We are excited to offer our CCSA members over 35+ classes at this year’s convention, with additional six opportunities for make-and-takes/demos on the exhibit floor. Attendees will learn from experts in their field, connect with like-minded individuals, and stay up-to-date on industry trends and developments. The Convention classes offered are categorized by Business and Biz-nique classes. Business Classes will focus on growing your business, covering topics like marketing, human resources, studio operations, social media, and more! Our biz-nique classes will cover new techniques while sharing marketing tips and how to execute a successful event in your studio! So get ready to learn, connect, and have a great time at the CCSA 2023 Convention in Reno, NV!
Planning for Convention Registration? We recommend filling out our Class Selection Worksheet ahead of time to pre-select the classes you and your staff plan to attend.
Tentative - Subject to Change
PRE-CON AM CLASSES
Friday, August 25, 9-12PM
Hold on tight! We jam-packed this pre-con class full of information to help your studio transform into a well-oiled machine! We are covering everything from business systems and work flows to the technical aspects of clay, glaze, and everything in between. Want to know why your glaze bubbles sometimes? Maybe you’re questioning if there is a more efficient way to move pottery through the studio. We’ve got you covered! You bring the questions, and we’ll bring the answers!
***Register early! We will reach out to early birds for specific questions that we can tackle during the class!
There are two retail statistics every retailer needs to know: 1) 75% of retail journeys still end in a brick-and-mortar store, even those that begin online; and 2) 50% of the sales floor isn’t seen by shoppers. To be competitive requires a store layout that is deliberately set to encourage shoppers to stay longer and buy more. It’s easy to control how customers move about the store and shop displays, when the techniques to make that happen are utilized.
Professional store planners Georganne Bender and Rich Kizer will share how simple moves can work wonders to increase sales. You’ll learn:
• How to identify the Enablers, the Inhibitors, and Impression Points on your sales floor and put them to work to increase sales
• How to merchandise the front, center, and back sections of your sales floor
• How to identify the store’s Lake Front Property and what to do with it
• How to tell product stories
• How to properly sign your displays
• Why cross-merchandising is your best friend
• How to implement vertical merchandising and the Power of 3
• Which fixturing to use
• And more
You’ll be blown away by the visuals and eager to put what you learned to work on your own sales floor!
Whether you’re already offering glass fusing at your studio and want to bring it to the next level, or you’re considering adding glass fusing as a new offering, this class presents insight and guidance on how to set up your display, price the products, market your offering, engage your customers, and understand the technical aspects of firing successfully. You’ll also learn how to source materials and perform cost analysis for pricing.
PRE-CON PM CLASSES
Friday, August 25, 1-4PM
Join Susan Rogers (VP of Sales at Gare), Jaime Prohaska (Director of Marketing at Gare), and Teresa Johnson (owner of PYOP Studio Stuff and Chesapeake Ceramics) for a three-hour class focused on sales and marketing within the PYOP industry. This class is packed with tips and tricks that will not only assist you in your day-to-day, but also help you achieve your overall goal of being a successful PYOP studio! You will not want to miss this amazing sales and marketing event!
First, we’ll take a deep dive into the world of inventory and numbers with Susan. Get the answers to all your questions such as “What should my markup be?” “What’s the difference between profit and profit margin?” and “How much inventory should I be ordering for each category?” Susan has over 30 years of experience in the world of PYOP and is ready to guide you with all of your sales needs.
After hearing from Susan, get ready to have some fun with marketing! With over 20 years of marketing experience, Jaime will walk everyone through what really great PYOP marketing actually is. She’ll cover the importance of brand consistency, brand awareness, and social media, and give examples of specific tools and tactics you can use to streamline your marketing process. She’ll also teach you how to use photography and video to drive sales, as well as the importance of building a marketing calendar that supports your sales goals.
Last, but certainly not least, learn how to be a boss with Teresa Johnson. Teresa has over 30 years of leadership experience in the PYOP industry. She will cover topics that most owners strive to master, such as how to hire, how to fire, and how to be a great leader. Teresa will give you tools and guidance on how to master being the captain of your PYOP boat even through rough, stormy waters.
