I'm away for two weeks tomorrow - French France! It's a bit of a technology break too - no phones/no web/no email access, to be honest there's not even a telly!   

Apologies if you are unable to reach me during this time, if you'd like to order a special bespoke item or book an appointment for hand/foot print piece for Fathers Day - please email me roundchimneypottery@cwgsy.net and I will reply as soon as we return - due back 17th May. Hope everyone has a great Liberation Day! 

Big Storage Jars now back in stock!

Made-to-order with hand/foot prints, or personalised, £40

Ugh, pear shaped technology!!!!

Huge apologies if you look at my website on a tablet or mobile and it looks like this first picture.. with the background image coming through, so you are unable to see the text - it should look like the second picture, with a white background behind the text.

I was mortified to see the way it looks on a tablet - I do not have one, since having had my kindle fire stolen just before Xmas, so I only recently discovered the problem.

MR SITE is my website provider who very unhelpfully suggest it is not their fault, but "the user's" fault as they are not looking at it using the correct browser and further suggest "the user" should change their browser to "Firefox" or "Google Chrome" and clear the "cookie cache" to enable them to view it properly. I "suggested" that their response was clearly unacceptable as most people are not as IT savvy as IT Support (ie them!), but that was their final answer on the matter! Furthermore, neither "Firefox" or "Google Chrome" was supported or therefore available on the tablet I tried to make these changes to - a year-old iPad.

If anyone can suggest an alternative low cost website provider who may be a lot more helpful than MR SITE I would be really grateful! In the meantime, I am working on making my website really plain, so info is clearer!

Many thanks, Katie

The background image comes through on some tablets and mobiles.....

This is more like how it SHOULD look! A white background behind all the information.

I saw this posted on Facebook and it inspired me to paint some new designs on plates with pretty borders.

New border pattern

I realised when I had made this plate, it wasn't too far away from a design I painted a couple of years ago, a pattern I had named "vintage wallpaper" - which, by completely coincidence, the Queen of modern day ceramics - Emma Bridgewater - a pottery designer I greatly admire - has recently brought out a pattern of the same name!

My original "vintage wallpaper" pattern

I've yet to name the "arrow" pattern, my friend thinks it's like an optical illusion, but I am stuck - any suggestions to name this pattern are more than welcome, if I think it's a good match and you don't mind me using it, there's a big Cheese or Cake plate in it for you!

I've been a busy bee in my workshop, definitely making up for lost time! I have posted some pics of all my latest pieces including some brand new designs on Facebook  - please take a look via this link :)

Yippee! My cast came off yesterday, so back in my workshop making lots of pots... so good to be back after 6 long weeks! :)

Hmmm..... had a bit of an accident on Saturday!

I twisted my ankle and it snapped! I'll be in this cast for at least 6 weeks, with strict instructions of no weight-bearing on this leg whatsoever, so that combined with having to rely on crutches to get around means there is very little I can do until it heals.

Apologies for any inconvenience - I won't be able to make any bespoke pieces including hand/foot print pottery for at least 6 weeks :-(

Exclusive Deal from Round Chimney Pottery!

 

Save 25% throughout the year!

How it works:
This deal is to purchase a £20 Round Chimney Pottery gift voucher and pay only £15.
You can purchase as many vouchers as you like, the more you purchase - the more you save - for example, buy 5 vouchers, save £25 - there are no limits on the number of vouchers bought per person!

The vouchers are valid for one year from the date of purchase, so you may use your vouchers for different gifts required throughout the year if you wish.

 Vouchers will be nicely presented in a little envelope and can be used:

• as gifts for any occasion - Birthdays/Valentine's Day/Father's Day/Mother's Day/Christmas/Weddings/Engagements/New Arrivals etc!
• in exchange for, or as part payment for bespoke orders including hand and foot print pottery. (Please allow at least two weeks from the time of order confirmation or hand/foot print appointment for completion of bespoke or hand/foot print orders.)
• in exchange for, or as part payment for stock pottery as advertised on www.roundchimneypottery.com

You'll get a handy pocket calendar to remind you when birthdays/occasions are coming up!

To order your voucher(s):

• Please email roundchimneypottery@cwgsy.net, putting "25% off Voucher Deal" in the subject header, and include the following information in your email:

1. Your name
2. The number of vouchers you wish to purchase
3. Your preferred payment method* - if internet transfer, I will email you my bank details by reply.

• *Please note this offer ends on Wednesday 15th January 2014, all payments for the vouchers must be received by midnight on this date. 
• If paying by cheque or cash, payments must be made on collection of the voucher(s) by the end of the day on Wednesday 15th January at the latest - late payments will not be accepted for this offer.
• Vouchers will be available for collection from my house - directions will be given by reply email.

Just one more thing! Please read the small print below for Ts and Cs - boring I admit, but important! You're more than welcome to contact me should you have any further queries - email roundchimneypottery@cwgsy.net or tel/text 07781 419 284

Best wishes, Katie Meader


the small print:
terms and conditions

• All vouchers must be paid for at the time of purchase if payment is made by internet bank transfer.
• If payment is made by cash/cheque, all payments must be received by the end of the day on Wednesday 15th January at the latest. 
  
• Late payments will not be accepted for this promotion.
• Vouchers can only be exchanged with Round Chimney Pottery directly (not at shops that stock Round Chimney Pottery).
• Vouchers are only valid for up to 12 months after the date shown on the voucher.
• Vouchers cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion. 
• Vouchers cannot be exchanged for money.
• If the full value of the voucher is not used, no change will be given in exchange of vouchers taken as payment.
• Please allow at least two weeks for completion of bespoke or hand/foot print orders.
• No discount will be offered to any other sales made during this time 8th-15th January 2014 in lieu of this voucher discount offer - to receive the 25% discount, vouchers must be purchased as stated above and then exchanged for pottery directly with Round Chimney Pottery.

When Timing Matters!

From now on, I have to be quite firm about taking payments at the time an order is made or at the same time of a hand/foot print appointment.

Please don’t take it personally, it is nothing to do with any trust issues, in the whole, there is a fantastic sense of morality in Guernsey - the people here are extremely honest! In the 5 years I have been running Round Chimney Pottery I have only ever had one non-payment.

The reason I require payment at the time of order/appointment is purely down to timing. As my little business is what is known as a “micro-enterprise” there is never a lot of “contingency” and so cash flow is the absolute key to making it work. Credit terms for small businesses to “order now and pay in 30 days” are non existent in my trade - none of my suppliers offer it to any of their traders, so all materials and equipment have to be paid for upfront.

Up until now, I have been fairly relaxed about taking payment on collection, or relying on people sending cheques in the post. The trouble is even with the best will in the world, people have such busy lives juggling work and families and so often it gets forgotten about. That is totally understandable, but the other side of the coin from a small business’ point of view is that quite often, I have to chase for payment up to 3 months after the finished order was collected.

Last year, this happened: I had so many orders that I was waiting for payment for around 5weeks plus, for two months running it amounted to over half of my monthly income! Even though I’d had enough sales to cover monthly expenses - I wasn’t being paid for them on time! I had to do some office temping to kick start some cash flow back into the business. The overall effects of temping meant less time being spent on growing the business and developing new ideas, so not an ideal situation by far!

Despite this, I’m proud to say 2013 was the best year yet for Round Chimney Pottery!

There are a lot of business lessons I am learning along the way -  some of them not so easy, but then running a business is not all about painting rainbows!

Happy New Year!

I'm not sure how this blogger works just yet, but I'm currently in the process of giving my website a makeover, so I thought I'd give this a try too for posting pics and promos!