Post Christmas

Lyncharm in winter

We spend so many days and weeks getting ready for Christmas, that sometimes we forget that there are 11 other months in the year! We closed the studio for 2 weeks, and the break gave us time to catch up on some sleep and start thinking about some new designs and projects for the new year. Unfortunately – we lost Niki, our studio cat over the holidays. She became quite ill with a tumor and passed away quietly just before the new year. She is greatly missed and I still expect her to come running whenever the door bell rings as a customer comes in. She loved to welcome people and have them tell her how pretty she was. She would let you know if she felt ignored!

The first thing on my agenda is paperwork and jewelry making. I usually spend the first month or so after Christmas dealing with endless piles of reports and year end files. this year I decided that I would spend my mornings doing the paper stuff and then the afternoon making things. That way I at least feel that there is some fun waiting for me if I get my work done in the morning! So I have begun doing some new jewelry designs and am thinking through some different techniques to try as well. Will put out some pictures as soon as I have some finished.

Merry Christmas!

I can hardly believe it – we have made it through another year! Things get rather stressful in the studio as Christmas approaches much too quickly and the amount that needs to get done seems to grow daily. However, when I lock the door at noon on Christmas Eve – a wonderful peace descends on me – knowing that all that can be done has been – and all else can and will wait until the new year. Marion and I are both grateful for the two week break that we can now enjoy.

Congratulations to Shawn Heffernan – winner of our one-of-a-kind Christmas Draw. I am waiting to hear back from him to make arrangements for him to claim his prize. Thanks to everyone who participated in our draw this season and we look forward to holding another one next year.

So Merry Christmas from our studio to your house. Hopefully all those who will open a piece of our pottery this Christmas will enjoy it in good health for many years. I hope your grandchildren will still be enjoying it decades from now as well.

Take care and I’ll talk to you all in the new year.

Yvonne

Christmas Photos of the Studio

Here are some photos of Lyncharm Pottery all decorated for Christmas

See the full album on the Lyncharm Facebook Page photos by Denise Davies

Final Christmas push!

Well, the final bisque has been fired and we’re heavy into getting all the albany on and separating everything out by glaze color. We have lists of all the orders in the book so that I know exactly what we need to get through. so next week we will be back into glazing and firing and before we know it – it WILL be Christmas and the kids will be home!! Yeah team!!

Audio Books

Over the years, I have found that listening to audio books as I work at the wheel  helps me to zone out and think of things other than work. This has always helped me to get through those weeks where i have to put handle s on 100+ mugs! So i was doing this again today, when I realized that my hands were not steady and that they were shaking so much I didn’t have the control I needed while throwing stems on goblets. At first I thought I may have had too much caffeine -  but then I realized the book was coming to the climax and I was so engrossed with the story (a murder trial) my heart was racing and my hands were shaking! So much for relaxation! From now on I will have to make sure that my choice of book is a little more mundane. I did listen to Atlas Shrugged at one point – it took about a month of listening – but the best I could say was that my work kept me from going to sleep on the book!

Today has also been tricky because I hadn’t realized that the relative humidity had dropped so much – drying out the pieces I had thrown on Tuesday so much that I could barely dampen them down enough to trim them. During the summer, when the RH was in the high 80’s, it would be weeks sometimes until I could get mugs to dry enough to get the handles on. It took some doing – but I was able to salvage most of the pieces.

Christmas orders

Halleluya! I’ve just finished throwing the last of the special orders for Christmas. Of course they still need lids, handles and decoration – carving and whatever – but the main work is done. We seem to be more on toop of things this year and the stress level is quite bearable.

Our ad is now on ATV and we are seeing people coming in as a result. Seems the weather has everyone duped into thinking that there’s months to go before Christmas! A month from today is Boxing Day – my personal favorite day of the year. No more stress, we’ll have 2 weeks off and there’s plenty of left overs in the fridge! This year two of our daughters will be here to celebrate – so it could only be better if all 4 were with us. I’m not complaining though – we’re very blessed.

Book launch and Open House

Whew! I actually survived our launch party – in fact it really was a lot of fun. Once my nerves settled and I could breathe again – I had several very interesting conversations with most of the guests who arrived throughout the 2 hour time span. That made it very enjoyable and relaxing. Now I’m just hoping that people who bought the book have had a chance to look through it and are enjoying what they see and read. Putting out a book is much like the first time I showed my pottery to the general public. You really are just laying yourself on the line and trusting that people will take you seriously.
Besides all the book ’stuff’ I’ve actually been able to put some handles on mugs and carve some too. The first two trays that I made (36 mugs) were too dry to add handles to them – so they have been trimmed and carved and will now be drinking glasses. These sell well too – so it’s not a total loss. I will have to make more mugs to replace them – maybe next week.

Back at the Wheel

Have made the transition from glazing and firing back to throwing on the wheel.  I found pugging the clay hard because the clay in the machine is always too hard to really work with after not being used for a while. So far I’ve thrown 72 mugs. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to make the handles and then start trimming and attaching them as well as carving 36 of these mugs. No matter how many I try to make ahead – we are always short. i guess that should be a good complaint – but sometimes it doesn’t feel that way!

Changing Gears

So I have unloaded that kiln of plates and low dishes. Everything came through well – I’m quite pleased. We are finally getting somewhere with the Brushed Blue design. For the past couple of years there have been more flawed pieces than good. Not a good thing when producing (or trying to produce) dinnerware. So next week I should be aable to be back at my wheel. I have finished as many one-of-a-kind pieces that I could in the past few days – so have replenished our stock somewhat. It’s always a little daunting to change gears and start another production phase. Somehow I always think that I won’t remember how to throw. However – it is like riding a bike so I just have to jump in and start.

Nor’Easter kiln firing

Today there is a Nor’Easter blowing up one heck of a windy, rainy, snowy day. I was glad to be firing a kiln – because it warms up the studio. The kiln is so full of plates and low things – it took a full 12 hours to fire. The plan is to load just one more kiln and then be at my wheel next week.