New Patterns and New Bowls

My mind has been buzzing like always and I have some new work that I am very excited about. I never get tired of patterns, so made some new textured slabs.

New patterns calls for new forms. I wanted to make some unique elegant bowls. Check these out.

I love the curling handles and the simplistic design balanced with the intricate free flowing patterns

Perfect for serving strawberries this summer season. Buy them now at my Etsy shop.

How to make a Packing peanut Dispenser?

If you ship orders on Etsy, Ebay, for wholesale you know what a pain it is to deal with packing peanuts. With pottery being fragile, you just have to make friends with packing peanuts. I had been struggling with removing peanuts from bags and boxes and all it created is a big mess and I had to come up with a solution.

Sure you can always buy a packing peanut dispenser but it is going to cost you big time and it might not be the size you want. Here is a simple plan that was fairly easy to do and you can do it too. I also got some great ideas from Jim Bridgeman who has an awesome dispenser which holds the peanuts on the upper floor of his studio. 

The best part is that it costed me peanuts. LOL! I actually had everything at home and just needed the tarp which was $10 and the damper.

Cut out the tarp to the dimensions that work in your space. Above are the dimensions that I used and this can hold  a LOT of peanuts. You do need some sewing skills. Make sure you use a needle for thick material like denim. Fold the top and sew the top so as to fit a 1 inch pvc pipe in the loop.

Pass four 3 feet pvc lengths in the loops and connect them with elbows. This helps in maintaining the top of the dispenser square and steady for loading.

I attached a 6" duct with a damper. With this you can open and close the damper for flow of peanuts.

Then with some rope and pulleys you can bring it down to fill and pull it up out of your way for packing.

Feel free to share this with your friends and Etsy teams who do a  lot of shipping online.

If you have any suggestions on improvement of the design or other helpful tips on packing, feel free to comment below.

Stylish Home: Home Makeover Addition

Thrilled to have my teapot featured in StylishHome Home Makeover Catalog. some really cool Vintage and Handmade goods in. Do check them out in this online version



 Here is my teapot on page 19!

A glimpse in the Nate Berkus Show

Who would have thought? Well I always wanted my work to make it to the Nate Berkus show. And to my surprise I get a note from facebook friend "Scott Reed", saying he saw my work on the show. What??? Really???
Do I dug up Nate's website, and did find the clipping of Nate talking about Etsy. Check out the video and one third of the way when she says "1 billion", you see my work flash for a fraction of a second. Really.. don't blink or you will miss it.
Even though just for a fraction, I am amazed that someone saw that and recognized my work.
The two pieces pictured are still available in my store. Go get the stars of the show. LOL!

Cyber Monday Etsy Sale + Free Gift

Season Greetings and a FREE Gift with every purchase!

This year has gone fast. I am going to complete my one year anniversary being a full time potter and I thank you all for the support. As a special gift from me, from November 26th - December 20th, every purchase in my store gets one of my Favorite things!! Take advantage of shopping early and get a FREE gift with every order placed on my online shop. Yes, I said FREE gift with every order. If Oprah can give away her favorite things for free, so can I. LOL!

What is the FREE gift? A reusable foldable waterproof Tote bag. Great for your trip to the farmers market or to your local art show. Be Green, Reuse and Save the environment! Available in different bright colored prints, every order gets a FREE bag.

I have added several NEW items in my shop for this holiday season. Browse through and you are sure to find something special.

Lidded Mugs Perfect for brewing your tea

Sugar Jars

Small Teapot For the Tea Lover

Act Fast before your favorite item from my shop is gone!

Thank you and have a great Holiday Season! Charan

Packing pottery for wholesale

Making pottery is an art and I beleive packing pottery is an art as well. Packing individual pots is not that hard. You can bubble wrap it and put it in a box full of peanuts. But for wholesdale orders, multiple pots need to be packed together. You want to pack efficiently so you can fit several pots in one box and at the same time make sure it is not so tightly packed that the pots hit against each other and break.

Also keep in mind that you can get bigger and bigger boxes to pack more and more pots. I don't recommend that, because if the box is large and awkward, the likeness of it being dropped is higher. I usually use two sizes 17"x13"x13" and occasionally a 18"x18"x16" box. Of course this depends on your size of pieces and the number of pieces you need to ship in every order.

