A machine for making clay pots with your own hands. We are opening a pottery workshop. Equipment and consumables

Clay products are always relevant. Some people cannot imagine their kitchen without ceramic cookware - they cook in it and decorate their interior with various decorative pots made from this plastic material. And souvenirs - magnets, photo frames, cups, vases, which we always buy when we relax at a resort, most often made of clay. All this suggests that the pottery business is one of the most profitable areas of entrepreneurial activity. In this article we will talk about pottery for beginners, so that anyone who is seriously thinking about leaving their main job for the sake of developing their own business can realize themselves in this direction.

Features of the pottery business

The first potters were the ancient Greeks. It was they who began to make unique products from clay - vases and amphorae, which conquered the whole world of that time. We treat them casually, without attaching any special value. But you just have to think about how many things necessary for organizing home life are made of clay - plates, cups, cauldrons, bowls and much more. This means that pottery as a business will never lose its relevance and will bring a stable and high income to those who decide to open a pottery business at home. If you are one of the people who want to start making pottery with your own hands at home, then you need to know the main features of this business activity:

Ceramic products are best sold in large resort towns, where there are always a lot of tourists coming from distant countries. These people are the target audience, since they will probably buy various souvenirs for their relatives and buy something beautiful for themselves as a souvenir of their vacation;
Those who have been engaged in pottery making at home for many years have well understood the peculiarity of this business, which we mentioned in the paragraph above. Therefore, this area of business activity has a high level of competition. A beginner will have to devote a lot of time to studying the market in the area where he decided to open a pottery business;
Remember that your pottery products must be exclusive in order for people to buy them. You will need to develop your own method for making and decorating ceramic products so that they highlight your personal, unique design style. People really like to buy designer items - after all, it is fashionable and meets the requirements of the time;
Keep in mind that pottery products that reflect the flavor of the local culture will be in particular demand in the resort town. People are more willing to purchase something that emphasizes the traditions and customs of the place they have visited;
The beginning of pottery should be marked by the production of a limited range of products. It should be one thing - either dishes, or souvenirs, or pots, or vases. Over time, when your customer base expands, you can think about simultaneously producing several types of ceramic products;
Before you start pottery making, you must register a private enterprise. If you will only be engaged in the production of household goods (dishes, for example), then you need to register your activity under OKVED code 26.21. If your area of interest also includes children’s toys, then you need to choose OKVED 36.50 and a simplified taxation system so that insurance premiums and other expenses are not very large;
Having mastered the above features of the ceramic business, you can become a wealthy person practically from scratch. Of course, start-up capital will be needed in any case, but it will not be so large and will quickly pay off. We will talk about this in more detail in the corresponding section of our article.

Selection and arrangement of premises for a workshop

Where to start pottery making after registering a business? It is important to pay due attention to the room where your workshop will constantly function. After all, the selected space must meet some mandatory requirements:

It should be two rooms. You will equip one of the rooms as a workshop (this room should be larger in area than the second), and the other as a warehouse for finished ceramic products (a room area of 15 m² will be sufficient);
In terms of area, the room should not be less than 50 m²;
It is advisable to choose an apartment for a workshop on the ground floor;
It is very important that the room has all the necessary communications (we are talking about sewerage, air conditioning, ventilation, electricity and water supply);
It is imperative to carefully consider the choice of equipment for a pottery workshop. This must be done under the guidance of an experienced craftsman who is well versed not only in pottery technology, but also understands the equipment necessary for the work. By the way, many potters can make pottery equipment themselves.

Production technology

Scheme of production of ceramic products

For several decades in a row, the production of ceramic products has been carried out using the same technology, but in different ways. If you make souvenir products (do free-form sculpting), then you only need to select the right raw materials, mix them and sculpt them. It is important to use a pottery wheel, a modeling board or special impressions - this way the shapes of your products will be processed more accurately.

Essentially, the process of making pottery includes several main stages:

Purchasing raw materials - you can either buy them or extract them yourself. If you are just thinking about how to start pottery, you can try the second option. To do this, you need to find deposits of clay in your garden plot and test it for suitability for hand modeling. It is necessary to roll a small rope out of clay and roll it into a bagel. If practically no cracks have formed, then this is an excellent raw material for work;
Form the required product from clay using the tools you have;
Dry your ceramic creation and then fire it;
When the product hardens well, it needs to be given an elegant look. To do this, the clay is treated with special solutions, and then painted, decorated and varnished.

If you neglect at least one of the above points, then your work may be done in vain, because incorrectly mixed and then processed raw materials will simply begin to crumble and break, which means that you will not be able to sell it.

Necessary equipment for work

Let's return to what equipment you need to purchase if you decide that the pottery business is exactly what you want to implement:

Potter's wheel;
Scales;
A machine on which modeling clay is mixed;
The oven in which you will fire the finished products;
Molds for sculpting various clay figures;
Decorative materials for decorating your products (paints, glass, brushes, etc.).

Please note that at first you do not need to purchase new professional equipment. At first, you will be able to use used devices. You can actually find them on various free classifieds sites on the Internet. Don’t worry that the technique that other pottery masters have used is no longer suitable or will quickly break down. As a rule, equipment is always sold in excellent condition. If you are not sure that you can handle it on your own, invite an experienced craftsman who will give you good advice when purchasing and, with his expert opinion, determine whether you are being offered high-quality equipment for the workshop or not.