Pinch pots are one of the oldest forms of pottery and one of the best loved things to make with clay. Get your hands dirty practicing this ancient pottery technique of pinching as you practice working with clay. Ruth will guide you on the path from shaping the most basic of pinch pot forms to creating more complex sculptures out of clay. A several-week class can be created using this learned knowledge for potential students of the clay studio. Attendees will learn:
• The clay forming technique of pinching: the process of squeezing a piece of clay between the thumb and forefingers to make a hollow form
• How to make open, closed, altered, and combined pinch pots
• How to shape various pot foot designs
• How to make simple and complex sculptures
• The stages of clay
• Cultural decoration and finishing styles
It’s your time to shine online, with the proven framework for more meaningful and consistent social media results. Stop being the best-kept secret and start operating your social media with a plan. Like many retailers, you might be stuck in the same routines – posting the same kind of content to the same people, and probably getting the same ol’ results. This session will teach you how to jumpstart your social selling mindset and finally create meaningful and real results through social media! Learn to adapt how you currently think about social media and leave with the actual framework you need to confidently commit to making a change to your strategy. Generating sales, connecting with your audience, and growing your visibility through social media has never felt simpler. Gain clarity on:
• The real reasons your social does or does not work
• The easy Daily 5 process (5 steps, 5 minutes a day or less)
• What will motivate you to stay consistent
• How to get your team involved
• The most effective ways to PLAN
Next, it’s time to create your social selling system with the 6 Pillars to a Profitable Social Media Strategy. Not enough hours in the day to focus on your store’s social media? No problem! Learn how to easily get social media done with this crash-course in social media planning from the woman who created the only certified social media program in the industry. This proven step-by-step process covers six specific areas that are critical to success from social media: foundational best practices, S.M.A.R.T. goals, what to post, how to build your audience, and how to track your efforts. Join Crystal today and walk away with actionable to-do’s to support your business goals.
Small businesses cannot survive without Instagram, but it can feel very overwhelming to learn on your own. Ammie has spent over a decade on the app, learning new features and implementing them into her marketing strategy for her business. Join her to learn everything about the basics of the platform: how to post, engage with customers, use their stories, and even shoot and edit a Reel together. This class is for the studio owner who has no idea what to do on Instagram, or for someone who feels okay on the app but needs a refresher about features and best practices when it comes to the platform.
Session 1
Saturday, August 26 8:30-10AM
Create one of Ammie Y’all’s new pieces with an on-trend jukebox design. We’ll learn multiple ways to transfer designs and options to add details to a piece that’s not food-bearing. Attendees will come away with a sample that’s sure to be a hit in their studio, as well as the tools needed to turn this project into a profitable workshop.
The business side of the class will address:
• Marketing: Attendees will receive graphics created by Bisque Imports. The class will offer some great marketing ideas for the project!
• Presentation/Execution: We’ll discuss using resources from BI to help teach classes or provide assistance to walk-in customers.
• Financial: Learn how to price projects to remain profitable and competitive.
Using the proper brushes can make a huge difference in the final color results for your customers, but what’s up with all the different shapes and sizes and the different types for different mediums? Michael will walk you through selecting the proper brushes for pottery painting on bisque and clay, acrylics on bisque, canvas, and wood, and so much more. Learn about different hair types, handles, and other parts of the brush and why they’re important. He will answer important questions about why fan brushes appear to split and discuss proper brush care, cleaning, and storage so your brushes last a long time. Each participant will receive a set of brushes to follow along and feel the differences in hair types and handles. This is a great workshop for new studio owners as well as veteran owners and managers.
Do you have a beloved pet? Now you can create a forever sculpture of your favorite furry friend out of clay. Expand your business by learning how to set up hand-building classes as part of your creative art studio, and learn how to package take-home clay kits for your customers. This class will focus on learning the basics of hand-building, including:
• The basics of air-dry clay
• The additive clay-forming technique – the process of joining pieces to create a form
• Basic modeling tools
• Finishing techniques using paint and accessories
• Sourcing clays and tools to set up a hand-building studio or create a take-home clay kit
• Using references to aid in sculpture realism
Are you leaving money on the table by not using Instagram Reels or TikTok to sell to your customers? Short-form content has taken social media by storm, so gear up and get in the game! This session will simplify understanding of these platforms, share the posts that will engage (and sell!) the most, show the tricks to save you time, and spell out why retailers need to leverage this content format NOW! Walk away with:
• The strongest, action-worthy posts that’ll translate to dollars
• The magic number: how often to post to get more reach than you thought possible
• The most compelling ways to promote and get the right eyeballs on your TikToks and IG Reels
• Powerful everyday examples of how retailers are seeing success, both locally and online
Learn how to integrate short-form content with your overall strategy and why you don’t want to wait another day to leverage it. Get ready to stand out and cash in!
