Starting the year off on a new note

Happy 2015!

I could get into all the excuses I have for not having blogged in far too long but I won't so I can get to the excitement of being back in the studio after a break over the holidays.

I think January is one of my favourite times of the year in the studio because I get to step back a little bit from the process of running my studio to plan, experiment, play, and make new work for the new year.  I just finished working on my financial year end (ahead of the game by a few months from what I usually do) and it's given me a good picture of where I need to put my energy and time.  I'm still working on figuring out what pieces I sold most and how many I made last year (a first for me!).  All these numbers make my head swim but, at some point, it's a really important way to think through how I work and how to grow in a way that fits who I am, and what my goals are.

Part of this strategy and numbers, planning and playing is coming from starting to work with a Business Manager.  This past year I met with the incredible team from Taendem and felt like it was a good fit for me at this stage in my studio life.  When I started Dahlhaus in 2007 I took a self-employment program, wrote a business plan and had a business coach through the program to guide me for my first year.  Since then, I've been kind of winging it.  Every year I think I might have figured out the perfect balance of wholesale, online sales, studio sales and craft sales, along with hiring more or less help in the studio, spending more or less money on photography or marketing opportunities, saying yes or saying no to the increasing amount of opportunities that come my way, regretting some or learning a lot from being part of something I hadn't anticipated working on.

This intuitive approach of running my studio really came to a crashing halt last January when I fractured my arm in a bike accident.  The day before I fell, I was on the phone with my dad and he had asked me how my week was going.  I told him I felt like I was in a boxing arena, and all these punches were coming my way and I wasn't sure which ones to duck for and when to punch back.  That kind of analogy really hit me hard the following day while I sat in the walk-in clinic, pondering how I was possibly going to work with a fractured right elbow.  Amazingly, with the help of my brand new studio assistant, Janine, I was able to get through a really tough time.

So this year I wanted to start the year on a better footing.  I know that creating a viable, sustainable studio practice as an artist and a maker is a tall order, but I'm willing to give it all I have without compromise.  Well, there's going to be a bit of give and take, but you get the idea.  Here's to 2015, to turning 40, to celebrating 20 years of love with my darling, to having my oldest child become a teenager, and to the wild ride my little studio is on!

 Thanks for following along!  Join me on Instagram for more great chats and stories.

A little on my lately

Well 2012 is wrapping up nicely.  I spent the past few weeks socked in the studio, finishing up my last glaze firing for the year, cleaning and organizing (check out the new shelves!!) the studio for a photoshoot and then finishing off my last show of the season! It was so great to see everyone at Shiny Fuzzy Muddy this past weekend- what a stellar line up of other designers and makers to be part of.  It felt good this year to be part of small shows, not a really big convention center show.  Something about the intimacy of these shows feels right at this time in my life. 

I'm currently wrapping up with orders being shipped off and have a very little bit of work left.  You will notice that my online shops are pretty bare as shipping costs start sky-rocketing in time for the holidays.  I don't really like to stress about other people's packages arriving in time for Christmas so I would rather not feel that pressure. Usually at this time of year I take the remainder of what I have left to the Gallery of BC Ceramics- which I might still be doing towards the end of the week once the last few local people have stopped by. 

Once again I am so thankful to have local people who know about my work, continue to purchase it for themselves and others.  I know there are really very few people who need another mug in their cupboard or another vase or bowl in their already full houses.  While I sometimes almost shame myself for making more 'stuff' that this world really doesn't need more of, I still believe that objects that are made from the heart and hands have an authentic story and connection to share with those that bring them into their lives.  From the look on people's faces when they come up to my table at a craft show, to the stories of how people use my work over and over and enjoy it, to the phone call I got from someone in Dubai wanting me to send work to his home in Germany in time for Christmas, I continue to marvel where my story and work continues to take me.  These are the little moments I shake my head and wonder and feel really blessed and thankful.

Anyways, today is the 12th day of the 12th month of the 12th year so it seems like a good day to post.  Hope you are well and that you take a moment to pause at 12 just to think how amazing it is to be alive in this rapidly changing world we live in. 