Pottery wheel diagram

How can you make money?

Ceramic products have a fairly large market. Therefore, if you doubt whether pottery making is profitable in modern society, you can throw away all negative thoughts. Ceramic products are a great way, with minimal start-up capital. The main thing for you is to decide. It is imperative to take into account the needs of a wide range of people in the area in which you decide to do this business.

If you decide that there is nothing better for you than to open your own pottery and souvenir business, then you can find wholesalers who will purchase goods from you. But organizing this entire process is quite difficult. After all, large supermarkets purchase a batch of souvenirs containing at least 1000 items. Many problems and questions immediately arise, which at the initial stage of development of your business will only hinder your ability to concentrate and learn manufacturing techniques. Of course, if you hire experienced craftsmen in your workshop, you will be able to quickly cope with orders;
Once you gain experience, you will be able to organize paid pottery master classes for children and adults. Today this is a very fashionable direction of artistic activity. Who isn’t interested in making something with their own hands and then hanging the product they made themselves in their room? Over time, when you earn high income from pottery, you will have the opportunity to organize large-scale exhibitions and even competitions among your students;
Some companies and firms prefer to use various ceramic souvenirs as advertising. They can be made to order.

In fact, the market for selling ceramic products is very wide. You just need to constantly develop, look for new consumers, offer your services to a wide audience, and then profitable offers will always appear.

Financial investments

Having decided, you need to draw up a business plan for pottery making in order to convince yourself of the correctness of the chosen decision and dispel all doubts about whether it is profitable to engage in pottery making in our time.

The minimum amount of money you need to have before you start making pottery yourself should be 500,000 rubles. This amount will go towards the following costs:

To register an individual entrepreneur you will need about 10,000 rubles;
Rent of premises for setting up a workshop – 40,000 rubles (the same amount will have to be spent monthly);
Purchase of necessary equipment – 300,000 rubles;
Firing oven – 100 thousand rubles;
Several pottery wheels – 50,000 rubles;
Libra – 6 thousand rubles;
Modeling molds – 50,000 rubles;
Clay of different grades – 20,000 rubles;
Defects and damage of products (from 15,000);
Employee salaries. You will need at least two craftsmen at first, an advertising manager and a person who will keep financial records (you can assign this responsibility to yourself). All this requires at least 70,000 rubles;
To pay taxes and fees you will need about 70 thousand rubles per year, but this figure may vary significantly, depending on what form of production you choose;
You will have to spend at least 10,000 rubles monthly on advertising your business.

Where can you sell finished goods and at what price?

Now let’s take a closer look at how much money you can earn for selling finished clay products.

If you find regular wholesale buyers who will purchase goods from you in batches of 1000 units, then you can get from 10,000 to 100,000 rubles. Revenue will depend on what products you will sell:

If these are refrigerator magnets, then for a batch you can get 6,000 - 12,000 rubles (if they are made to a designer’s order, then the price doubles);
If these are photo frames, then for the shipment you will receive from 12,000 to 24,000 rubles (the situation here is the same as with magnets);
If these are ceramic pots, then for a batch you can get from 75,000 to 200,000 rubles;
If you rent out pottery equipment to other workshops, you can earn from 2,000 rubles per day;
If you teach pottery to children and adults, you can earn from 500 to 1000 rubles in one hour of classes.

Video: How we built a pottery school from scratch

Before you start doing business related to ceramic products, you should definitely study as much information as possible about this type of business. There are many sources of it on the Internet. It can be difficult to read a useful article, but also watch a free video of pottery for beginners.

We still recommend that, in addition to self-education in matters related to starting a business with ceramic products, you undergo training in pottery making from a qualified specialist. He will explain to you not only the theory of working with clay, but will also demonstrate everything in practice. Of course, you will have to spend money on the courses - approximately 15,000 rubles, provided that you attend pottery master classes for two months. Keep in mind that even if you take the beginner pottery lessons well from the master you went to study with, you will still be far from a professional level. In the process of work, with experience, you will achieve the desired result and become a fairly wealthy person who will do what he loves.

Is pottery making a future as a business? This trade opens up opportunities for creativity, learning and earning money. Its history goes back thousands of years: many centuries ago, people sculpted vessels and pots from clay, decorated them with carvings and glazes. Mass production of tableware in the 21st century has shifted pottery to the entertainment industry. We tell you what the technology of pottery production is, what materials are used for production and how you can make money.

Pottery production has been known since ancient times. This craft created containers and vessels necessary for everyday life. The main material for it is clay. The history began with manual production: a master sculpted a product from a piece of clay, and then fired it in a kiln or dried it in the sun (in hot countries). However, quite a long time ago, at the beginning of the first millennium, a pottery wheel appeared - a machine that, using the force of rotation, gives products an even, symmetrical shape. In addition to the beauty of the vessels, this device provides a higher production speed.