Three things are happening right now that no retailer can afford to ignore: Today’s consumers are only loyal if you make them loyal; day-to-day loyalty comes from day-to-day marketing; and word of mouth is still the number one thing that attracts new customers to your store. Once you capture a customer’s attention, it takes work to keep it, so what’s a retailer to do?
In this presentation, Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender will share under-the-radar strategies to keep your customers close. You’ll learn:
• How to personalize and expand the customer experience, in-store, online, and via social media
• How to collect and use customer testimonials to your advantage
• How to easily get customers to refer their friends to your business
• How to build a loyalty program customers love
• KIZER & BENDER’s secret weapon to keep customers close that works every time
You’ll leave armed with easy-to-implement, retailer-tested ideas, strategies, tactics, tips, and techniques you’ll be able to implement the second you return to your store!
Session 2
Saturday, August 26, 10:15-11:45AM
Create your very own little clay garden gnome packed with personality, as you learn how to expand your business by setting up hand-building classes as part of your creative art studio. This class will focus on learning the basics of hand-building, including:
• The basics of low-fire clay bodies
• The stages of clay
• The additive clay-forming technique – the process of joining pieces to create a form
• Basic modeling tools
• How to safely fire solid forms in a kiln
• Finishing techniques using underglazes
• Gathering references to aid in creative thinking
• Sourcing clays and tools to set up a hand-building studio
Have you ever wondered how your studio is doing financially or what numbers you should look at and understand? Have you wondered how you could manage those numbers better or impact them? We will talk all things financial including p/l, budgets, cost of goods, operating expenses, labor, and projections. Other topics will include how to read a profit & loss statement and how to develop a breakeven analysis. And, we will even talk about the three things a small business owner must do consistently! Join us to learn more! Let’s dig into the numbers!
This Gare Biz-Nique project features a retro 1970s-inspired design using the very popular mushroom trend mixed with modern design elements, including an “exaggerated intentional outline miss” and a modern color palette. This class showcases three key Biz-Nique elements: Our artists will teach how to design and execute a new on-trend "event-worthy" project and technique. Our marketing specialist will teach how to plan and market the project to excite your customers, converting their interest and engagement into ticket sales. And the sales expert will teach the art of the “upsell/add-on” to easily increase revenue during the event.
Diverse revenue streams are the fiber of sustainable business plans through recessions and booms. Learn how to establish connections, create partnerships, and most importantly, generate capital. You’ll leave this class with a plan of action to engage with your local community leaders to build different outlets for your products, all while earning income for your business.
Are you spending hours posting on Instagram and getting no response? Are you afraid to start posting because you don’t know where to start? Join Ammie for a crash course on auditing your Instagram account and learning everything you need to do to start seeing engagement and standing out online. Attendees will walk away from this class with a checklist and a plan to start posting meaningful, exciting, and targeted content on Instagram.
Session 3
Sunday, August 27, 2:15 - 3:45PM
Ammie will show you how to transform the Face It Mug into a charming Nutcracker, easy to customize and perfect for the holiday season. Learn Ammie’s tips and tricks for painting the best pottery possible and how to teach a customers of all experience levels. We’ll touch on marketing this project with photoshoot tips, social media ideas, and displays in your studio. You’ll leave this class with a full plan for offering this as a workshop in your studio!
Learn how to utilize Canva to create engaging, trending marketing materials for your studio brand. The first half of class will cover some foundations of marketing, tips and tricks, and the importance of branding your content. The second half will walk you through creating in Canva, where you can easily brand all your marketing materials in one spot. Follow along with us to create a marketing graphic and a holiday reel, and learn about some of Canva’s newest features.
CCSA creates multiple marketing resources each month to aid in your marketing efforts. Learn how to save time and maximize those resources for your studio! Prior to this class you should be familiar with working on Canva and have an account established. You can review Canva by watching the CCSA Canva webinars.
Jumping on new trends is an excellent way to supplement studio sales! This fast, easy medium appeals to both children and adults, allows for lots of upsell opportunities with accessories, has a high profit margin, and is sent home the same day! It’s a great addition to your studio on a walk-in basis or as a structured workshop. This class will also cover upsell opportunities, birthday parties, special events, and more.
