Why I Switched to Small Batch

For two years I tried to scale. I took wholesale accounts, I standardised my processes, I batch-produced mugs in runs of fifty. The work got faster and the margins got better and I was profoundly miserable.

The problem wasn't the economics. The problem was that what I was making stopped feeling like mine.

What small batch actually means

For me it means runs of six to twelve pieces maximum. It means each piece gets individual attention. It means some glazes only appear once, when a batch comes out a colour I didn't plan for and won't be able to replicate.

It also means higher prices, which took me a long time to be okay with. But people who want what I actually make — not a cheaper version of it — find their way to the shop.

The unexpected benefit

I make better work now. Not because I'm more skilled (though I am), but because I care again. You can't fake care at scale, and you don't have to fake it at the pace I'm working at.