My First Blog

Well hello there! Blogging seems to be the next big thing on the internet! I even found a magazine "Artful Blogging".....oh dear, a whole new world of learning!
So let me introduce myself: I am Sharleen of Shaterra Clay Studio. My humble "studio" is in Groveport, OH. I design ceramic beads and pendants of low fire white and sometimes red clay. I am reaching out for new ways to market my work...hence the blog.
I started making clay beads in 2000. In 2003, I attended the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee, and visited the PolyClay booth, where I watched a demo of the clay bead rollers designed to make beads from polymer clay. After I got home, I ordered a set. Although they are more difficult to use with earth clay than polymer, with a little effort I was able to start rolling many different shapes of ceramic beads.
I started out taking my beads to a local ceramic shop for firing. For a few dollars, he would fire 3 bead trees full for me (I supplied the trees.)
Two years later I had so many beads, I decided it was time to try selling them. I visited two local bead stores and had a great reception from them. It was a real thrill to spread out my beads and sell so many at one time. I decided it was time to buy my own kiln.
My main business is still wholesale, although I would like to get more internet and retail sales. Last year I attended Bead and Button again, but this time as a vendor. I returned as a vendor again this year. If you are a bead designer or shop owner, this show is a bead paradise. The show is tiring but alot of fun. (More fun to be able to wander the aisles at will and devour all the eye candy then be stuck in the booth!) But I have met new people each time and made a couple of wholesale contacts that I believe will be of great value to me. So the effort is always worth it.
I have one year of formal ceramic training, and that was in high school. My college degree is in fashion design, and I have been told that my love of fabric and embellishment shows in my colorful beads and artful collages. I just had someone comment that my work "looks like formal art composition...like 3D paintings." So everything that I have been and done before reflects in my work...and that is what makes each of us unique!
I will be blogging off and on and trying to get a feel for this. Thanks for looking and please link to me!
Sharleen