In addition to making tableware, potters produced bricks, tiles, drainage pipes, and even architectural decorations. It is interesting that in the Middle Ages they came up with the idea of using clay vessels to improve the acoustics of temples: they were walled up in the walls. These can be seen in Novgorod, Pskov and Moscow.

Russian pottery masters also worked with their hands and on wheels, creating objects that were in demand and needed in everyday life. This skill was not rare: in every family there were people capable of making the necessary vessel. Since the end of the 19th century, home-produced dishes were replaced by factory ones, and pottery moved from the sphere of vital skills to the field of folk art and hobbies.

Pottery - making dishes, various vessels, toys and even architectural elements from clay

Pottery production materials

The main material for pottery production is clay. A special potted variety is considered optimal for making vessels, although there can be quite a few variations in the composition of the clay mass. They are divided into dense (porcelain, biscuit, pariyaan) and porous (faience, terracotta). Clay may contain quartz and gypsum. These components make the products more durable.

Most often, finished products, but after firing, are painted with glaze. The goals are not only decorative, but also practical: the paint prevents moisture from penetrating the product and destroying it. There are several ways to apply glaze: painting, sprinkling, pouring or hand painting.

Production technologies

Pottery making for beginners at home is a completely feasible task, although working in a special workshop is much more convenient. The reason for the simplicity of this business lies in its antiquity: initially people worked manually or with the help of very simple devices, and the skill of sculpting itself was very widespread.

The manufacture of the product begins with the preparation of the clay mass. The quality of the vessel depends on its quality and features. Usually the so-called pottery clay is used; its composition is considered optimal. The homogeneity and density of the mass is important. Nowadays such material can be easily purchased in hobby stores. Preparing clay yourself is problematic: you need to find a good place, collect material, clean it of stones and foreign impurities.

When the mass is ready, you can begin molding or sculpting. Some types of products are made in molds and frames, vessels are formed on a potter's wheel, figurines and whistles are sculpted by hand. This can be a creative or purely mechanical process, depending on the wishes and goals of the artist.

Burning

The formed product must be fired so that it maintains a stable shape. Clay is fired at very high temperatures - from 1000 degrees. Different mass compositions require a certain temperature:

clay - 1000–1200 degrees;
ceramics - 1100–1300 degrees;
porcelain - 1200–1400 degrees.

Difficulties may arise with low-quality compounds. For example, there are examples when purchased powdered clay began to boil at a temperature of 750 degrees and the product deteriorated. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful when choosing raw materials and check manufacturers so as not to waste time and money.

It is advisable to use gas or electric ovens: they are easier to operate, they do not produce soot and soot, which spoil the surface of the products. The atmosphere in the kiln during firing also affects the appearance of the vessels and figurines. For example, you can cause the clay to oxidize and give it a more brownish tint.

The basis of the workshop is the pottery wheel

Applying glaze

Glaze is the glassy coating on clay products. Its purpose is not only decorative. First of all, glaze is necessary to protect the product from moisture, which can get into its structure and destroy it. The protective coating is applied during or after firing. The basis of this coating is quartz, kaolin and feldspar. To make the glaze colored, metal oxides and salts are added to the composition.

Methods for applying glaze to pottery:

pulverization;
spray;
dipping;
watering;
tamponing;
brush painting.

When painting, defects sometimes occur, such as bubbles or cracks. The pottery maker must anticipate their causes and prevent them. To do this, you need to ensure uniform application, grind the raw materials for the glaze and select the correct temperature for firing.

Necessary equipment

The basis of the workshop is the pottery wheel. This device is quite familiar to everyone: a rotating device that allows you to form symmetrical volumetric products. There are several varieties:

manual (set in motion with one hand, and you need to work on the workpiece with the other hand);
mechanical foot (the rotational force is provided by the legs, both hands are free to work);
electric (the most common now, rotation is provided by electric current, the master works only on the product).

For business, especially if you plan to teach pottery, you need an electric wheel. A compact machine can be purchased for 30 thousand rubles, a more professional one - for 45 thousand. The rotating part of the circle is called a tournette. One tournette is necessarily included with the circle, but you can buy additional ones, for example, in large and smaller sizes.

In addition to the pottery wheel, a muffle kiln is required: it is capable of heating to a certain high temperature (up to 1400 degrees) and maintaining this temperature for the required period of time. You can buy a kiln for pottery making on average for 30-40 thousand rubles, but it is better to budget a larger amount - around 100 thousand rubles. The firing time depends on the material and volume of the product. Sometimes it is necessary to fire the clay 2-3 times for glazing.

How can you make money?

Pottery now is more of a folk craft than a method of production. A craftsman working on a potter's wheel will not be able to compete in production volumes with industrial enterprises. And the quality of its products will most likely be inferior.

An option for making money in pottery production is making decorative toys, whistles, and bells. They are sold in museums, souvenir shops, and tourist shops.

The most promising in terms of income seems to be a pottery master class. The opportunity to try yourself in a new role, work with your hands, make a memorable souvenir or a useful household item attracts many. Children and adults enjoy attending such lessons. It is possible to organize pottery courses only if the entrepreneur already has skills in this craft (otherwise it will not be possible to teach people).

Let's look at each option in a little more detail.

