The Value of Mentorship and Mud

We know. No one likes price increases. 

Would it make it any less sad if we told you we had good reasons for making those changes? 

…no? Well, that’s fair I guess. But I hope you’ll read on anyway!

This summer we had the pleasure of having Shammah Mozengio with us for an internship. Shammah is a Common Good graduate, former Matchstick Student Employee, and current Economics major at the University of Kentucky. 

Our task over the summer was to create a detailed document capable of showing us exactly what it cost us to make each product. This was a huge job that entailed collecting data on things like the amount of clay used, the cost of packaging, and the amount of time needed to make each piece. 

By the end of the summer, I think Shammah and I were losing our minds a bit. But we had also produced a real, data-driven analysis of our costs for each and every product we make. And, in doing so, Shammah also received his first real-world work experience in his field. 

As a ‘social business,’ we’re pretty accustomed to navigating the push and pull between providing the most positive work and learning experience for our students, and catering to what our beloved customers want from our work. The things that are most economically viable and the things that are most impactful for our team are not always the same thing, and this tension shows up in all kinds of areas. 

The numbers that came from Shammah’s work revealed another one of these balancing acts: our prices! We realized that while some of our products felt like they were priced reasonably, that they didn’t account for all of the time needed to make them. 

We didn’t purposely undervalue our work, but the unfortunate result of ~vibes~ based pricing is that we send the wrong signals to both our customers and our team members. Our “Soil and Stem” collection is a good example. 

This collection has always been special to us. Each piece is made by hand and then painstakingly hand-glazed. The “Soil and Stem” aesthetic is one that we’ve honed over years, and which beautifully reflects the cultures of our team. It takes a long time to learn how to do well, and each piece takes over an hour to glaze. 

We’ve known all of this, and yet it wasn’t until the numbers were laid out in front of us that we realized that the pricing didn’t account for this. We don’t want to stop making these pieces. We also don’t want to undervalue the time and expertise of our students and grads.

And yes: no one likes price increases. I get it.

But I hope the tradeoff is becoming clear to you. Making beautiful pottery and mentoring young people through fair wage jobs is incredibly valuable but also costly. 

You – our customers, friends, and supporters – are the ones that bear these costs and create those values. Thank you, thank you, thank you for choosing to do so. 

- Dan

Changes will be effective Wednesday the 21st, which means you still have some time to shop at the current prices!