This wonderful life never ceases to amaze me. This past Friday, as most of you know, we pulled down the brown paper and let light and life back into the commercial part of our building. For so long I have harbored this baby, shielding it from the prying eyes of negativity and naysayers.
Posted on November 08, 2015
Ashley Norman
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I am VERY happy to announce that Carvel and I have been officially moved into our downtown apartment! This is amazing news that I have been waiting for over a year to be able to say. It has been a huge adjustment for us (whose idea was it to put the master bedroom on the third floor?) and even more so for our fur babies. Through that, we are loving it.
Posted on August 14, 2015
Ashley Norman
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Since spring has sprung I have had a flurry of inquiries about Dirty South. When will we be restocking, what are we making that is new, can we make wedding favors, when will our store be opening, etc. It looks like good weather inspires everyone to shop handmade! I am eternally grateful for the amount of support and love that we have been receiving in the last few months, and I hope that love continues to come.
Because the reality of the situation is: we are months behind on the renovations.
Posted on April 22, 2015
Ashley Norman
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When starting your own business, no matter how prepared you are, I feel like you always end up learning quite a bit. I have surrounded myself in self-help guides, and how-to books to help guide me through the minefield of opening a small business. They all have their strong suggestions and some advice that isn’t exactly helpful when it comes to opening a pottery store. The main overarching theme with any small business guide is the same: to be productive enough to make money. Isn’t that the goal of any job?
Posted on February 01, 2015
Ashley Norman
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Through the years of selling our ceramics on the road we have figured out that though there are many well-educated folks around when it comes to quality pottery, there are some that don’t exactly understand what it is they should be looking for. And even worse, we have found some “potters” who clearly do not understand what it is they should be making. One such infamous case was a fellow who boasted how “durable” his pieces were by slamming them onto a piece of wood in front of customers….. see rule #3 if you do not understand why this is atrocious.
Posted on October 07, 2014
Ashley Norman
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Ladies and gents, Dirty South is expanding. Save your gasps and questions, I will explain.
We have our muddy hands on a great building in the Historic Main Street in Winchester, and boy do we have plans for it.
Posted on August 23, 2014
Ashley Norman
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Even though we have been producing pottery on the side for a few years, I still consider us a new and growing business. It wasn’t until 3 short months ago that I quit my full time job to immerse myself in Dirty South. Since then I have produced much more work than in the past, which has caused quite the backup on our little kiln. I was basically running the poor dear 24/7 just to keep up with my production. The next logical step was simple: buy a bigger kiln. How hard can that be, right?
This just in: It is A LOT harder than it seems.
Posted on June 28, 2014
Ashley Norman
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Many of you may know the story behind our backyard studio, but I think it is time to put the history of the Little Building at 151 into print. First off, Carvel and I live in a house that has been in my family for several generations. It is the house that my grandmother grew up in, and it sits across the street from my dad’s childhood home and next door to the house that I spent the least amount of time living in as a kid, but somehow the one that feels the most like home. To say that my roots are on this street is an understatement.
Posted on May 08, 2014
Ashley Norman
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The following is a blog that I wrote 3.5 years ago when I took my first pottery class. Even 4 weeks into touching clay I knew that it was something special and possibly life-changing. The decision to take this class not only changed the way that I view art, but changed my entire future by introducing me to my husband.
Posted on March 16, 2014
Ashley Norman
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