First the tools of the trade.

A good heavy duty packaging tape

Fragile Labels or tape. I sell these rolls of tape at great wholesale prices here.

Stretch wrap. This is my life saver. I couldn't live without this stuff.

A good blade

Bubble wrap (Use recycled only if it is in good condition)

Scrap cardboard

Packing peanuts (I use recycled clean peanuts that I get from a local electronic store)

I wrap each piece (in this case my mugs) in bubble wrap. Then using stretch wrap I wrap pieces together with cardboard in between them. This way the pieces don't touch and have a cardboqrd buffer in between. The stretch wrap is wrapped tightly to make sure the pieces don't move.

With 2 inches of peanuts in the bottom layer of the box, the mugs are placed with enough room on the sides and between the two packs of mugs. Then pack peanuts around the corners and edges with another layer of peanuts and more mugs.

Finally it is topped with more peanuts, invoices, business card and info about my work.

 Try not to overfill the boxes and tape them securely with tape. I also label the boxes with my pottery labels.

 I am sure every potter/artist packs their work in their own way. I would love to hear of more ideas you have and what works for you. Do comment and share with your social networks.



New Butter Trays

Many of you have seen and purchased my lidded butter dishes which are still my best sellers. With a suggestion from the Luna Sea Gallery in Pascadero, CA, I am introducing my new butter trays. They are still charming and colorful with a different design and a great price point.

They can also be used as spoon rests or serving.

Check them out in my Etsy shop.

Charan Sachar in The New York Times

I am very excited to share that I have been featured on the Front Page of The New York Times (SundayStyles Section) today (August 14th 2011). Grab your copy today!

Here is a clipping from the article with some great pictures taken by Stuart Isett
"Charan Sachar, 37, a former software engineer who lives near Seattle, used to spend his downtime perusing Etsy, the D.I.Y. crafts site. He daydreamed of an unfettered life at his kiln, creating Bollywood-inspired teapots and butter dishes.

In January, after 12 years in software, he quit to devote himself full time to his online store, Creative With Clay, which sells stoneware he designs and makes. (Last May, he told his story on Etsy’s “Quit Your Day Job” blog.)

Now, instead of spending his free time absorbed in visions of clay, he spends as much as 70 percent of his day on administration. He is not only his own boss, he is his own accountant, sales director, marketing manager and shipping clerk."

I have listed several new items in my Etsy shop. Thank you all for your support through out these years. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you.

Quit my Day Job

I am glad to annouce that I finally quit my day job and I am now a full time potter. It is going to be interesting to see what unfolds.
Etsy did a feature on me last week with my story and here is the interview.
http://www.etsy.com/storque/seller-handbook/quit-your-day-job-creative-with-clay-12750/
Thank you all for your support!

Extruded and Pulled Handles

As potters know, a comfortable and aesthetically balanced handle is a goal we all strive for. And for many it is a dreading part of the whole process. It is a constant learning process and now I actually enjoy pulling handles. I have kept experimenting and changing my handles to get them consistent and the shape that I want.

Since I love my extruder so much, potters at shows and online always ask me if I pull or extrude my handles. Well.. I do both. I extrude mostly for getting a consistent shape for all my handles and also it is a lot faster. But plain extrusions and result in a very lifeless handles. So then I go ahead and pull my handle.

I cut my oval shape extrusions to 5" in length. To make this a more pleasurable experience, you clean warm water for pulling. My left hand is always dry to hold the handle. Dip the handle in water and taper it with your right hand.

After tapering, I run my thumb in the center a few times to create a curve. When finished, this slight curve makes a good place for the thumb to rest.

Check the video below to see the whole process. When attaching the handle to the mug, I cut with a cookie cutter as this lets me join the mug to the curved surface of the mug without distorting it. I got that tip from Ginger Steele on one of our clay play dates.

And here is the finished result.

Below are pictures of pots from Ginger Steele and Kristen Kieffer whose handles I really admire.

Feel free to add your tips on handles in the comments.

Mother's Day Sale

The one thing that my mom loves is a good deal! And I am sure there are many like her.

So if you haven't shopped for your mom yet, this is a great opportunity to make her proud with a good discount.

