Made in Alaska

Back in 2005 I moved to Alaska after living my whole life in the lower 48 and wondered, "Where is the closest clay store?"

This is a story that happened to me about 20 years ago when we first moved up to Alaska. We were living down by Anchorage then, and Anchorage is a good-sized city. After setting up my clay studio; I realized I needed clay, glaze and some tools. Of course, I thought, there is a clay store that provides all your wants and needs somewhere in this area, right?

Wrong!!!

I made some calls and visited the only clay store in the state, Sheila's Ceramics and Pottery shop, which now offers a much wider range of products than it did 20 years ago. Sheila's had some clay available (about 200 pounds, mostly low fire). I couldn't figure out where the people selling pottery at the Farmers Markets sourced their clay, glaze, and various small tools. A local potter eventually provided the answer: you get all those supplies in Washington!

I was at a loss. What could I do? I didn't believe my pottery skills were sufficient to sell my creations, and I certainly didn't have the funds to cover all the shipping costs. My options were either to stop making pottery forever or to sell whatever I could create to earn enough money to continue creating more pots.

The end of the story is, I ordered some clay and went out to the studio and made some pottery. The next week, I was at the local Farmers Market setting up a small table with $18 mugs. They were pretty bad but usable. People bought them, and I continued on. I have heard on podcasts recently to wait until you are a decent potter before trying to sell your work. Sometimes you have to just go for it and not worry about it.

It's still a fact of life living here in Alaska. If you buy clay and glaze materials, you are shipping all of it up from the Seattle area to wherever you live in Alaska, and it is EXPENSIVE.