Well, it has been a year...

Photo by Kavin Bradner Photography. 

So... hello there. Fancy meeting you here considering I have left this thing vacant for the past year. A LOT has happened and to be honest, I can't really go into detail. (Mostly, I have forgotten the majority of it all.) We are indeed a whole year older and my son, Levi, is also now two. With that, some changes have been made to Oak Leaf Pottery. I have phased out many shows and have picked up more wholesale and custom orders. My time has become quite limited with a little boy to look after. It took a lot of soul searching and praying over that decision, but I think (and hope) that overall our family is happy with the change. Another big change is our shop page. My lovely husband, Dan, has been updating that slowly and you should expect to see even more on there in the near future. One great thing that we were able to do is offer free local pick-up for those of you living in the area, or for those passing through. So make sure that you choose that when you place an order!

Photo by Kavin Bradner Photography. 

I am excited about some new partnerships that have developed with my wholesale part of the business. Give 'em a little looksie and stick with me for photos of their finished products on my Instagram and Facebook pages. 

My new partners in crime are:

Cooper River Roasters  Charleston, SC

Trout Lily Deli & Market  Asheville, NC

It's The Little Things  Spartanburg, SC

Archaic Pine  Rapid City, SD

I am very excited to be working with these businesses and couldn't be more thankful for their support! I have also picked up several dinnerware set orders, as well as a wedding registry! How amazing is it to be a part of a family's most intimate conversations and experiences, right?! I love making work for families to use in their homes. There is something really special about that. Thank you to those people who have been using my work in their homes or who are getting ready to- Congratulations and a huge shout out to my very first wedding registry couple, Salley and Randy! 

Well, I know that wasn't much, but Dan and Levi should be back from the park fairly soon so that is my cue to log off of here. I can't promise to post all that often, but I do hope to do it a bit more than once a year... yikes.

With love, Allison

The BIG Crafty

Yesterday was well Sunday, yes, but it was also the day of The Big Crafty event in downtown Asheville, NC! Dan, Levi, and I hit the road around 6:30 am to travel up the mountain. It was a really super early morning for all of us, but luckily we had packed the car the night before and prepped everything else ahead of time like our lunch, waters, and the diaper bag. I absolutely love the drive to Asheville. It makes me think of Fall and hot coffee... sweaters and the crisp smell of leaves. It was especially pretty yesterday morning because of all of the mist hanging in the tops of the trees as we climbed. I actually got lost in it, but then I realized "Oh, crud. Will it rain today??". I forgot about the show entirely and then it dawned on me that rain would not be a welcome thing during the show. We did luck out which was fantastic and the rain skipped us. Whew.

https://www.instagram.com/oakleafpottery/

After getting into Asheville, we made our usual pit stop at Vortex Doughnuts on Banks, Avenue. I really wanted to pull out on if my little slab plates for a quick photo shoot, plus Levi needed a little break from all of the riding. The doughnuts were nothing short of amazing (of course!) and Dan split a mocha with me which we drank during booth set up.

https://www.instagram.com/oakleafpottery/

So set up was GREAT! We pulled into Pack Square after the doughnut pit stop and were some of the first to arrive. It takes me ages to set everything up the way that I like it so unfortunately for Dan and Levi, we have to arrive several hours before show time. SO... we pull in, unload, I feed Levi among all of my crap-ola, and Dan moves the car several blocks away. When we find our spot, we were at first nervous about the location, but it turned out to be fantastic! It was in the main area of Pack Square, but raised up a couple of steps in a grassy little park area with trees and.... shade! It was perfect for Levi who would not have been happy in the hot sun. I had asked the coordinators about being in a shady spot when we first got accepted and they were so very accommodating! It was great. The set up went a little bit quicker than anticipated and my little dining table set up worked out super well. I was so happy. It really made all of the difference! People could visualize how to put together my pieces to make sets. Dan was so great with all of the customers and Levi kept his cool all day. We had several friends and family members visit us during the show, also! What an amazing day!

A HUGE thank you to Horse and Hero and any other wonderful creatives who make this show happen! Thanks to our family and friends who came out to support us- we love you so much, and thank you to those amazing individuals who help make my dream a reality by purchasing my work and supporting our family!

Well, the kiln is too hot... so I guess I will make a blog post.

It is far too hot to work in the studio today.  The kiln is cooling down, but unfortunately it is still too hot for my liking. So here is a much needed and very procrastinated blog post. Some things that are happening here- wholesale orders, working on the online shop, trying to slow down a bit and appreciate life a little, The Big Crafty, and time with our little family. It is a lot to fit into a day. A week. A month even. I blink and an entire month has passed by. My little baby is almost a year old. I am behind on custom orders. I don't spend enough quality time with my husband. I desperately need to work on our unruly yard. I wish that I could work on some of these ideas rolling around in my head for new pots. Yikes.

Should I even be sitting here on our couch wasting work time?

If this sounds too incredibly familiar... hello. I would love to meet you! (And ask if you have figured out this thing called life and small business yet.) Some days I really think that I am alone in my thoughts, but I do realize that there are others out there somewhere! Today is just one of those days where I stop and think "Oh man. Am I doing this right?".

This post is mostly just a thoughts post. Sometimes I really need it, though it doesn't happen often.

Thanks for listening. And, as always, thank you for your unwavering support of Oak Leaf Pottery and our little family. Now, back to life.

See y'all this weekend at The Big Crafty (hopefully with a fun new display! I need to go sand a table now...).