Speaker Spotlight – Melissa Weiss

Author and Founder of Melissa Weiss Pottery

Website  |  Instagram

Theme: Tradition  |  December 2018

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your practice.

I am a self employed studio potter. I have a teenage daughter. My partner and I run a studio that houses 18 artists. My partner works with me and we each work on average 40-50 hours per week. A typical day is waking up at 7 getting ready, dropping my daughter off at school and getting to the studio by 8. I make work until 5 then head home to meet my daughter. We cook dinner and eat together. I will usually do some business related computer work after dinner. On a good day i will get outside for run.  

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I had no idea! I didn’t know any adults that did anything exciting or cool. I seriously thought being an adult meant having a boring job and life. I wasn’t resigned to that fate but i had no examples of an adult that had a passionate life or profession. So i knew i didn’t want to be boring but i wasn’t sure how. I didn’t understand that anyone could be an artist. I thought that was reserved for people who had some talent they were born with and if you had it you would know.

Can you remember when you first learned about your field of work? How did you discover what it was, and how did you know it was what you wanted to do?

I had never met a potter or even looked at any pottery. I couldn’t name a single potter or anything about it. I took a pottery class because it sounded fun and I had just had a baby and needed a break. I knew that i loved it that first class because for three hours i didn’t think about my baby at all for the first time since i found out i was pregnant. I didn’t really learn anything about other potters and pottery in general aside from technical skills until i took a wood firing class and learned about pottery outside the shiny, glazed studio pots i had seen in my classes.

What is the best part and hardest part of your job?

The best part of my job is that i absolutely love what i do. The hardest part is managing all the aspects of running a business that aren’t just the making pottery part.

What about your community inspires you?

The ceramics community is truly generous and supportive. Potters are a special people in general. I had never worked and communicated with such a large group of people who go out of there way to help and uplift each other. It’s inspiring and teaches me to better in my daily life.

What is the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?

Raise your prices. Value your work because it is you.

What books/resources (if any) would you recommend to someone interested in furthering their creative practice, or starting a creative business of their own?

My book! “Handbuilt, A Potter’s Guide.” by Melissa Weiss

And “The Unknown Craftsmen” by Soetsu Yanagi
If you were magically given three more hours per day, what would you do with them?

Run or walk in the woods, take a yoga class and meet a friend for cake.
Anything else you’d like to share?

Speak out about injustices.

Follow Melissa Weiss: Website  |  Instagram