Custom Mugs?

As I'm slowly exploring ceramics and the best methods for me to make, sell, and enjoy the entire process I'm also considering what custom mug production looks like for my practice. I've already done a couple custom mug drops and people have been quick to scoop up those spots, but as I develop my custom process I anticipate that things will shift and morph into something that looks most manageable for me.

Current Studio Space

I have some limitations with producing pieces at the moment and one limitation is creating in a shared studio space. I chose to become a member for a few reasons; I love a creative community and chatting with other pottery nerds has been so much fun, I live in a small space in Toronto and don't have the space for the required equipment, the cost of equipment is something I wasn't ready to invest in, I'm still learning and doing so in a communal space is so beneficial, plus so many other reasons that a shared space is such a good thing at this point in my ceramic journey.

However, this does mean a few limitations; I live far enough away from the studio that it isn't super easy to get in as much as I would like, I don't have the time or space at the studio to make large quantities of ceramics, and a shared space means a shared kiln and sometimes the turn around for fired pieces is a bit of a wait. All of these things are entirely reasonable and I went into a shared space with these things in mind. But it does mean that I just can't make as much pottery as I would like and so it also limits how much custom work I can take on at any one time. 

If I keep making ceramics long enough then I anticipate that this won't be a sustainable solution for me in a few years, but it is absolutely the right spot for me currently so I'm happy to fit myself into the shared studio pace.

Custom Pieces

Having said that, I really wanted to offer some custom pieces because there are so many variations of a mug and I wanted people to be able to "build-their-own-mugs" so to speak, cause thats what I'd want too! So I started offering some limited spots for custom orders.

At the One of a Kind Spring show I had 6 people sign up for custom mugs and they got to chose what finish they wanted, what critter, how the handle would be etc. Everyone who ordered was really patient as I had some issues with glazing during this time (a symptom of still learning) and so it took me a couple months to fully finish those orders. Once those were all done, I felt ready to see if more people were wanting custom mugs and they did! Currently I'm working on 8 new mug orders that will be done for the end of August if all things go to plan. 

For this new round of custom orders I created a little fun graphic for some of the choices involved in the process (though I realized after that I missed a couple things so this will change for future custom orders).

And it made the order process a bit more streamlined which has already made it easier to keep everything in order in my brain lol. I'm sure during this batch of custom mugs I'll learn a lot more (this whole ceramic process is just constantly learning) and I'm eager to implement those lessons into the next custom mug drop which I'm tentatively setting for September.

SOOO if you're interested in a custom mug, heres your sign to start considering what you'd like yours to look like. Also some things to consider are:

• these are for pick up only so make sure you live in or can come to Ontario and are able to pick up your mug at one of my fall markets (Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara Falls, Peterborough)
• All mugs will be unique so the general shape and size outline is just a guide and I'm not really able to guarantee it too much at this point in my skill level lol

If you'd like to be one of the first to hear about these custom openings then make sure you sign up for my newsletter and follow me on Instagram!

Thanks for reading!

xx Rachel