The tumblers used are double-walled acrylic drinking glasses with a hole predrilled into the bottom. A custom mix of glitter is put between the walls, then a mixture of glycerin and water is used to fill up the glass. A special UV resin is used to seal up the cup, and it’s finished with a decal. Everyone will leave with their own tumbler!
This panel discussion features professionals who have run successful after-school art enrichment programs both offsite and onsite. We will discuss what goes into running an after-school program, how to go about getting in the schools, who will run your program, how to market your program, project planning, and pricing. You will learn how a few after-school hours can turn into $1000s in extra income for your studio. It’s elementary!
Kilns can be the most intimidating portion of your business but they do not have to be. This class will cover all aspects of managing your kilns and the people who operate them to make sure they are safe, well maintained, and firing in a way that optimizes results.
Session 4
Sunday, August 27, 4-5:30PM
Learn about the array of Mexican style ceramics known as "barro," a word that literally means “mud” but which is loosely and affectionately used when referring to Mexican ceramics. You will learn about not only the various types of barro, but also the painting technique on a Crafty Chica mug, using specific glaze colors, tools, brushes, and dotting techniques. Kathy will also present a variety of stunning techniques currently being used among contemporary barro (ceramic) artists in Mexico. You’ll leave with a finished “barro-inspired” mug, as well as a list of ceramic painting and design ideas ranging from traditional to trending. Kathy will also talk about the different Latino seasons throughout the year that you can respectfully use to celebrate, incorporate, and use in your studio!
Scale your business by learning how to add value to your classes and events that your guests will love. After starting classes 12 years ago with only 2 to 10 people, Stacey now consistently sells out almost all classes and events at 45 people, and classes and events now make up nearly half of her studio’s yearly revenue!
You know there are different kinds of techniques “out there,” but are you utilizing many of them? Maybe you’re stuck in a rut and haven’t branched out in a while. Maybe you tried some but didn’t have consistent success. Or maybe you’re a new studio owner and have no idea where to begin. This class will cover a wide range of techniques that will cost you very little in materials but will give you a pretty nice return. Nancy will present live demonstrations, talk about tip and tricks, and discuss troubleshooting, so you can train your customers. The more they know, the more they’ll want to branch out with their creations. As always, there will be samples to inspire you, including some fun designs that you can EASILY copy and incorporate in your studio. The goal? Bring in customers, empower them, and generate more revenue. This class will help you accomplish all three!
We got into business to make profit, but we also have lots of personal reasons for owning and operating our PYOP studios. This class will cover how your business can fulfill personal needs/wants/desires, how COVID changed expectations in the workplace, and how to tweak your business model to one that best serves your situation to set you up for success. As some of the most creative entrepreneurs out there, we can find the most creative solutions to our business challenges. Whether you’re new to PYOP or an experienced studio owner, you’ll leave this class with the motivation you need to make changes to your business that will serve you best!
We are excited to share with you how to plan and execute a strong exit strategy. Whether you are just starting out, cruising along, or know you are at a point where you are ready for your next chapter, exit planning is critical. Everyone does it eventually and there are different pathways for when it does come time, and we will cover a variety of them. We will also talk about how to best build equity in your studio between now and then, and what to focus on before you are ready to exit. Join us to explore your future strategy!
Session 5
Monday, August 28, 9-10:30AM
This is a great class for anyone interested in offering clay in their studio, from beginners to advanced makers. Using bagged clay and a roller, we’ll construct a slab, decorate it, and turn it into a functional dish using a GR Pottery Form. The class will cover many basic clay tips to give you the confidence and success needed to offer clay in your studio. All tools needed for the project will be given to participants who take the class. The project can be offered in one class or multiple classes.
Impulse buying can raise a business’s profits by a little more with each purchase. The practice is utilized by nearly every retail business, from the grocery store with gum and soda, to your local gift shop with cards and small toys, to popups on websites that ask, “Would you like to add?” This class will focus on fitting those sales into an art studio, even if there doesn’t seem to be room, and how to make them profitable for you, both now and in the future.
Comic-style cakes are a very popular trend this year, which has also led to other comic-style pop art - comic painted shoes, plants, and more. It’s a great way to make a 3D object look 2D, like a flat, hand-drawn illustration. Kathy will share a variety of ways you can incorporate this trend. Your customers will love learning how to do this really fun technique! Starting with a Crafty Chica rainbow drip mug, we’ll add layers of glazes and then outline everything in a specific way to make it look like a hand-drawn 2D comic.
