Sierra 5: Throwing Pots

[catlady]

12 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Sierra is now selling earrings as well: https://sierrajodominguez.com/collections/pottery-look-book 

They don't seem to be selling as fast as her pottery does.

 

6 hours ago, marmalade said:

Where did you find the jewelry? Does she have an Etsy shop?

See @HereticHick’s link—

[JermajestyDuggar]

I do like some of her pottery. I wouldn’t buy anything though. 

[marmalade]

1 hour ago, catlady said:

 

See @HereticHick’s link—

Thanks. For some reason, I am not taken to the last read post. 

[JDuggs]

Sierra and her husband went to the Notre Dame football game today. Apparently he’s a big fan. It seems odd to me that a non-Catholic would choose ND as his team, but maybe he has some reason.

My parents met at a Notre Dame football game and my dad was as Catholic as they come, but he still wasn’t a ND fan. I think he found ND people snobby because that’s where the rich boys went to college.

[front hugs > duggs]

27 minutes ago, JDuggs said:

Sierra and her husband went to the Notre Dame football game today. Apparently he’s a big fan. It seems odd to me that a non-Catholic would choose ND as his team, but maybe he has some reason.

My parents met at a Notre Dame football game and my dad was as Catholic as they come, but he still wasn’t a ND fan. I think he found ND people snobby because that’s where the rich boys went to college.

I have a family member who likes Notre Dame simply because of the movie Rudy 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Jana814]

5 hours ago, front hugs > duggs said:

I have a family member who likes Notre Dame simply because of the movie Rudy 🤷🏻‍♀️

I know someone like that. It was a good movie. 

[OHFL2009]

17 hours ago, JDuggs said:

Sierra and her husband went to the Notre Dame football game today. Apparently he’s a big fan. It seems odd to me that a non-Catholic would choose ND as his team, but maybe he has some reason.

Well they clearly didn't bring any good luck. 

I don't know Mark's heritage, but Dominguez is a Spanish/Hispanic last name, so I assume he has some Hispanic ancestry. The majority of American Hispanics are Catholic, and even more were a generation or two ago, so it's possible that while Mark and Sierra are not Catholic, he has Catholic family members who passed on a love for ND football. 

[HereticHick]

Can anyone explain why Sierra's pottery website is password protected? Was she hacked? Did she not pay her web hosting bill? https://sierrajodominguez.com/

[Margarita]

10 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Can anyone explain why Sierra's pottery website is password protected? Was she hacked? Did she not pay her web hosting bill? https://sierrajodominguez.com/

i *think* it's because she's updating it for a new sale/drop on 7/23. probably easier to keep shoppers away while updating. 

[AprilQuilt]

oh thank god, when I saw this thread had new posts I thought she must be pregnant again. I'm glad she's still doing pottery, for Sierra this is a really long time to be committed to the same hobby/fad/project/moneyspinner.

I really hope this is a sign that she has centred herself a bit and found some peace. I really do wish that for her.

[Father Son Holy Goat]

Honestly the pottery looks nice but wow $64 for a mug?! If anyone is an artisan, is that a fair price? I don’t think I’d pay that much for it.

[Nothing if not critical]

1 hour ago, Father Son Holy Goat said:

Honestly the pottery looks nice but wow $64 for a mug?! If anyone is an artisan, is that a fair price? I don’t think I’d pay that much for it.

For a wheel thrown mug, that is a lot. You can make a mug on the wheel in about ten minutes, plus time for trimming, attaching the handle, decorating and glazing, so I personally wouldn’t pay more than $30 for one.

For a fully hand-built mug by a master artisan, it would be an okay price in terms of the time and effort that went into it. But tbh, I would still be reluctant to spend that much, simply because mugs see a lot of use, and they do break, and I personally couldn’t handle the thought of having broken something that expensive. Plus, I’m no longer allowed to buy pottery because we’re drowning in my own mugs *lol*.

