banner trading!

(This image has been updated since I first posted it. I took
Carrie's advice and "enhanced" it. Looks much brighter now)



New thought after reading Carrie's comments on my first banner post. If people are willing to give it a try, we can each put up a potential banner image and then have the others play around with putting in the text. you should be able to save the images from the blog to your computer where you can then use your own software to add font, colors and text. Here is the image I used on the last post. Have at it!

OK, since I am busy editing this post, let me ask this question: does this survey of glaze effects really work? Would I be better served by a survey of pot forms? I can't decide on anything these days.....

carter's new banner idea

Click on images for LARGER VIEW.

I forgot to use capitals in a bunch of these but I don't mind it as much as I thought I would.

So how about these ones?

If anyone knows of some free software that lets you compose an image from several ones I would be interested. My old low budget crap can only manipulate single images. I think I decided that my detail shot in the first post was probably not something that most folks would know how to read.

BANNERS FOR CARTER

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Click on the images for a LARGER VERSION.


Ok folks, my photo manipulations are pretty weak on this computer but this is a start. Tell me what works and what doesn't. Is the background properly suggestive? What about calling it "carter gillies pottery"? How do the scripts and colors work?

Shop/Return Policies?

Carrie you may have the best answer to this.. I did not know what would be the best policy to have for returns.. this is what I put in my 'msg to buyers' box. Oh yeah, and I upped the shipping cost to $5 upon you recommendation.

"Thanks for purchasing my creations! I hope you are happy with your order. My return policy does not include shipping cost - but 100% refund for the product if you are unsatisfied. All items returned must be sent back to me within 30 days of the initial transaction to refund the purchase."

Test Run!

Alright folks.. completed monster photo shoot around 9:00.. downloaded all the pics onto my computer, officially listed 8 items for sale on Etsy.. made a whimsical bio, stretched the banner photo.. and here is the finished product - well.. finished for tonight that is;)

www.saramix.etsy.com

FEEDBACK!!!

CARTER'S SHOP STATEMENT

Perhaps it might be easier to start with a shop statement, since this is a pared down version of the profile.


Carter's shop statement:

" Welcome to my shop! This is where I sell top notch crockery for your home and kitchen needs. I make eclectic functional pots on the potters wheel, but love to jazz them up by adding decorative touches such as funky handles on vases, or by altering shapes to out of round. The pots end up pretty loose in character and my glazes accentuate the spontaneous nature of the way I work. No two pots are exactly the same because making them different keeps me interested in the process. I am a firm believer in the handmade ethic, and after 3 years of pottery graduate school, I am convinced that a well crafted artistically designed piece of pottery can add immeasurable value to how we live our lives. I hope you agree!"

BIO SWAPPING!

Hey guys!

It just occurred to me after reading Gabe's comment on my post on "carter's profile/bio" that perhaps the person the profile is about is the least qualified to actually write it. There is so much invested in this kind of personal statement that you end up writing it to please yourself, and the audience is frequently left either bored or bewildered. We may know the kinds of things we want to say about ourselves, but actually doing it is too personal to get any perspective or objectivity. As you may have noticed in my attempt in the previous post, I was desperate to make a case for doing things the way that I do them. No one else really cares, and they shouldn't have to read this expansive self justification. If anyone has read artist statements by students (and many professionals) you would cringe at the barrage of bullshit and academic tripe. You don't want your etsy statement to read like one of those. It should be friendly and helpful, not overbearing.


SO HERE IS WHAT I AM PROPOSING:

Lets go ahead and make a stab at writing our own profiles, but let each of the others edit or rewrite them based on the ideas we had. With this outside perspective on what works we won't be as tempted to blindly cling to some personally important phrase that no one else gives a hoot about. Of course it is up to us in the end to choose what statement we want to be represented by, but if my own experience is any indication, most of us probably have an enormous blindspot where what we say about ourselves is concerned. I was actually all set to commit to what I had written, since it certainly summed up everything I wanted to say. In the end it is a little like a person who has bad breath: It smells alright to that person, but everyone else flinches when he opens his mouth. Philosophers call this the kimche self.