Purchase any item in my shop and get 25% OFF shipping.
Any two items and you get 50% OFF shipping
Any three items and get 75% OFF shipping
Any four or more items and absolutely FREE shipping.

Just mention "Mother's Day discount" in Message to Seller when you purchase.

Discounts will be given as refunds via paypal as soon as payments are made.
Items will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail or Fedex ground.

Act fast as this deal only lasts till May 2nd, to ensure that your gifts reach in time for Mother's Day!

Soap Dishes with New Recycled / Upcycled Glaze

I have been making soap dishes for a long time now and I love their simple design and at the same time they are very practical.
The deep grooves help keep the soap high so it drains and dries the soap well. They have very smooth glossy glazes which makes them very easy to clean. And if you love automation, just stick them in the dishwasher to clean them. :)
And the feedback I have got for these is just amazing. Custmers love them and keep coming back for more.. either for their other bathroom, kitchen or as gifts. Read through some of the feedback I have gotten with pictures sent by my happy customers.

"Well made, sturdy, great design and functionality. I love the two tone veriation that looks great with the tub and am so glad I got two for my master bathroom!"
"Wonderful product!!! So well made and generously-sized, these soap dishes are more like beautiful piece of art. Seller was great to work with - attentive and responded quickly to my request. Highly recommend!"
"Love my soap dish! I used it today for the first time. Awesome quality! Quick shipping. Arrived safe, all in one piece.I will definitely be purchasing more from this artist!"

The main reason of writing this post is that I am introducing a new glaze color for my soap dishes. And it is just not a new glaze recipe.. it is very special. While working in the studio and clean up glazes, I always saved up the glaze which came from spraying glazes or cleaning pots. To this I also added glazes that I wasn't using any more. Rather than just dumping this in the environment, I tested and tweeked it. Low and behold, I have this beautiful deep blue grey glaze which has some specks of brown. I looks beautiful over the white glaze and also has some white specks in it if you look closely.

I cannot replicate this glaze ever, but I have 5 gallons of it. So I should be able to make several soap dishes.

So don't waste your glazes. Mix them up and see what you get.

I would love to hear what waste material artists recycle in their studio and upcycle it to create truely unique work.

Sponges Sponges Sponges

As a potter, I have to admit, I have weird relationship with sponges. Still trying to find the perfect one and it is just never satisfactory. Here are the pictures of some that I use and some that were rejected at first use. Would love to hear your insights.

Firstly, the standard yellow sponge. They come round, but are too big and hold a lot of water. So I cut them. Inexpensive but especially after cutting them I need to watch out for the yellow bits in my clay while throwing. Though this does make a good cleaning sponge for wiping off glaze from the bottom of pots while galzing.


The elephant ear sponge. These I like. Can hold a lot or little water depending on how much you squeeze out. They are on the expensive side. They do last longer though. But $5 for sponge.. I don't think so...



This is some sort of elephant sponge which I used once and never used again. It is flat and doesn't absorb any water. Nothing good to say about this one other than its shape and size.


Then there is the mudtools sponge. It is cut in half and has been used quite a bit. Holds decent amount of water but I find it very textured. Pricey too.. $6 I think.

One of my favorites... from the Dollar store. I get four big rectangle sponges for a Dollar. And I make 5 sponges from each of them. So that is 20 sponges for a dollar. They don't feel great on first use, but after that they become flat (picture on the right) and hold just the right amount of water. Surprisingly they last longer too.

This is my recent find. Cosmetic sponges. They are cut to the perfect size and shape that I need. Hold perfect amount of water. I think I paid $3 for 20 sponges in a bag. They are great for cleaning up glazes in tight corners too like lid galleries. Let's see how long this affair lasts.

I would love to hear about your tools and what works for you. Post away!

A Great Wedding Gift!

It always thrills me more when people buy my work as gifts. One can always spend money on themselves, but when they spend it for someone else, it shows they have confidence in their purchase and the the receiver is going to love them.

And of course it is great when people combine different items as gifts. This last order was just the perfect gift for a wedding. Sugar creamer set, a butter dish and salt pepper shakers.

Wouldn't this be just great for a wedding gift? Other popular items in my shop for gift are my Oil vinegar bottles, teapots, set of mugs.

Best wishes to everyone receving these gifts!