Eastside Culture Crawl 2012!

Lots of pots are being pulled out of the kiln for the Eastside Culture Crawl that's happening this coming weekend, November 16, 17 & 18. I will have lots to choose from my floral lines, as well as a great selection of pots with new patterns and designs!  I'm really excited to get my new studio ready for visitors too- it's going to be a great weekend so please do come  by if you are in Vancouver!

The Eastside Culture Crawl is a 3 day studio tour and show taking place on the Eastside of Vancouver.  There is a large map in the insert of the Georgia Straight so grab one when it comes out on Thursday so you know which studios are open.  The beauty of the Crawl is that you are visiting working artists in the studios where they produce work.  There are over 300 artists opening their studio doors for the Crawl weekend- everything from painters and sculptors to jewelry and hand-bag designers, to ceramics, glass and furniture designers.  The whole event is free to attend! It gets quite crowded with parking on Friday night, so you might want to consider taking transit.  The Mergatroid Building (where my studio is) and 1000 Parker St. are the largest studio buildings in the zone, so if you just have a few hours they are great buildings to check out.  Of course, please do come by and say 'hello'- look for the turquoise door on the ground floor of the Mergatroid Building, 965 Vernon Drive.  Hope to see all the local Vancouver people there- it's such a fun event and worth the extra effort to come out!!

make, glaze,fire, repeat

 I feel like things are going a bit round and round in circles at the studio these days, as I am working so hard to stay on schedule for my up-coming holiday shows, along with shipping off the shop and gallery orders so they arrive in time for holiday shopping in stores.  It's a bit of a scramble to do it all on my own, but once I get in the rhythm, it can be fairly satisfying.  For the most part all my shipping to other shops is done as of yesterday.  Phew! It was a lot of work (and I have 2 more NEW Galleries to showcase here on the blog still), but all that remains is a couple of local galleries and then my 2 shows- one in November and one in December.  I hope to be able to take a good long break over the holidays and rest my weary hands, which have been worked pretty hard over the past couple of years.

Sometimes I feel like fall just whizzes by and I hardly have a moment to really enjoy it.  Other times I'm really glad to see the year coming to a close, marveling about the opportunities that came my way and all the work I was able to make over the course of a year with only my 2 hands, a whole lot of determination, skill, and the support of my family and friends.  I totally feel thankful to be able to document it here on my blog- thanks so much for stopping by.

Studio sneak peak & Up-coming Crawl

If you've been following me on Instagram (dahlhaus art), you'll know that I've been pretty busy in the making department at the studio.  My first kiln-load of work for my holiday shows goes in on Friday, with 2 more to follow next week- hopefully all just in time for the Eastside Culture Crawl. I've been doing this open studio event for about 5 years now and every year it warms my heart to see people in my studio space checking out what I've been working on in the past year.  I usually get the studio all dolled out (see last year's display here) and bake a few goodies for the opening night, so if you are in the Vancouver area, it's a show you won't want to miss!

The details:  965 Vernon Drive, Friday hours 5-10, Saturday/Sunday 11-6.  For show details, including all the other studios that are open, check out the Crawl website!

On the horizon...

 Hello! I'm slowing down on the blogging front for the next week to finish up as much as I can before my boys are home from school for the summer months!   I've got a few orders to fill and more work for Renegade to finish up, while also preparing for a summer of filling the largest order I've ever produced.  Yes, it feels exciting and harrowing all at the same time.  I know I've said this before, but this ride I'm on- making and selling my artwork and crafts, is a wild one!  If someone had told me at the beginning of the year what opportunities would come my way, I probably wouldn't have believed them.  Usually I have goals and vision for what I do, but somehow this year I was having a hard time imagining how I could possibly make 2011 better then 2010.  I guess 'better' is a loaded word, because everyone's idea of 'better' is different.  Certainly there have been highs and lows, but this year is again exceeding my expectations and I'm having to plan and make decisions that I didn't expect to make so soon on this adventure.  Needless to say, I feel really thankful to be in the midst of it, a little overwhelmed, and excited at the prospect of things to come.
I just wanted to thank you all for stopping by here, to the place that I share my inspirations and thoughts.  I'll be a bit random from here on for the summer, but I'm looking forward to sharing with you the highs and lows of producing a volume of work in a fairly short amount of time.  My due date on this order is September 5th, so basically my summer will be spent with my nose to the grindstone. I've thought a lot about this, especially concerning our kids and Dean's schedule (he's running 2 week-long skateboarding camps this year instead of just one) and hopefully we can still make this a memorable summer despite the busy works schedules!
(sorry, for some reason my blog isn't uploading images today... )  

