Happy September and welcome to this month’s Subscriber Q&A! I’m answering your questions about pottery, saving seeds and what I do when I’m feeling stuck. Paid subscribers can submit questions for next month through the link at the bottom of this post. If you’re looking for answers to more questions, be sure to check the Q&A archive.

I picked Catherine’s question this time around, but I had at least a half dozen folks wondering similar things, so let’s talk about it.

First, what am I going to do with all the pots?!

After a lot of thought, I decided I am going to make the smaller ruffle bowls the gift for bouquet subscribers starting today, September 1. My newsletter has three paid tiers: the $5 monthly rate, the $50 annual rate and the $100 annual “bouquet membership.” For the first year of Scattering Seeds, anyone who signed up as a bouquet member was sent an original oil pastel flower drawing. I loved drawing them and sending them to subscribers in a cheery yellow envelope. Now that the newsletter is about to celebrate its first birthday (on Friday!), I need another idea for what to send to new and renewing bouquet members! I think the ruffle bowls are fun because they are a unique product (which is potentially exciting for members) and it means I get to keep throwing and practicing my work. (A double win.)

As for the larger splatter bowls, I want to try to sell them in person at a local craft fair. This is the one I am hoping opens vendor applications for 2026 soon. I can picture my booth so clearly and I think it would be a good time. (Going to Flock made me want to be a vendor again.) Depending on how that goes, I may also host a small online pop-up shop in mid-December.

And what about pottery as a hobby?! It can totally be a hobby, but if you set up a studio at home, it’s a very pricey hobby. Whenever possible, I would recommend taking classes at a local ceramic studio. You will get to use their tools and their kiln and will have help as you learn. My pottery practice started in 2016. I spent over a year going to a studio and using all their equipment. Then I got a wheel and spent 18 months working on throwing while renting kiln space. Finally I got a kiln in 2025, but only after I confirmed in much less expensive ways that it was a craft I really enjoyed. Someone asked for a ballpark how much it costs to get a kiln, wheel and all the pottery supplies. I would budget at least $6000 if everything is brand new and if you’ll need electrical work for the kiln.