There are several options for making money from pottery, one of which is training

Pottery

The sale of pottery - dishes, household vessels, as well as decorative figurines and whistles - can generate income. Such souvenirs are not produced en masse, although the demand for them among tourists is quite high. If you can find sales channels in this direction, you can make a profit during the spring-summer season and New Year holidays.

You shouldn’t expect big money: one figurine sells for an average of 100-150 rubles, with a cost of up to 30 rubles. If you make 500 pieces, you can earn 75,000 rubles. The downside of this method is that creating such souvenirs is not as easy as it seems at first glance. You need neatness, nice colors and original ideas.

Another idea is to sell dishes and vases online. The tendency to use only natural materials in the interior will work in favor of the master. If you photograph your products beautifully, talk more about them and regularly maintain pages, you can find many clients.

Master classes for children

Another more lucrative direction is master classes for children. Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities have already joined this work. The advantage is that the audience of potential visitors is simply huge, and special knowledge is not needed to conduct children's master classes. Children value impressions, not knowledge and skills. Often such classes are attended by families.

Classes are held in small groups and last on average 1.5 hours. Children are told a brief history of pottery, shown finished products and taught how to work with clay.. This is an easy and enjoyable job. The only downside is the cost: you need to rent a large room, renovate it, put in furniture and buy several pottery wheels. One oven is enough. Lesson programs should also be developed and variability should be provided for different ages.

Education

You can also earn money through more advanced training. Some people are really interested in learning pottery at an advanced level. Perhaps they plan to make money from this later or build a business, so they are ready to pay for lessons. This area of work should be combined with children's master classes and independent production.

Not quite the usual option - books. If the master has already accumulated solid work experience and knows the craft well, you can try to write a training manual and publish it in a small edition.

Many people are willing to pay to learn how to work on a pottery wheel and make their own dishes

Financial investments and payback

You will have to spend an average of 150 thousand rubles on equipment for the workshop: a stove and a pottery wheel. Working tools like thread, modeling kits - another 10 thousand rubles. Raw materials for several months of work - approximately 30 thousand.

Suppose an entrepreneur plans not only to produce on his own, but also to train other people. Then there will be more costs: several pottery wheels, rent and renovation of premises, more tools and raw materials, as well as advertising. All this can be done on average in 500 thousand rubles. The total cost of starting a business will be 800 thousand rubles.

We found out that you can earn approximately 75 thousand rubles per season by selling products. The main part of income should come from master classes. A 1.5-hour lesson costs from 500 rubles, groups - 10-12 people. If you conduct 4 classes a week in fully loaded groups, you can earn 24 thousand rubles in a week, and 96 thousand in a month.

It is quite possible to earn 100 thousand rubles a month in your own pottery workshop. Taking into account the purchase of consumables, payment of rent and utilities, all investments can be recouped within 8-12 months of active work.

Conclusion

Pottery is a promising craft in terms of earning money. The most profitable option seems to be organizing master classes for children and adults. You can also make money by selling dishes and souvenirs. Opening a workshop costs on average 800 thousand rubles, which can be recouped in 1 year of work.

Pottery has always been and will be at the peak of popularity. They appeared back in the days of Ancient Egypt (around 1500 BC). For those who don't know, we'll explain. Pottery or ceramic objects are made from various types of clay by softening it with water, then sculpting it and firing it. This technology has not changed for three and a half millennia. Some processes have been automated, but in general, the creation of modern ceramics involves the same steps that ancient masters took.

It must be said that even the emergence of new materials, such as metal, glass and even plastic, had virtually no effect on the popularity of pottery. Demand for them, like many centuries ago, still exceeds supply. This means that this is a very promising direction for opening an interesting, non-standard and very rare business.

It would seem that everything is simple, you just need to start making money. But not everything is as easy as you might think. After all, in order to succeed in this difficult task, first of all, you need to become a master of pottery art. This is an important point, regardless of whether you intend to participate in the process of making ceramic products, or prefer to manage the business from a managerial position. Knowledge of the production process is very important. Therefore, first of all, you must master at least the basics of pottery.

There are several ways to do this. The first is to enter the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov, where for six years you will study and learn a new promising profession (faculty of sculpture). Of course, with such a wealth of knowledge you will not be afraid of anything, and you are guaranteed to take your place in this field. But, most likely, you do not want to spend six years of your life studying at a university.

Luckily, there are other ways to learn pottery. The fastest and most effective way is to hire a tutor. Master's lessons are very expensive. From 1000 rubles per hour lesson. But, if you dream of making ceramic products yourself, this is one of the best and fastest ways to learn. If you are just going to run a pottery workshop and want to understand the production process, short-term courses are ideal. The cost of such training will cost you 10-15 thousand rubles for 2 months of classes (twice a week for 3-4 hours). It is unlikely that after such courses you will become a master, but you will understand the process of making ceramics.

So, let's assume that you have learned the basics of ceramic art and are ready to open your own pottery workshop. What's next? And then you need to go through several mandatory steps. First of all, you should know that organizing this business will require investments in the amount of three hundred thousand rubles and more. The “ceiling” depends on the planned scale of production, the number of employees and the level of purchased equipment.

