Journeying on

We are now more than halfway into the first month of 2017 and it is also about time that we dust the cobwebs off from this blog that we update with little regularity.

It’s been a good six months since we’ve decided to plunge full time, head in into this business and craft of pottery, and maybe we should share about our journey thus far. Its not rocket science for one to know that starting your own business is never easy. We’ve met with quite some resistance and had mountains to climb; but things too are working out slowly and beautifully. 

Starting your own pottery studio, or any business for that matter, means incurring initial fixed cost like buying a kiln and electric wheel which easily costs more than half a grand. Material in Singapore like clay, tools and glazes are astronomical too when you compare with what you can get in the region. When we were in Korea, the Korean potters were surprised at just how much we had to pay for those basic materials, when theirs would cost 1/5 the price. 

To keep our pockets from bleeding, we decided the way forward was to keep cost lean by utilising the living room at home as a studio. This way, we would save on rent and commuting time. But until the day we own our own property, we would have to live under the rules and prescriptions of the home we’re living in now - which includes no operation after 10pm, small working space etc. Not the easiest regulations we have to abide by, but we have to make the best of it if we choose to be economical. 

The first few months were rocky but we were mentally prepared for months of financial insecurity and we had some savings to tap on, so that eased some burden and stress. We spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas, concepts and tried to figure out the market, until we finally decided the best way through that, really, is to keep making and making and making. Once we started producing more tea wares and cups, we were able to generate some interest and it was through all these experimentation that we were able to identify what the market liked, and what they didn’t. 

Six months on, we daresay that our wares have improved quite a fair bit and are a lot more refined from when we first started. We now have our signature driftwood series and am still in the product development stage for our black gold series. When we choose to look at things on the micro level and lament and wallow in our missed moments or unsuccessful experiments, which for your info we have a lot of, we lose a lot of precious time which could otherwise have been paid forward to making even better items. We work towards making our wares light weight and refined and in the process must have broken hundreds of teapots, but we truly believe that only through our mistakes can we learn and progress to greater heights. Sounds very cliche, I know, but each time our pot cracks, our heart bleeds a little, but we just keep fighting on, even more determined than before. 

Business wise, we are growing slowly but steadily. We have a lot to work on - new ideas, more product development and we also count our blessings knowing that we are gradually expanding our work beyond our own circle of friends. Hurray! Just last week, we sent out our first overseas pre-order to Denmark and we see a lot of new faces for pottery classes. So thank you, you and you for being such great supporters of handicraft and all things home-made. We will strive to update this blog weekly so stay in touch and stay tuned for more!