I’m doing my first in-person sale! It will be at my local coffee shop, which doubles as an excellent art market. I’ve even bought 2 incredible pieces of art from pop ups there.
May 16, 2021, Hooked on Colfax, Denver, CO
Reading online, people who do a lot of markets say that small things sell best and not to expect too many large sales. They’ve also said that mugs sell well. So I’m focusing this week on trinket dishes, spoon rests, tea bag rests, and mugs.
(I promise this is getting to the drying part.)
I have a custom order for 11 mugs AND I need mugs for this sale. Since I normally let mugs dry in plastic bins for around 1.5 weeks, that won’t work…the sale is in 8 days!
I read all the things in this article and decided to try a couple. I threw 3 quick mugs yesterday and attached the handles as soon as the mug bodies would support them, handles and bodies leather soft. One thing the article doesn’t say is how the handles stay stuck that quickly, so I improvised. I used Magic Water as always, and propped the handles (attached to the mugs) against the wall.
One of the sections said to use toilet paper to wrap the handles, so I did that on one.
One of the sections said to cover with plastic, so I did that on one. But I thought I’d also try the TP trick under plastic, this being science and all.
So let’s review:
- handle attached, wrapped in TP, left out in the air to dry overnight
- handle attached, wrapped in TP, left under plastic overnight
I came in this morning to find the one left out overnight (#1) was almost dry AND the handle stayed attached under the TP! #2 looked fine and was still pretty wet. I took them out of plastic and let them dry in the air, #2 with TP re-wrapped on it.
….waiting for drying, back in a few…
It worked!
They look ridiculous drying with toilet paper all over, but it works!
The ones that I attached handles to the same day as throwing and wrapped in TP (#1) had ZERO cracks, the ones I covered overnight (I ran out of time that day), and attached handles first thing the next morning (#2), got a few surface cracks that were easily fixed.
Look at this beautiful attachment! <3
In conclusion, mugs can be made quickly in a dry climate. When you know, you know.