The problem with selling handmade pottery (and most other artisan stuff) is that if you prize it according to the working hours that went into each piece, it’s really not affordable for most people. So you either have to pay yourself a really low hourly wage, or you have to produce for a small niche market of people who can afford to support you. 

[Dominionatrix]

Her prices are high, but she does usually include a lot of elements that increase her costs and add value to the mug above just the standard wheel thrown. For example, specialty clays and glazes, transfer and resist design elements, colorful underglazes, and carving. All of that costs extra for her and takes extra time and skill. Plus her mugs are quite large so she uses more raw materials. 
 

It’s more than I can or likely would pay for a mug, but she seems to consistently sell everything, so I guess I can’t blame her for pricing what her clientele seems able and willing to pay. And there is something to be said for splurging on an item you get to enjoy every day. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I remember how cheap mugs were in college when the art department had a sale. I still have some from friends. 

[Smoochie]

2 hours ago, Dominionatrix said:

Her prices are high, but she does usually include a lot of elements that increase her costs and add value to the mug above just the standard wheel thrown. For example, specialty clays and glazes, transfer and resist design elements, colorful underglazes, and carving. All of that costs extra for her and takes extra time and skill. Plus her mugs are quite large so she uses more raw materials. 
 

It’s more than I can or likely would pay for a mug, but she seems to consistently sell everything, so I guess I can’t blame her for pricing what her clientele seems able and willing to pay. And there is something to be said for splurging on an item you get to enjoy every day. 

it's also a 1000x better than her glass filled cupcakes! She dove in and has stuck with it. In all honesty, I thought this was a passing fad in for a little while and then on to the next thing, but, she's stuck with it and to give credit where it's due, is quite talented.

[JermajestyDuggar]

18 minutes ago, Smoochie said:

it's also a 1000x better than her glass filled cupcakes! She dove in and has stuck with it. In all honesty, I thought this was a passing fad in for a little while and then on to the next thing, but, she's stuck with it and to give credit where it's due, is quite talented.

I’m glad she’s stuck with it. I was afraid she would get bored and decide to have another baby. Hopefully pottery is her only baby for years to come. 

[Nothing if not critical]

Oh yeah, if she can sell her stuff at these prices, then all the power to her! She really seems to enjoy what she’s doing there, and she’s doing a great job at marketing her stuff, which makes a huge difference.

 Good point about the elaborate decorations she uses, too. I find transfers quick and easy to use, but they are quite expensive. Is she making her own glazes these days? Because that adds a lot of expense for all the testing you need to do.

It may well be that she puts in enough time and effort to justify her high prices - that depends on so many factors, including how good she is at streamlining her work processes (and she may prefer taking her time and enjoying the process instead). Ultimately, it all comes down to whether someone is willing to pay her prices.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Nothing if not critical

[HereticHick]

On 7/28/2023 at 9:50 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I’m glad she’s stuck with it. I was afraid she would get bored and decide to have another baby. Hopefully pottery is her only baby for years to come. 

Dear Rufus, I hope so. Sierra is only 33 so I fear there is another baby in her future.

[Noquiver]

Every time Sierra has posted about her great grandparents my brain breaks a little bit because I just don’t understand it so I did some sleuthing online yesterday.
 

It would appear for Sierra’s direct line most had their first at 18/19 (and Sierra just happens to be the first great grandchild of the first grandchild of the first child).  By their mid to late 30s they were becoming grandparents. Also when you look at the total grandchildren/great grandchildren from her great  grandparents obituaries, it still averaging 4.75 children per family for the grandchildren and 2.2 children for great grandchildren. There was no change in the number of great and great great grandchildren between July 2021 and January 2024 but I assume there are many young great grandchildren so that number is unlikely to be fixed forever. Currently Sierra’s family is 50% of the great great grandchildren, and at 7 seems way out of the average. All that to say I would think if Sierra and Mark have pulled back from IBLP and quiverfull that she will revert to a more typical to her family approach  and have no more children. 
 

Khai will be 26 the year his great great grandmother would have been 100 so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a 6th generation could have been born in the 100 years after GG grandma’s birth which is just just 🤯 to me as the most my family saw was 3 generations in the most recent 100 years. 