Location and premises for a pottery workshop

The room required is small - from 50 square meters. This is quite enough to organize the production of ceramic products. In addition, you will need a warehouse space - from 15 square meters. Here, as you already understood, finished products will be stored.

The requirements for the premises are as simple as possible. It should be located on the first or basement floor of the building (after all, this is a production workshop). Communications necessary for operation include electrical network, water and sewerage. In addition, you need to take care of the ventilation and air conditioning system.

Equipment for a pottery workshop

To produce handmade pottery, you will need a potter's wheel. In addition, you need accurate scales for dosing clay, a machine for mixing the clay mass and, of course, a special oven for the final firing of the finished product. Additionally, various shapes can be useful for creating some kind of figures, frames or refrigerator magnets. And one more thing - for many ceramic products (for example, figurines) you will need paints and brushes.

Pottery workshop staff

If you wish and have some persistence, you can handle all production processes yourself. But you won’t be able to achieve success quickly this way. It is much more effective to use the division of labor (which was invented by the great Henry Ford). Let one person knead the clay, a second person shape it, a third person fire it, and a fourth person paint the finished pottery product. And at this moment you will deal with organizational issues, look for suppliers and sales channels.

Pottery production technology

The entire production process looks something like this: First, a clay mixture is created. To do this, the clay is mixed with water and stirred until the desired consistency is formed. You should know that there are many types of clay. And each product, be it dishes or a photo frame, requires its own type of clay.

If it is tableware, then the mixture is sent to the pottery wheel, where the master creates the necessary shape. A pottery table or special molds can also be used.

At the last stage, the ceramics are fired in a kiln. This is the longest process, taking up to 80 percent of the production time. The better the product is fired, the stronger and more durable it will be.

The final touch is to give the product a finished look by painting, varnishing and packaging (if necessary).

Sales channels for finished products

Firstly, you can organize your own retail outlet to sell your products. Secondly, you can open an online store, which will save you from many monthly expenses, such as the cost of renting a visit. Thirdly, you can enter into agreements for the supply of your products with gift and souvenir shops. There are many options. You just need to choose the one that is most suitable for you.

And further. You can earn money not only by making and selling ceramic products, but also by teaching pottery to everyone. You can open a school or courses directly in production. Considering the cost of such classes, teaching potters can be a great source of extra income for you. We wish you good business!

Pottery is always at the peak of popularity. The technology for their manufacture has not changed for several thousand years. Even materials such as glass, metal or plastic could not influence the popularity of these products. Since demand constantly exceeds supply, pottery production can become a promising area for creating a less common and quite profitable business.

Where to start a business?

At first glance, it may seem that it is enough to simply open a pottery workshop, purchase raw materials and equipment, and you can start making money. In fact, you need to prepare thoroughly before starting such a business. To achieve success, you need to become a master potter. The manager who runs the business must carefully study the production process and also become familiar with the basics of pottery art.

Legal registration

This type of activity should be registered using the code “Production of decorative and household ceramic products.” If you register as an individual entrepreneur, the number of hired workers should not exceed 5 people. In this case, you can choose a simplified taxation system. Thanks to this, you do not have to do accounting and fill out tax returns.

Room

To organize pottery production at home, you will need a small room of 50 square meters. meters. In addition, you need to allocate a separate area for a warehouse, with an area of 15 square meters. meters. This is where you will store your finished products.

It is advisable that the pottery workshop be located on the ground floor of the building. As for communications, the premises must have electricity, sewerage and running water. Also do not forget about air conditioning and ventilation.

Equipment

To make ceramic products, you need to purchase a potter's wheel.

In addition to this, you will need:

Scales;
Machine for kneading clay;
Kiln;
Molds for frames and various figures;
Paints and brushes.

You will have to invest approximately 300 thousand rubles in the production of pottery. This is a small start-up capital that any aspiring entrepreneur can raise.

Before purchasing equipment, you need to study special literature to become familiar with some important nuances.

There is no need to buy new equipment right away. Sometimes, through advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet, you can find used equipment for a pottery workshop that is in excellent condition.

Staff

If you have an irresistible desire, as well as a certain amount of perseverance, you can carry out all production processes on your own. But it is much more efficient to use hired labor.

You can hire people to work in a pottery workshop:

For mixing clay;
Product molding;
Firing;
Decoration and painting of finished products.

Technology for making clay products

Homemade pottery production is as follows:

A solution of a certain consistency is mixed from clay and water. Different types of clay are used as raw materials;
The mixture is sent to the potter's wheel, where the master makes dishes from it. Various figures are made using special molds on a pottery table;
Firing in a kiln. This is the longest process. The longer the product is fired, the more durable and stronger it is;
Coloring of finished products.

If you are interested in pottery production, you can watch the video on the Internet on specialized resources. Also, see other ideas for making money in the field of manufacturing materials and products, for example.

Income

Pottery almost always finds its buyers. To organize the sale of finished products, you can hand them over to supermarkets or souvenir shops for sale. This is not the most profitable way, so you should try hard to become a regular supplier to a large souvenir chain. In this case, the volume of one batch of products will be at least 1000 pieces.

