Curt Hammerly of Hammerly Ceramics returns to Wheel Talk to share how his pottery business has evolved over the past eight years. He discusses moving away from high-demand product drops toward a more diversified sales model, including permanent inventory, collection launches, made-to-order work, and wholesale. The conversation also explores how his new home studio, growing team, and social media strategy have helped streamline production, manage demand, and build a more sustainable pottery business.

-----Find more about Curt's businesses below-----
Website - hammerlyceramics.com
Instagram - @hammerlyceramics
Past Episodes with Curt - #50, #137, #215

📦 Sign up for Pot Swap 2026
Registration open until October 31st on our website.

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Sponsors
L&L Kilns - Getting ready for the holiday rush? L&L kilns are built for reliable, consistent firings and designed to be easy to maintain, troubleshoot, and repair, helping you minimize downtime when your firing schedule gets busy. Find your L&L kiln at hotkilns.com

BuschKraft - The Dragonfly Complete Carving Kit from BuschKraft includes all of their current Dragonfly carving blades, 3 handles, and 3 alternate grips bundled together for $134. Get 15% off your order with code BKWHEELTALK26 at buschkraft.com, making the complete kit an even better deal for Wheel Talk listeners. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Speedball – Stock up on the NEW Speedball Studio Plus line of glazes, underglazes, bats, and pottery tools. Get 25% off eligible items with code WheelTalkSB2026 at speedballart.com/shop/ceramics/. Offer valid through December 31, 2026. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel

Becca and Taylor share their experiences with depression and the challenges of navigating mental health as artists and small business owners. Becca reflects on a recent severe depressive episode and hospitalization, while Taylor shares their own experiences with treatment, therapy, and managing depression. Ryan joins the conversation from the perspective of someone without firsthand experience, asking questions about better understanding depression and how friends and loved ones can offer meaningful support.

📦 Sign up for Pot Swap 2026
Registration open until October 31st on our website.

📬 Join the Wheel Talk Email List
Get occasional updates, listener questions, book club picks, and giveaways from Wheel Talk.
👉 Sign up here

Sponsors
L&L Kilns - Getting ready for the holiday rush? L&L kilns are built for reliable, consistent firings and designed to be easy to maintain, troubleshoot, and repair, helping you minimize downtime when your firing schedule gets busy. Find your L&L kiln at hotkilns.com

BuschKraft - The Dragonfly Complete Carving Kit from BuschKraft includes all of their current Dragonfly carving blades, 3 handles, and 3 alternate grips bundled together for $134. Get 15% off your order with code BKWHEELTALK26 at buschkraft.com, making the complete kit an even better deal for Wheel Talk listeners. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel

Jon Schmidt returns to Wheel Talk seven years after his first appearance to share how his pottery business, content creation, and priorities have evolved. He discusses shifting his social media strategy to reach a broader audience, balancing creativity with sales, and navigating brand partnerships. The conversation also explores running multiple businesses, hiring studio assistants, pricing pottery, and building a sustainable career that leaves room for life outside the studio.

-----Find more about Jon's businesses below-----
Website - themochamonkey.com
Instagram - @jonschmidtpottery
YouTube - www.youtube.com/jonthepotter
Wheel Talk #14 - What's Up Guys?! with Jon Schmidt aka Jon The Potter

📦 Sign up for Pot Swap 2026
Registration open until October 31st on our website.

📬 Join the Wheel Talk Email List
Get occasional updates, listener questions, book club picks, and giveaways from Wheel Talk.
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Sponsors
L&L Kilns - Getting ready for the holiday rush? L&L kilns are built for reliable, consistent firings and designed to be easy to maintain, troubleshoot, and repair, helping you minimize downtime when your firing schedule gets busy. Find your L&L kiln at hotkilns.com

BuschKraft - The Dragonfly Complete Carving Kit from BuschKraft includes all of their current Dragonfly carving blades, 3 handles, and 3 alternate grips bundled together for $134. Get 15% off your order with code BKWHEELTALK26 at buschkraft.com, making the complete kit an even better deal for Wheel Talk listeners. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel

Ryan and Becca are back for the fall season of Wheel Talk and taking a look at what they want to make more (and less) room for in their creative lives. They reflect on what took up too much energy this summer, what feels most satisfying right now, and the parts of their businesses that may not be sustainable long term.

They also talk about what they're ready to let go of, what they want more time for, and what they're choosing to prioritize as they head into the final stretch of the year.

📦 Sign up for Pot Swap 2026
Registration open until October 31st on our website.