[BensAllergies]

1 hour ago, Noquiver said:

Every time Sierra has posted about her great grandparents my brain breaks a little bit because I just don’t understand it so I did some sleuthing online yesterday.
 

It would appear for Sierra’s direct line most had their first at 18/19 (and Sierra just happens to be the first great grandchild of the first grandchild of the first child).  By their mid to late 30s they were becoming grandparents. Also when you look at the total grandchildren/great grandchildren from her great  grandparents obituaries, it still averaging 4.75 children per family for the grandchildren and 2.2 children for great grandchildren. There was no change in the number of great and great great grandchildren between July 2021 and January 2024 but I assume there are many young great grandchildren so that number is unlikely to be fixed forever. Currently Sierra’s family is 50% of the great great grandchildren, and at 7 seems way out of the average. All that to say I would think if Sierra and Mark have pulled back from IBLP and quiverfull that she will revert to a more typical to her family approach  and have no more children. 
 

Khai will be 26 the year his great great grandmother would have been 100 so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a 6th generation could have been born in the 100 years after GG grandma’s birth which is just just 🤯 to me as the most my family saw was 3 generations in the most recent 100 years. 

So if Sierra’s great grandma had lived until age 100, Sierra’s oldest child would have been 26? That’s pretty crazy.

 

Like Sierra I enjoy the oldest child of the oldest child dynamic. My only surviving grandparent is currently 82, she was 21 when she had her oldest (my dad), he was 25 when I was born (as the oldest), and I was 26 when my first was born. So if my grandma lives to be 100, which is what her mother almost did, then my oldest will be about 26. But to squeeze in an extra generation in there is just 🤯.

[fluffernutter]

My daughters had their grandma, great-grandma, and great-great grandma until maybe 8 years ago.5 generations. They were all young on my husband's side when they started having babies. 

[OHFL2009]

On my dad's side of the family, I'm the oldest of the oldest of the oldest. My dad was 23 when I was born, my grandmother was 19 when he was born, and my great grandmother was 20 when my grandmother was born. I don't have kids, but if my great grandmother had lived to 100, I would've been 35 at the time, old enough to have a teenager had I followed their pattern. Not quite as compact as Sierra's family, but not too far off. 

On my mom's side, I'm the youngest of the youngest of one of the youngest (#7 of 10) and my mom is several years older than my dad. So my grandfather on my mom's side was only a couple months younger than my great grandmother on my dad's side. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

My grandparents on both sides of my family became grandparents in their early 40s. So there are some 5 generation pics in my family. When my great grandpa turned 100, I think his oldest great great grandchild was in his teens. So technically if that great great grandchild was a teen parent, my great grandpa could have lived to see a great great great grandchild. But thankfully there wasn’t any teen pregnancy in the family at that time. 

[SassyPants]

We have never achieved over 4 generations. Between my grandparents, parents, my generation and my daughter’s, the only young parents were my parents (both weeks shy of 23 and 21) when I was born. My grandmother, myself/husband and my daughter all had our first at nearly 30. My GF and SIL were both nearing 40. 

[Travelfan]

I think 4 generations is fairy easy to do, 5 is rare but possible, 6 is pretty crazy and means a combo of everyone have babies very young and great longevity.  I saw a photo of a 7 generation family from the UK and they had all been teen moms (or very close).  Definitely not something to aspire to! 

But 4 generations is easy. I had my daughter at 24, my dad was 27 when I was born and his mom was 36 when he was born (he was the youngest, with a large gap, late in life surprise baby in those days) so none of us were unusually young parents but we got to have the 4 generation photo. Sadly my grandma died when my daughter was 1, she was in her late 80s. 

When I had my first my mom was 49 and my dad was 51.  My younger brother and his wife just had a baby, my parents are now 70 and 73. My kids are 21 and 20. Potentially my parents could end up with a grandkid and great grandkid the same age except that my kids have zero interest in having kids anytime soon, or ever…