Come and meet Victoria, owner of
Little Wren Pottery
- How did you get started? - My Dad was originally a potter years and years ago. I myself was keen to learn and he recommended that I attend a night class since he wasn't keen on teaching me himself. I did learn a lot at the class but I got to a point where I was wanting to do my own thing, it was then we started working at home.
- Where are you from? - I currently live in Sunderland in the North East of England. Which isn't currently renowned for its crafts but at one time was home to over 20 potteries.
- Are your creations limited editions or unique? - Each piece I make is unique in one way or another. Its unlikely you'd get two hand thrown pieces the same. I've recently started work on a couple of pottery ranges which will hopefully be introduced for Christmas.
- When did you start your practice? - I started just over a year ago, which in the grand scheme of things isn't very long at all.
- Any favourite suppliers for your materials? - In our area there's only one place to buy supplies from and thats from Bill Todd in County Durham. I usually buy potclays or potterycrafts supplies, the quality of their products are quite high even though it can be a little expensive.
- Are you a professional artist or is this a hobby? - A little bit of both, even though its something I do part time I try to be professional about it. I'd hope one day that I might be able to earn at least enough money to pay the bills.
- what is your brand about? - I tend to focus on the rustic nature of pottery, I prefer to use natural colours and imagery to bring the outdoors inside. I also like to focus on the balance between quality and affordability, I don't think people should pay over the odds for a handmade product.
- What inspires you? - I really like going to museums and looking at old ancient pottery, I often think these older forms are in some ways more attractive than our modern ones. I also get inspiration from nature, I spend a lot of time out in the garden when I'm not potting and sometimes animals make it onto mu pots.
- What is your favourite piece ? - Its tough to choose since its always changing but at the moment I really love this large ornate red bowl.
- How do you promote your work? - I spend time promoting myself on my blog, other peoples blogs, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter. Even though its questionable the impact Twitter has I do love it and people get to know me through it.
- Where are you showing your work? - This has been the first summer I've actually attended craft fairs. It was a huge learning curve for me, selling in person is a whole different challenge to selling online. In the run up to Christmas I'll be attending Guisborough craft fair on December 11th.
- If you look back in ten years time, what do you hope to have achieved? - I just hope to get better at throwing. Part of being in ceramics is looking at continual improvement in all areas of what you do, from shaping a lump of clay on the wheel to packing it up and shipping out the orders. My aim for the previous year was to make double the sales I had in the previous year and things seem to be going well on that front at the moment!
- What advice you wish someone had told you when you started? - That I'd actually spend proportionately more time doing administration tasks than actual making. Marketing and stocktaking take up a huge amount of time but these things just have to get done to keep the wheels turning.
- Do you have any advice for fellow artists and designers? - Its important just to keep going but look for improvement everywhere it can be made. Improvement of your skills, your materials, photos, packing orders, keeping stock of whats going on.
- Did you ever think when you were young that you would be where you are now? - No I didn't! When I was young I had other aspirations in life but I've always been a creative person and thats something which has featured continuously through my life.
- any special promos? - I quite often host giveaways on my blog usually roughly quarterly, my next one will be in January. I also occasionally have discount sales and sell pottery seconds.
- what would you like to be when you grow up? - I'd like to be a potter!
- favorite jeweller? - Lazy Giraffe
http://www.lazygiraffe.etsy.com/
- favorite websites? - Mostly foodie ones!
http://www.smittenkitchen.com,
http://www.lottieanddoof.com,
http://www.sprinklebakes.com
- Anything else you'd like to add? I'd love to get to know you on twitter you can add me at
http://www.twitter.com/MoominMidge
To discover more about Victoria Baker, visit her site -
http://www.littlewrenpottery.co.uk
It also features some wonderful recipes worth a try, and wonderful pictures.
