The Maker's Playbook
A podcast where we talk all about what it's really like to make a living from the things you make. Featuring candid interviews with other ceramicists and makers, as well as helpful business tips to make your side-hustle into a life-giving, viable business.
Episodes
155 episodes
Ep 611: When Things Need to Change with Megan Sward
Most of us dream of turning our craft into a thriving business, but what happens when achieving "the dream" — the large following, sold-out shop updates, and steady sales — still doesn't translate into a sustainable living? When former full-tim...
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Season 6
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1:45:22
Ep 610: Business is... Boring?
There is an underlying current of anxiety about keeping up with the latest trends and strategies, especially when it comes to running your business online (and even more especially when it comes to social media). But what if the real secret to ...
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Season 6
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37:05
Ep 609: Where are They Now? - Restarting through Trauma with Sarah Wells Rolland
When I last spoke with Sarah Wells Rolland, The Village Potters in Asheville, North Carolina was 13 years into it’s incredible, communal existence. And frankly (at least from my perspective) was a well oiled machine. With a residency program, c...
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Season 6
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1:21:11
Ep 608: The $20 Mug with Isaac Shue
The ways in which our decisions in life are so interconnected it feels endless. The same is equally true in business, especially a ceramics business. And there's no way you stay in business, as a fully self-employed household with kidd...
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Season 6
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1:20:53
EP 607: Financial Systems with Seanin Rosario
When it comes to the topic of money, for many of us, it stirs up less than happy feelings. But in many ways, money is just data. Yes, it has an outsized effect on our lives and the decisions we do (or can) make, and that’s annoying as stepping ...
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Season 6
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1:29:31
Ep 606: Not your usual year end recap {The Launch}
I had thought this solo episode would be some nice big grandiose end of year recap for you. I also, had intended it to actually air in 2024, but alas… here we are, kicking off 2025 with it. The plan was lists of what worked and what didn’t in o...
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Season 6
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24:46
Ep 605: Finding Your Niche with Sue McLeod
A self-described “failed production potter” Sue McLeod still very much makes her living from ceramics. Yet, she doesn’t make her living from actually making pots… As is true with any industry, we often forget just how many different supporting ...
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Season 6
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1:17:06
Ep 604: Working with Intention with Bill Schwenzer of Aliveguy Pottery
Described as the most supportive guy on the internet by numerous people, today’s interview with Bill Schwenzer feels long overdue. Better known as Aliveguy Pottery, we talk about his career transition from corporate quality control to clay, his...
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1:36:27
Ep 603: Receiving Delayed Attention with Stanley Tong
I reached out to chat with Stanley after seeing his “Thoughts and Prayers” series - a powerful body of work creating strong visuals on the actual effects of a bullet striking a form. A series, he actually made more than a year ago. And yet, onl...
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Season 6
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1:12:06
Ep 602: The Catharsis of Supporting Others with Tim Clark
If you weren’t learning how to carve intricate designs in sourdough bread in 2020, odds are, you might have been learning how to make pottery. And while this is true for today’s guest, Tim Clark, that wasn’t all. Tim also was learning how to ma...
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Season 6
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1:27:06
Ep 601: Staying Okay (even when your business isn’t) with Clare Barboza of Poppy Bee Surfaces
How do you stay okay even when it doesn't feel like your business isn't going well? Because while we might feel pulled to log the long hours and push ourselves to "work harder" to "grind it out," in reality, we can't really come up with new, in...
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Season 6
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1:19:01
{Replay} Ep 206: Why Your Sales Results have Nothing to do with the Value of Your Work
We're quickly approaching the holiday season and makers around the world are hustling to get their listings online and take advantage of increased sales during this time of year. But what if your sales aren't going as planned? What if you haven...
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43:33
{Replay} Ep 116: Real life vs. Instagram with Sophia McEvoy
Do you ever think about what happened BEFORE the Instagram photos? Or BEFORE your favorite potter hit 25 thousand followers? Off and on, many people will talk about the real-life vs. Instagram life, and there are plenty of hilarious memes float...
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56:22
{Replay} Ep 217: The Social Responsibility of Businesses (and side-hustles)
Our work as artists can feel disconnected with the immediate needs of the world. On this week’s solo episode, I’m peeling back the curtain on how I process that for myself. Alongside my originally planned episode of discussing a few of the ...
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46:15
{Replay} Ep 123: Alex Matisse of Eastfork Pottery on the Importance of Vision
How do you go from a farm with a woodfire kiln and two potters to an industrial warehouse that already feels too small? Vision. And a bit of luck. At least, that's what worked for Alex Matisse, founder of the one and only Eastfork Pottery. On t...
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55:28
{Replay} Ep 125: Mental Health & Finding Your Community with Katie Meili
We’re taking a quick season break but in the meantime, enjoy this chat from way back in Season 1 that I had with Katie Meili. We chat about the difficulties of mental health and how it feels when life takes unexpected turns that throw you off a...
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1:19:34
Ep 525: When Plans Change with Xioma Ortiz
Leap and you’ll learn to fly… The key to success is action… The best way to predict the future is to create it… How many of these tropes have you heard? They are usually associated with that scary first step of making a change in your life to g...
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Season 5
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Episode 138
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1:18:44
Ep 524: Adjusting to Full Time with Rhianon Vichta
Thinking about becoming a full time artist is a dream that lingers in the back of many people’s minds. And my assumption is, whenever any of us are dreaming about a change, we mostly think that if we took this leap, if we didn’t have to be both...
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Season 5
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Episode 137
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1:12:24
Ep 523: Immaterial with The Met
So what does it mean if the work we’re making isn’t as impermanent as we think? Does it have to be in order to have value? Is there still value when it breaks? Today, I’m thrilled to partner with the one and only Metropolit...
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Season 5
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Episode 136
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51:25
Ep 522: The Case for Curiosity {The Launch}
As I reflected on what we're doing differently for this market season compared to last year's, I realized a trend that I've also seen after teaching over 200 makers inside our MPSS photography course and journeying along side nearly 100 makers ...
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Season 5
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Episode 135
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47:28
Ep 521: Becoming an Artist with Isaac Scott
What does it even mean to “be an artist?” Does it mean you are making work you like to make? Is that art? Does it mean someone else considers you to be whatever their definition of “artist” is? Does it mean not having another job? Or c...
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Season 5
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Episode 134
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1:20:35
Ep 520: Embracing the Side-Hustle with Nicole Bernard of NB Makes
If you’re side-hustling your ceramics, are you anxiously awaiting the day you can quit the day job? But what if the day job was actually providing you with the chance to learn to be better at your craft? And no, I’m not talking about a job ...
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Season 5
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Episode 133
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1:46:28
Ep 519: The Reset Button with Henrik Van Ryzin
Do you ever think about completely changing your life? Like literally, everything - Your job, where you live, what your day to day looks like, maybe even your identity in a way… Or maybe you have done that already, and you are living the dream ...
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Season 5
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Episode 132
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1:37:47
Ep 518: The Economics of Clay with John R Hamilton
I thought John & I were going to talk mostly about burnout. How it “happened” to him, how he got through it, and perhaps, what he’s doing differently now. But (perhaps rather obviously) it can’t really be broken down that simply. Instead, J...
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Season 5
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Episode 131
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1:23:11
Ep 517: Being a Pottery Educator with Ian Childers
In an internet world where there are seemingly endless “educators” available to learn from, what actually qualifies someone to teach a skill? Is it a traditional piece of paper, or diploma, saying that some institution has decided you can? Is i...
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Season 5
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Episode 130
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1:49:54