in the business world. Even in pottery, having a theme of work makes potters seem more professional and established.
The problem is, I've spent a lot of time disassociating my identity from my job, plus I'm still pretty new at this pottery gig and most importantly, each time I think about branding in terms of pottery themes (which is how I've mostly seen it implemented), I feel like I'm putting my pottery into a box. I chose pottery to express my creativity and advance my skills in the physics and chemistry it requires. Boxing in a lifetime, or even annual theme of work feels like a major constraint.
Plus, there's the side of the business that feels like a constraint no matter what. Marketing. This little thorn in my side is the lesson I continue to learn. Like the red mushrooms dotting our trails, I continue to be drawn to it but it makes me sick every time I dig in.
So -- brilliant idea time! Why don't I box in something I don't enjoy about the process, and let the creativity and experience grow? I don't need to stress about selling every day, or even every week. Maybe once per quarter would do the trick. And I can timebox that. Maybe have an open house in late summer, sell at a holiday market and have a once annual online sale in the spring? I'm still working out the details, but I'm already feeling a weight lifting just not thinking about year-round sales.
Now back to branding if you're still interested -- because it is an important part of business. Or at least it's still ingrained in me that it is. But it doesn't have to be a kitschy, product driven theme. My branding -- what actually drives my work -- is learning, experimentation, finding something interesting and evolving from there. This doesn't happen without community, meeting people -- in person -- who are passionate about what they do, and/or supporting them in getting there. Yes we have to pay bills, but the idealist side of me believes we can do it while also enjoying life. And if we can manage that, the world will be a happier, better place for all of us.
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