Moving!
It seems that no matter how smoothly things are running, there comes a time when a big change is necessary. That time is now upon me. After 4 years in my current location, I will be moving the shop.
Move? But Neil, your current gallery is a wonderful space, with a nice roomy studio and an open, uncluttered gallery! Yes, yes it is. Which is exactly why it's time to move. After taking a good look at where the money is coming in, it's clear that the gallery space is way too big, and the studio can comfortably hold a lot more stuff.
For starters, the gallery takes up over 25% of the floor space in the current shop, but only brings in about 10% of the total revenue. And if that's not bad enough, 85% of the profit from the gallery is from my pots, yet they are only about half of the inventory. Plus it's easy to tastefully display a lot of pots in a small space. So the gallery space at the new shop will be about 1/4 the current size, and I will no longer carry pots made by other artists. This will also give me the kick-in-the-butt I need to make more pots! No more relying on other artists to keep the gallery full of pots.
As for the studio/classroom, it's currently the most spacious pottery studio I've ever been in. I could easily fit my personal studio inside the classroom without making it cramped. So that's exactly what will happen at the new location. The new studio/classroom will hold everything it has now, plus my studio and some additional storage. I'll even be adding another wheel, and more shelving for students. I'll have to be more organized, and my students will have to make sure they clean up after themselves better, but that's good practice anyway.
As for my renters, I will no longer have private studios available for rent. I tried to find a place that was big enough to keep them, but it just didn't work out. Everywhere I looked was either too small or too big. I'll miss them, since it's nice to have that energy in the building, but ultimately I have to do what's best for the business.
Overall, the new location will be about 1/3 of the size of the current shop. This means lower rent, lower utilities, and less maintenance (I won't have to clear snow!). I'm very excited about the whole thing. It's going to be a big pain to actually move, but everything will be much better. Moving day is Sunday, June 29, and I've already got a few volunteers lined up to help. People are great.
Click here for a map to the new shop!
I'll be posting soon about another big change involved with the move. Stay tuned....
Move? But Neil, your current gallery is a wonderful space, with a nice roomy studio and an open, uncluttered gallery! Yes, yes it is. Which is exactly why it's time to move. After taking a good look at where the money is coming in, it's clear that the gallery space is way too big, and the studio can comfortably hold a lot more stuff.
For starters, the gallery takes up over 25% of the floor space in the current shop, but only brings in about 10% of the total revenue. And if that's not bad enough, 85% of the profit from the gallery is from my pots, yet they are only about half of the inventory. Plus it's easy to tastefully display a lot of pots in a small space. So the gallery space at the new shop will be about 1/4 the current size, and I will no longer carry pots made by other artists. This will also give me the kick-in-the-butt I need to make more pots! No more relying on other artists to keep the gallery full of pots.
As for the studio/classroom, it's currently the most spacious pottery studio I've ever been in. I could easily fit my personal studio inside the classroom without making it cramped. So that's exactly what will happen at the new location. The new studio/classroom will hold everything it has now, plus my studio and some additional storage. I'll even be adding another wheel, and more shelving for students. I'll have to be more organized, and my students will have to make sure they clean up after themselves better, but that's good practice anyway.
As for my renters, I will no longer have private studios available for rent. I tried to find a place that was big enough to keep them, but it just didn't work out. Everywhere I looked was either too small or too big. I'll miss them, since it's nice to have that energy in the building, but ultimately I have to do what's best for the business.
Overall, the new location will be about 1/3 of the size of the current shop. This means lower rent, lower utilities, and less maintenance (I won't have to clear snow!). I'm very excited about the whole thing. It's going to be a big pain to actually move, but everything will be much better. Moving day is Sunday, June 29, and I've already got a few volunteers lined up to help. People are great.
Click here for a map to the new shop!
I'll be posting soon about another big change involved with the move. Stay tuned....
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