Friday, February 17, 2017

REAL Time Spent Making Oval Bonsai Pots

NEW WEBSITE :   Fionna's Bonsai Pots

I'm using a new website for both Blog Posts and for Selling my Bonsai Pots.   Click the above blue link to be redirected. Thankyou.

_____________________________________Just looking at this picture, it's hard to imagine the many hours that have been spent making these 8 ovals so far. 
They have been made and bisque fired, but still have to be glazed and fired yet again before they are finished.

Recently I've been strongly encouraged to factor in the real total time spent making each oval  bonsai pot.(not just a rough guess as I have been doing for the past few years) It has been interesting comparing the total time making a small oval compared to a larger one.   Not as much difference as I thought there would be.


The other thing I'm struggling with is what to charge as my hourly rate in working out the real pot cost. 


Pottery is a skill, with many years of practice to develop an acceptable standard and style. Perhaps a potter doesn't have the written trade qualifications like an electrician or mechanic, but that doesn't mean that the skill learnt over the years is worth any less than the so called "qualified trades person".


Then comes the hard part....combining all of those real expenses into the pot price.  If only people could see the time and effort that goes into some of these pots, they wouldn't grumble and groan that they're more expensive than the "imported" ones.


I guess that's the purpose of this blog....to share just what is involved in making bonsai pots and to enlighten peoples perception of how a pot is made from a lump of clay.