It is worth noting that pottery production as a business brings good profits. To increase income, you can open training courses at the workshop. Many modern people who are tired of the everyday hustle and bustle are happy to engage in creativity. Refresher courses can also be organized. In this case, you will have to purchase additional equipment for pottery production and consumables.

In addition, you can make custom pottery. Large companies often order large quantities of souvenirs with their logo or symbols. The pottery business will be successful if you choose a competent pricing policy. For regular wholesale buyers it is necessary to provide a special system of discounts.

Purchase of raw materials

It is important to know that clay for pottery production can be of different varieties - white, red, and also with lime or sand impurities.

Before you start purchasing equipment, decide what kind of clay you will work with. The choice of equipment and its cost largely depend on this.

Experienced potters mostly use red clay. The most important thing is that it contains a little lime. Experts advise finding one specific place where you can constantly take raw materials. It is desirable that the clay be oily and contain no more than 1% metal oxide. You can find out about deposits of such material from local geologists or local historians.

Features of pottery art

Before you start sculpting, you need to prepare the mixture. Traditional pottery production technology involves squeezing air bubbles out of clay. That is, the mixture must be thoroughly mixed. To do this, the workpiece must be rolled several times on a wooden board. Using a wire, it is cut into pieces and thrown with force on the table. After this, the workpiece must be twisted in a spiral several times. This is a very important process, on which the number of defects largely depends.

Many aspiring entrepreneurs are interested in how to learn pottery? The most important thing is to be patient, as this art requires a lot of polishing. If something doesn't work out for you, don't be upset. Think about those potters who worked several thousand years ago. They did not have special equipment or literature from which to draw the necessary knowledge, but despite this, they created real masterpieces.

Let's sum it up

Nowadays, finding courses in pottery art is not difficult. Therefore, if you have the desire, you can master this profession without any problems.

Experts recommend not turning your apartment into a workshop. Use your cottage, garage, or rent a room for this. Otherwise, you will pollute all the rooms, burn the wiring, clog the sewer and, as a result, quarrel with all your neighbors.

A pottery workshop will bring good profits if you have a large enough number of clients. After you have resolved organizational and production issues, immediately look for reliable distribution channels.

Use advertising for this, and also take part in various art exhibitions. Offer souvenirs to small shops in the city center, at train stations and airports. If you take into account all these recommendations, your pottery workshop will become a profitable and promising business.

Clay is an amazing natural material, warm, gentle and pliable, which can turn into anything, from a seemingly primitive children's toy to an amazing vase or elegant candlestick. Working with clay has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, relaxes, relieves stress. So clay modeling is not only an interesting creative activity that can turn into a favorite hobby. This is also a way to release accumulated negative energy, relieve tension, relax, and get a lot of positive emotions.

Of course, at home it is difficult to compete with modern ceramic production, with its latest technologies, sophisticated equipment, and new finishing materials. But it is possible to create products that are simple in technology. Any of them will retain the warmth of your hands, a part of your soul, and will be a real work of art in its own way. After all, there is no other plate or vase exactly like it anywhere else in the world...

Workshop at the dacha

Working with clay is quite a messy thing. In the sense that then you will have to wash everything and everyone. And if you can sculpt figures at home, in a city apartment, then creating your first masterpieces on a pottery wheel in an apartment is not very convenient. Do you have a strong desire to come into contact with amazing natural materials and try to master (even if clumsily, if only as entertainment) one of the oldest crafts - pottery? There is no better place for this than a dacha. This is where it is much easier to organize your workspace and place everything you need. It is at the dacha or in the village that work at the potter's wheel will be more organic, fitting into the surrounding landscape, like a touch to the origins, to folk history and culture.

Currently, there are entire specialized stores at the service of beginners and “advanced” ceramists, where you can purchase everything you need, from potter’s wheels and different types of clay to a kiln for firing finished products. Don't worry, we won't need the oven just yet. This thing is expensive and not at all necessary at first. To begin with, it makes sense to learn how to make the simplest shapes on a pottery wheel and dry them correctly. And you can fire your creations, for example, in children's art schools or ceramic workshops, where there is appropriate equipment. Or at first, leave it without firing at all. If the pottery craft “hooks” you seriously, if you feel that it is yours, then you can already think about the kiln. By the way, in the village you can make a wood-burning kiln yourself by turning to a master for help or using special literature.

Required Tools

It is clear that the potter's wheel is the main device that we cannot do without. About 7 thousand years have passed since some unknown genius invented and created the first pottery wheel. Since then, the principle of operation of this device has not changed at all. A potter's wheel is a small disk made of a smooth material (wood, plastic, stone, metal, etc.) with an axis rigidly attached to the bottom. A gear is attached to the opposite end of the axle, thanks to which the disk can rotate. The first pottery wheels were manual. Then the legs appeared. They are more convenient because they allow the master to free both hands for work. Most modern pottery wheels are electric. They are quite convenient and facilitate the physical work of the potter. Although some masters claim that a real pottery wheel is still a foot one. Only on it you can smoothly and flexibly regulate the rotation speed, which is very important for sculpting.

Now there is an opportunity to purchase an industrial potter's wheel. As a rule, such circles are quite convenient to use. But there are DIY enthusiasts who make such circles on their own.

