As the calendar changes from 2022 to 2023 I find myself reflecting on last year but not quite ready to make big plans for this new year. Instead, I'm sitting with some ideas - a lot of ideas actually - and letting the things that bring me the most joy bubble to the surface.
I'm not going to pussy foot around it - 2022 was hard. It was quite possibly one of the toughest years since I started this studio venture. We said good bye to a long standing partnership that was a steady income but not supportive of my health or our creativity in the ways I had hoped it would be. Algorithm changes on a wholesale platform sent us scrambling to figure out new methods of finding customers in the spring. The summer was a roller coaster of either crickets or overwhelm. The holiday market we had worked on for months was just meh. We opened our new flagship retail store to a hella good start and now are figuring out those sweet spots between studio life and retail life.
Through all the challenges, though, were a lot of amazing highlights. The main one being our new store. While we navigate balancing studio and retail, adding classes and workshops and interacting with our community in a new way, there is so much hope driving me forward because the store is the easiest way for me to share my vision for Gravesco with you. It's an immersive experience. I told a friend last week that walking into the store is like walking into my brain.
Another amazing win was partnering with Meg at Champion Concessions to create unique mugs for Renaissance festivals. She's a delight to work with and lets me get all in my creative flow to come up with new ideas and it's so much fun!
I also had the pleasure of being a guest on a couple of podcasts including the Maker's Playbook with Rebecca Ickes Carra (you can listen here). David Gibson featured us in his series The Quest which you can watch on YouTube here along with the rest of the series on small business owners in Indianapolis. You may have seen us on the news a few times this year, in Edible Indy Magazine and we were even in The Best of 2022 issue of Indy Monthly magazine. There were so many wins along the way that kept me moving forward in joy.
One thing I do know coming into 2023 is that I want to spend a lot more time being creative. Sometimes the running of this business gets overwhelming and takes up a crazy amount of time which means the thing that suffers is my creative time.
I'm putting my foot down! NO MORE of that!
The whole reason I became a potter was because I love making pottery! Crazy, right?
So in 2023 I'll be creating, designing and making some limited edition pottery for the simple reason of, I have an idea that I want to get out into the world and it brings me joy. These small batches will be available online in The Gallery Collection and after the launch if anything remains, you'll be able to find them in person at our flagship store in the Near Eastside (Gravesco 1501 E Michigan Street Indianapolis open Thursday - Sunday 10-6).
I'm hopeful about this year and will keep you posted on new developments as they pop up. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these new little nuggets I'll be dropping here in the shop.
Happy 2023! I'm so glad you're here with me.
