Small-batch production

I often get inquiries regarding small-batch ceramic production. 

   I am often asked if I do ceramic production or know someone who does. Here is my response:

    First of all, personally I do not do production. My specialty is in pre-production work- design, modelmaking, and moldmaking. I have, on rare occasions, made a few ceramic samples as part of a development project, but in general, I do not produce ceramic pieces to order. 

  A logical arrangement would be for me to make the tooling and then have a production shop make the ware. Unfortunately, I do not have any such resource at this time. Why is that? Because just about anyone who has tried to be a ceramic “job shop” has found it, in the long run, to be difficult and unrewarding.

  Any ceramic production requires development- figuring out how to form, glaze, decorate, and fire a new product is full of pitfalls and setbacks. All this development work and tweaking (as well as the modeling and moldmaking) has to be absorbed in the per-piece cost, driving up the price, especially in small-batch production. 

  A small factory or studio makes something at a certain expense, and then adds profit on top of that. Then the designer/entrepreneur has to buy that and mark it up for their profit. In the case of the someone who is then wholesaling the product, it now gets marked up again at retail. So you have, on one hand, these cascading expenses driving up the cost. Then, on the other hand, you have a ceiling:  the perceived value, or acceptable price, to the consumer. It seems to me that the cost to produce an object runs up against that ceiling pretty fast. 

  Since you can’t really drive the cost down, the only way small-scale custom production works, in my experience, is when the product has some unusual added value, such as a very specialized, unique product, or a special-commission project, or artworks for the fine-art market, or something with extraordinary “sizzle” (like a connection to a famous name.). Anything that is at all comparable to existing factory-made items doesn’t seem to work over time. 

  Ceramic production requires a well-equipped facility as well as skills, education, and experience in both ceramics and business. I’ve generally found that anyone who has these resources is already busy making their own ware, and outside production is rightly seen as an unprofitable distraction.

  One might think that the solution for the cost problem is to manufacture overseas, but this usually isn’t a practical option for small runs. 

  I do have one associate with whom I’ve collaborated on a few select production projects, but these were all special commissions. For example: very high-end commissioned dinnerware; special objects required for a commercial photo shoot, custom-designed planters for a commercial architectural setting;  samples/prototypes for products that will then later on to factory production. 

  I wish I had a better answer for those seeking USA- based small-scale ceramic production resources, but in my experience, this is the unfortunate reality. I would be very happy to be proved wrong. If you know of professional resources for domestic small-scale production, please let me know! 

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