For more or less serious creativity, the battery-powered children's pottery wheels that have appeared on sale will not suit you. They belong to the category of toys; with some experience, you can make only very tiny products with them (for example, doll saucers). The battery power is not enough for more.

We will also need stacks for our work - special wooden or plastic tools for removing excess material and more carefully working out the details. In addition, you will need a wire with handles at the ends for cutting the product from the potter's wheel, for cutting clay and other work. Instead of wire, the thinnest guitar string will do. Its length should be approximately equal to the width of the shoulders.

Song of Clay

Clays can be very different in origin, mineral composition, and the content of various impurities. Industrial classification divides them into kaolins, clays, crackers (refractory clays) and shale clays (poorly soaked in water). There is such a thing as “fat” (plastic) and “lean” (dry) clay. For pottery work, the clay must be quite “oily”. Otherwise, it will not mold well and crack during firing. Moreover, the thinner and more elegant the product, the more fatty clay is used for it. The color of the clay also varies. It can be red, brown, green, blue, white, gray and even chocolate or dirty black. The color of clay is given by the oxides of various metals: aluminum, iron, titanium. If their total number does not exceed 1%, the product will be white both before and after firing. If the oxide content is more than 1%, the finished product will turn red, even if the raw clay was green or blue.

Perhaps the best way out for beginning potters is to buy ready-made clay in specialized stores or ceramics factories. Most often, pottery clay is sold in powder form. It is already cleared of impurities and has all the necessary additives. It just needs to be prepared correctly. It is better to learn more about how to do this from the consultants in the store.

Before starting work, even with clay that is completely ready for use, it is necessary to perform one more very important operation - “breaking”. Roll out a roll of clay on a wooden board and tear it into two parts in a motion similar to wringing out laundry. Then forcefully throw the pieces onto the table, fold them, roll them and tear them apart again. The procedure must be repeated 20-25 times. This is done in order to remove air bubbles from the clay and achieve a uniform consistency. The remaining air will greatly interfere with working on the pottery wheel and can tear the finished product during firing. Instead of tearing the lump of clay with your hands, you can cut it using wire. By the way, many masters consider this method more correct. After this, we proceed to the so-called spiral kneading. It's done like this. The prepared piece of clay is placed on the table, with both palms placed on top. The main load should fall on the lower parts of the palms. Press your palms onto the clay, as if pushing it away from you, while simultaneously turning your palms slightly counterclockwise. If everything is done correctly, you will hear light pops of bursting air bubbles. Then release the clay and slightly turn the entire lump clockwise, returning it to its original place. The operation is repeated 30-40 times. Try to avoid folds, as unnecessary air can hide in them.

Finally our clay is ready. Let's start sculpting. Be prepared for the fact that at first nothing will work out for you. This is fine. If possible, watch a craftsman work on a potter's wheel or, better yet, take a few pottery lessons. Nowadays, more and more similar creative courses and master classes are appearing. If this is not possible, you will have to master the skill through trial and error. An intelligent self-instruction book with a step-by-step description of the work and picture diagrams will be very useful for this. It should be noted that the main way to master pottery is repeated repetition. Try to ensure that your hands perform mechanical work almost automatically. Look at your work as a student exercise. And don't despair. As you know, it is not the gods who burn the pots. In pottery there are no strict rules regarding how to make dishes, and skill comes with experience.

So let's try it. Cut a piece of clay with a wire, give it a rounded shape and place it in the center of the machine, lightly pressing it to the surface. If the clay is off-center, straighten it with your hands and then run the potter's wheel. The clay must be placed exactly in the center, otherwise it will spin unevenly and eventually jump off the wheel. Perhaps this is the most difficult thing for beginners - to learn how to lay out clay strictly in the center. The centered piece appears almost motionless; the clay should not bend or move. The correct placement of the potter's hands is very important. The elbows should be pressed to the body, and the bent hands with the wrists slightly closer should be held on a rotating piece of clay. You need to try to relax your hands as much as possible; movements should be soft and smooth, without sudden jerks.

The movements you make with your hands depend on the shape you want to achieve. Let's say we decided to make a jug. Having pressed down the clay, make a bun or a small dome out of it, smoothed on the sides. Now squeeze the clay with both hands and, lifting them, transform the dome into a cone, and then back into a dome. With your right thumb, mark the center at the top of the dome and begin to gradually press your finger vertically into it. The remaining fingers are located outside the dome. Squeeze some water out of the sponge into the hole formed. To move the clay to the sides, lower the fingers of your left hand inward to the bottom of the recess, and place the fingers of your right hand on the outer wall. Press down on the surface of the product with your left hand. Hands should be constantly moistened with water. Extend the cylinder to the desired final height. Touch the bottom of the product with the end of the middle finger of your left hand, and press the bent index finger and thumb of your right hand to the outside. To stretch the walls, move your hands from the bottom to the top. Try to keep the walls the same thickness. The main task at this stage is to obtain a smooth, hollow inside cylinder with a bottom. Then we begin to transform it into a vase, jug or other intended product. There are certain rules for this:

if you press on the inside of the cylinder, its walls will stretch with the expansion of the shape. Hands should be both inside and outside the cylinder, one against the other, together determining the wall thickness and the amount of pressure;
to stretch the neck of the jug, you need to grab its top from the outside with both hands and squeeze it to the desired size;
if the jug is supposed to have a narrow neck, be careful not to accidentally expand it too much;
it is convenient to remove the water that collects at the bottom of the product with a sponge placed on a wire;
try turning out a thin edge of the product, using your fingers to round it to the outside and wrap it up. This way you will get a decorative detail characteristic of pottery;
If you need to make a spout, grasp the edge of the jug with two fingers of your left hand and press between them with the index finger of your right.