Girl scout badges, patches, and other programming = $$ for studios. Leaders will spend money on badge programming that covers all or almost all badge requirements as well as on patch and other programs that appeal to their scouts. In addition to using the CCSA Girl Scout Resource Guide to get started, this session will address the 14 different badge programs, 8 patch programs, and other programming for girls and adult scouts. Jacqui will also share how she approaches Girl Scout leaders, service unit managers, and council staff to make connections that will yield programming year after year. In addition, you’ll learn about working with Boy Scouts and 4H groups as well.
Take this class and discover how to:
• Design profitable badge programs
• Promote your badge programming
• Connect projects with badge requirements for all levels of Girl Scouts
• Identify programs suitable for Boy Scouts and 4H
I get it – you’re fired up about your studio, and not so keen on web design. But you understand that’s where your studio lives online. Your website helps customers book parties, connects them with the PYOP process, and shares unique information about your studio. It should make you more money, reflect your brand, and NOT stress you out. If that’s not your current website experience, this workshop is for you! I’m putting on your studio’s jersey – or apron – and jumping in to improve your all-important website.
Displays are a MUST in every studio. Are you looking for fresh display ideas? Are you not even sure HOW to put a display together that will generate money? Do you have big windows or small windows that need attention? What about NO windows or even no space in your studio for a display? This class will cover all this and much more, from the basics through navigating themes and seasons and everything in between. You’ll even learn a creative way to display stoneware pieces in a small area. And we’ll touch on one of Nancy’s favorites ‒ silkscreens ‒ to learn how to make even more money with those studio essentials by creating displays that will increase your sales. Whether you need a refresher course or more inspiration from Nancy or are new to our pottery community and need help start to finish, this class is for YOU!
Session 6
Monday, August 28, 10:45-12:15PM
Come find out how to use this great sample to make more money in your studio! Whether you use the project as a class for adults or a great sample to increase sales during the busy holiday season, this class can help you make the most of your precious real estate!
Using an original design by Julie, we’ll be doing a trace-and-paint project. We’ll talk about techniques for teaching the class in your studio as well as tips and tricks for better outlining and how to help customers paint better pieces.
Taking geographic location and demographics into account, this class will examine and discuss winning strategies on how to set pricing for profit to meet your business goals.
The margins on clay are much better than bisque you purchase, so why not turn it into bisque and generate cash? Keeping staff productive during slow times by having them actively working with clay also helps interest customers in working with clay. You can even have staff members creating clay forms on busier days so your customers see how easy and fun it is to work with. Michael will not only show you simple clay methods that generate cash, but he will also share ideas to engage your staff and customers. Learn how staff can create simple clay forms like drape bowls and vases, and use leaves to create unique shapes customers will not find anywhere else.
Gatherings are back and money-making offsite events are out there. Now it’s time for you to reap the rewards of these large groups! Join two seasoned veterans specializing in big revenue OUTSIDE their studio to learn how to zero in on this additional source of income. Studios just beginning to dabble in offsites as well as experienced studios can all absorb great information here. Both can benefit from visiting the new revenue streams like master DIY kits and e-commerce “click and mortar” sales in a post-COVID marketplace. Topics include identifying target markets, six targeted methods to reach them, grooming potential inquiries into big juicy bites instead of smaller group sales, and easy relationship-building phone skills to turn a single event into repeat business. There are big numbers in big gatherings and our industry suppliers have great pottery to supply them all year long.
Already hosting themed event nights? You’re well on your way to launch into bigger hits in your local community, like camps, fundraisers, church, corporate, and school site partnerships at their locations. Add to your bottom line on those quieter, lower-income days, especially during slower seasonal downturns.
Attendees will gain an in-depth plan of attack for kickstarting offsite event marketing. Copies of the presentation will be supplied, along with sample flyers and Canva links to retrieve files for immediate holiday use. Bonus content: A question-and-answer period will follow the class for those who wish to dig deeper.
Canvas painting offers high profit margins and good customer return rates, but teaching it can be intimidating. Yet by learning a few super-simple techniques that anyone can do, you too can add thousands of dollars to your monthly cashflow. Join Art Rave Studios as they share their highly successful, proven designs to fill your studio with sold-out painting events! This very successful canvas painting program will help bring repeat customers and reoccurring revenue to your studio and let you compete with the large paint-and-sip chains for “art as entertainment.” This class will help both YOU, the instructor, and YOUR CUSTOMERS to achieve better results!