I'll be here...

photo taken in 2009 by Sherri Koop

Things will be a little busy in the studio this week: a few more shop orders to get out the door, some custom work being made, and a group of visitors attending this conference want to come by to see my studio.  In the midst of glazing all my work, the studio will need to be cleaned up- a daunting task to say the least.  Glazing never looks pretty- buckets and bisqued pots everywhere, glaze drips on the floor.   And since I went to pick up shipping supplies last week, there are stacks of boxes and packing peanuts (the earth-friendly ones;) taking up a fair bit of square footy.  Not to mention my painting supplies. 
Anyways, I have a couple of posts planned for this week, but things might be a wee bit quiet.  I hope you are having a great week! 

Happy Friday & Happy October!

Here are a few bright and cheery images to lead you into your weekend!  I've got a busy weekend (a  baby shower to go to, my boys are taking a sushi-making cooking class, and a little visit to the family farm are all in the works) and a whole lot of new work is going in the bisque kiln today!  Oh, and I've been painting again while my clay's been drying... it's been a good week!

In the studio this week

It's been a busy week and lots has been accomplished.  Here is a sampling of what will be coming out of the kiln later today.  Large Platters and plates, teapots of the Poppy and Ginko variety,  lots of bowls, and a few more blue bird tile frames that already have homes to go to! Well ok, there's also the odd mug that didn't turn out in the last firing and a few more poppy bottle vases that will be off to the Glitz Gallery in Winnipeg (along with a bunch more stuff)! There has been a little more silk-screening going on in the studio, and some new wheel-thrown forms, with thoughts of new glazes and designs brewing in my head.  Not only did I manage to do all that (without my summer studio assistant, who is currently at Haystack), but I somehow squeezed in enough brain space to do some touching up some of my paintings that I managed to drop off downtown today.  So yes, busy week in the studio.

Here's why:
We are going away for the next 5 days to a really beautiful place that we go to each year for Dean's staff conference.  Since there is some child-care provided for the mornings, I will be taking my laptop along to get my PST (provincial sales tax 7%) worked on for the past 6 months since the HST (harmonized sales tax 15%) is due to come in.  Boo.  I know.  It's really no fun.  The fun part of the 5 days will be in all the hiking, the zip line, the swimming at the beach and the pool, and playing ball hockey with my boys. 

I'm getting ready for our big studio shop, an open studio with some amazing artists and designers in my building on June 26 & 27 from 11-5.  If you are in Vancouver, you should come. It's going to be great.

One night only, The Cheaper Show is happening on June 26th and I (and 199 other amazing artists) am showing 3 paintings all selling for a mere $200 each for one night only! Did I mention that it was only for 1 night? Anyways, I dropped the paintings off yesterday and judging by the empties on tables from last-night's 'brainstorming session', it's going to be quite the art party. Indeed!

So that's been my week!  Oh, and I haven't forgotten.  Yes- I must announce a winner for the cupcake stand give-a-way.  It's truly my pleasure to announce that the winner is:

 Maryka who wrote: beautiful stand for those beautiful cupcakes! I would love to have such a roost for my confections!
I think those truffles she's been making would look mighty fine on this cupcake stand!

Thanks again to all of you who entered and made my week so bright with your lovely comments and suggestions of how you would use my cake stand!  I loved all the ideas and also, just to let you know that those cupcakes by coco cakes were melt in your mouth delish!