📬 Join the Wheel Talk Email List
Get occasional updates, listener questions, book club picks, and giveaways from Wheel Talk.
👉 Sign up here

Sponsors
L&L Kilns - Getting ready for the holiday rush? L&L kilns are built for reliable, consistent firings and designed to be easy to maintain, troubleshoot, and repair, helping you minimize downtime when your firing schedule gets busy. Find your L&L kiln at hotkilns.com

BuschKraft - The Dragonfly Complete Carving Kit from BuschKraft includes all of their current Dragonfly carving blades, 3 handles, and 3 alternate grips bundled together for $134. Get 15% off your order with code BKWHEELTALK26 at buschkraft.com, making the complete kit an even better deal for Wheel Talk listeners. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel

In this special bonus episode, Ryan is joined by new Pot Swap team members Tzipporah of Sipor Ceramics and Rachel Durbin to kick off Pot Swap 2026! They cover everything you need to know about this year’s pottery exchange, including an extended sign-up period, rolling assignments, domestic-only shipping, weekly giveaways, the Pot Swap Design Contest, and more. Whether you’re a returning participant or joining Pot Swap for the first time, tune in to hear what’s new and what to expect for 2026.

Resources
Pot Swap website
Pot Swap Official Instagram

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel

Ryan and Becca return with another chapter of the Wheel Talk Podcast book club, exploring We Need Your Art by Amie McNee. Joined once again by Taylor Swilley, they reflect on the book’s ideas around giving yourself permission to be an artist, overcoming creative resistance, and building a sustainable creative practice. Together, they discuss why the book resonated so strongly with them and how its lessons apply to finding your creative identity, making space for meaningful work, and navigating life as a working artist and creative business owner.

Our next book club selection will be announced in the coming months and released in the next season. See all the books we've covered on Becca's Amazon list at https://amzn.to/3X5yZOX

-----Find more about Taylor’s business below-----
Instagram - @backyardkiln
Website - backyardkiln.com

📬 Join the Wheel Talk Email List
Get occasional updates, listener questions, book club picks, and giveaways from Wheel Talk.
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Sponsors
L&L Kilns - The durable kiln that potters trust to fire evenly & consistently. Find your L&L kiln at hotkilns.com

BuschKraft - The Dragonfly System is a versatile carving setup with interchangeable blades and affordable replacements, available as a single tool or a 3-handle, 8-blade Starter Kit. Get 15% off with code BKWHEELTALK26 at buschkraft.com. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel

Replay Episode: To celebrate another year of Wheel Talk, we’re going all the way back to where it started! This week, we’re replaying our very first episode and revisiting our 2019 conversation about motivation as makers. A lot has changed since then, but many of the challenges we talked about—staying motivated, setting goals, overcommitting, and making time for the work you love—still feel just as relevant today.

In our very first episode, Ryan and Becca discuss motivation as makers from two different perspectives: Becca as a full-time potter and studio owner and Ryan as a part-time maker working a traditional 9–5. They share their experiences with overcommitting, list-making, goal-setting, selling at shows, and figuring out how to spend more time doing the parts of your creative work you actually love.

📬 Join the Wheel Talk Email List
Get occasional updates, listener questions, book club picks, and giveaways from Wheel Talk.
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Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel

Ryan and Becca are back with another listener Q&A, tackling questions about the realities of making and selling pottery. They discuss wholesale pricing, communicating the value of handmade ceramics, finding your place at NCECA, expanding your product line, and making enough work to fill your market booth. They also dig into pottery burnout, getting out of a creative rut, and a listener question about their use of AI as working artists.

📬 Join the Wheel Talk Email List
Get occasional updates, listener questions, book club picks, and giveaways from Wheel Talk.
👉 Sign up here

Sponsors
L&L Kilns – The durable kiln that potters trust to fire evenly & consistently. Find your L&L kiln at hotkilns.com
BuschKraft – The Dragonfly System is a versatile carving setup with interchangeable blades and affordable replacements, available as a single tool or a 3-handle, 8-blade Starter Kit. Get 15% off with code BKWHEELTALK26 at buschkraft.com. Limit one use per customer. Cannot be combined with other discounts.
Speedball – Stock up on your ceramic studio essentials with Speedball's line of glazes, underglazes, bats, and pottery tools. Get 25% off eligible items with code WheelTalkSB2026 at speedballart.com/shop/ceramics/. Offer valid through December 31, 2026. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Support the show on Patreon for as little as $3 per month: https://patreon.com/Wheeltalkpodcast

Follow us on Instagram:
@wheeltalkpodcast
@rdceramics
@5linespottery

Visit our website:
www.wheeltalkpotcast.com
Wheel Talk YouTube Channel