The larger the ceramic product you want, the more difficult it is to make. Therefore, it is better to start with small saucers and plates. To do this, you need to place a clay disk of small height in the center of the potter's wheel, corresponding to the size of the future plate. The bottom should be done most carefully, because for flat products it is the most vulnerable point. The clay here needs to be pressed harder. Then use your thumb and forefinger to lift the clay away from the outer edge to form a rounded rim. After this, we begin to smooth out the side of the plate, slightly squeezing the clay and at the same time stretching it to the sides. Do not thin the walls of the product too much, otherwise they will crack and “swell” during firing.

Drying and decorating

When the product is ready and you are satisfied with it, cut it from the circle with a special wire with two handles. Pull the wire under the bottom of the product twice, then slide it off the circle and transfer it to a stand moistened with water. Now comes the next important stage - drying. The main task is to ensure that the clay dries evenly, otherwise it will crack. Therefore, avoid drafts and direct sunlight. Wipe the product with a damp sponge or wet hands, removing any irregularities, then cover with a damp cloth and place to dry in a closed box (preferably galvanized).

After about a day, when the product has dried a little, it is removed from the box, carefully cleaned with fine sandpaper and finishing work begins. For example, the surface of a jug or vase can be “smoothed”. To do this, rub it with some smooth object. At the same time, the top layer of clay becomes denser and begins to shine. After firing, such dishes shine even more. Texture finishing can also be done on soft clay. Stamps are cut out of wood or rubber. By pressing them into wet clay in a certain sequence, you can get a unique pattern or ornament. Interesting prints are obtained by pressing coarse burlap onto clay. You can also apply a pattern or design by scratching. It is performed with an awl, knife or other sharp object.

In addition, a very popular type of finishing of pottery is engobes painting. Engobes are specially prepared liquid clays. This type of painting is carried out on a wet, dry, or even fired product. The decorative composition is applied with a brush, spray, or the product is immersed in a container with a solution. After such painting, the products are fired at a temperature of 700-800°C.

A higher degree of finishing is glazing. Glaze is a thin glassy coating that is formed when silicate compounds are fused onto the surface of a clay product; it can also be purchased at specialty stores or ceramics factories. They protect ceramics from contamination and make it more durable. Glazes can be very different: transparent, colored, colorless. Enamel is a type of glaze. It is opaque and is used as a base for ceramic paint. The enamel is applied by pouring, dried, and then the ceramics are painted with special paints. When the paints are completely dry, the product is fired.

Special electric furnaces are usually used for firing. If you have access to such equipment, firing is carried out as follows. After drying and decorating, the product is placed in the oven for 1.5-3 hours for additional drying at a temperature of 150°C. First, the temperature in the oven is raised slowly until all the moisture has evaporated. Then every 30-40 minutes the temperature is raised by 50°C and brought to 400°C. When the product begins to turn red, the temperature is increased more sharply - by 100°C every hour and brought to 800-900°C. This heat is maintained for an hour and the oven is turned off. During the first hours, cooling should proceed slowly until the temperature drops to 450-400°C. When the temperature drops to 200°C, the oven can be opened. The product is removed only when it has cooled to room temperature. The entire cooling process usually takes 10-12 hours. Now, if necessary, the product is painted with glazes, and then the entire firing process is repeated again so that the glaze melts.

Clay consumption

It is very useful to know how much clay you need to take to make a particular product of a certain size. As a rule, beginners take too much clay, and this is one of the reasons for possible failures. To make a tea saucer with a bottom diameter of 13 cm, we will need approximately 800 g of clay; for a dinner plate with a bottom diameter of 23 cm, the weight of clay will increase to 1400 g. For a mug with a height of 9 cm or a jug with a volume of 0.2 liters, only 350 g of clay will be required. A half-liter jug will be made from 500 g of clay, and a teapot from 1000 g. Add a spout (250 g) and a lid (250 g) to the kettle. It is recommended to keep a kind of diary where you will write down information on each of your products: how much clay was required for the product and parts (lids, spouts, handles), some features of the technology, etc. Here you can sketch interesting products seen in museums or at exhibitions, make sketches of your own vases and jugs, which currently exist only in your imagination. Such notes will help improve your skills, avoid making gross mistakes, and preserve for many years a lot of useful information that would otherwise certainly be forgotten.

It is clear that it is very difficult to learn how to use a pottery wheel by reading just one short article. You will need a lot of time, hard work and a good mentor or smart tutorial. And who knows, maybe your wonderful works will not only decorate your home, but will also take their rightful place at ceramics exhibitions.

Victoria Beloborodova