Hit 500 paperweight sales on Etsy this month and it feels weird

I started making them as a side thing, just to use up scrap color. Now it's a full third of my income. The number 500 hit me because it's not about art anymore, it's about making the same thing over and over. I have a system down: gather, shape, punty up, flash in the glory hole, and pop it off. Takes about 12 minutes each. It's good money, but my bench feels like an assembly line. Has anyone else had a simple piece blow up and change how you work?

3 comments

3 Comments

harperg764d ago

Read an article about a potter who hit the same wall. They started doing one "weird" piece a day just for themselves, no rules. Kinda like what jennifer204 said about breaking the routine. Maybe sneak in a fun experimental one between every ten paperweights?

the_lee3d ago

Wait, you're making 500 of these things a month? That's a full time job right there.

jennifer2044d ago

Seen that happen with a lot of small makers. The thing that makes you money starts to kill the fun. Gotta find a way to break up the routine or it just becomes a job.