From Studio to Sale: Tracking Your Pottery Business

Making pottery is art. Selling pottery is business. And if you want your art to pay the bills, you need to treat it like both. **Know Your Costs** Every piece has costs: clay, glaze, kiln electricity/gas, studio rent, your time. If you don't track these, you're probably underpricing your work. Most potters are. **Price With Confidence** Once you know your costs, pricing becomes less stressful. A simple formula: (material cost + firing cost + time × your hourly rate) × 2 for wholesale, × 3 for retail. Adjust from there. **Track Every Sale** Whether it's an art fair, online order, gallery consignment, or a friend buying from your studio — log it. Track the date, price, venue, and which piece sold. Over time, this data tells you: - What forms/glazes sell best - Which venues are most profitable - Your busiest selling seasons - Your average sale price **Art Fairs and Markets** Bulk sale tracking is essential for art fairs. Record everything during the event while it's fresh — the item, quantity, and price. Your future self (and your accountant) will thank you. **Export for Taxes** Come tax season, you need organized records. Being able to export your sales data as a CSV saves hours of headache. **The Potter's Mud Room includes sales tracking with CSV export, cost tracking per piece, and venue analytics. Because potters deserve business tools built for how we actually work.**