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Opening a Ceramic BusinessWould You Like to Own a Ceramic Café?
Ceramic Cafés, also known as Paint A Pot studios have been springing up in towns and cities across the country since their introduction from the USA in the mid nineties. They are now one of the fastest growing business opportunities in the country. The concept is simple: the studio has tables and chairs laid out like a modern café where the customers sit and decorate pottery. Some Ceramic Cafés also offer snacks and light refreshments. Ceramic Cafés provide unglazed, undecorated pottery, called “bisque” ready to be painted. Customers use special ceramic paints to paint their own designs, when finished the studio staff apply a transparent glaze over the design and fire the piece in their kiln to change it into real glazed pottery. Staff are on hand to give friendly help and advice throughout the process. Customers come back to the studio in a few days to collect their fired ceramic piece and may be tempted to have another go! Ceramic Cafés appeal to a wide range of people, they’re immensely popular with children and always attract the interest of the accompanying parents. Birthday Parties are very popular not just for children but also for adults; hen parties are great fun! Corporate Events are a growing area of the business providing entertainment for clients and motivating staff. The Ceramic Café represents a unique business proposition; it is relatively inexpensive to start up and has excellent profit potential. No prior knowledge of ceramics is required as Cromartie provide training and expert backup to support you with your new venture. Ceramics is mostly about entertainment; the people who succeed in this business are outgoing, enthusiastic types who enjoy working with people; it really is a fun business! How Much Space is Needed for a Ceramic Cafe? As an example of an average sized studio, in our showroom we have laid out an area of 42 square metres in which we have seven tables comfortably seating four people each, 28 people in total. Within this area it is possible to increase the density to 42 people by adding two more seats to each table without becoming uncomfortable. Some cafés are a little smaller than this some are substantially bigger. In addition space for a kiln would be required, approximately 2 square metres. A similar sized space would be required for the glazing operation and provision of a sink. Areas for display, stock, cash and wrap, toilets etc will also be needed. What type of location is suited to a Ceramic Café? While a High Street, or off High Street is ideal for a Ceramic Café, there are many other possible locations, they are opening in Garden Centres, Leisure and Holiday Centres and many businesses have successfully opened in small industrial units and farm buildings. How many staff do I need? Many Ceramic Cafés start up with two staff, often the partners in the business; as trade builds up it is usually necessary to employ more staff. Most Ceramic Cafés find that part time staff provide the flexibility to fit the peaks and troughs of the business. We have café customers with up to ten staff in very busy studios. Where does the business come from? Ceramic Cafés attract their customers depending on where and how the business is set up. Cafés in shopping centres will largely rely on the local footfall whereas out of town locations will need more promotion and active marketing. Cromartie’s experience with hundreds of ceramic businesses has given us an insight into the promotional and marketing approaches that produce the best results. We are happy to share this knowledge with our customers.
What About A Mobile Studio? An alternative to the Ceramic Café is a Mobile Ceramic Studio. You don’t need expensive premises, just somewhere to house a kiln, an area to store bisque and colour and sufficient space to do the glazing. You take all materials and equipment to your customers’ premises where they can spend many enjoyable hours painting the pieces. Take the finished work back to the studio to be glazed and fired and return it to the customer within a few days. Many customers are visited on a regular basis every week or two so the fired work can be returned on your next visit. Mobile Studio businesses are suited to a variety of applications including Birthday Parties, corporate events, schools, residential care homes, hospitals, prisons and many other organisations who do not have their own pottery facilities. Many of our Mobile Studio customers hold regular events in premises rented for the session, for example in village halls. Mobile Studios are easier and less costly to start than a Café and are often an effective way to build the business from home while looking for the right premises. A Mobile Studio can be a stand-alone business or can run alongside a Ceramic Café. The Next Step If you feel that a ceramic business could be right for you, please contact us to discuss the project in more detail. If you are able to attend one of our monthly free training days you will find it invaluable. We cover all the training you will need to understand and use the colours, glazes and to fire the kiln. We also cover Health and Safety issues as well as Marketing methods to help you to promote your business. Our Technical and Marketing staff are also able to talk to you one-to-one by appointment and if required we can arrange a visit to assist in setting up your studio. Of course we are always happy to discuss any questions and queries over the phone during normal business hours. If you would like to know more please contact us at Cromartie. We will guide you through the set-up and operation of your new business helping you to select a colour and bisque range that’s right for you. Finished Piece Market Using our bisque, colours and glazes it is possible to create wonderful works of art for sale. You don’t have to open a Ceramic Café or Mobile Studio, we have many customers using these materials who sell their work through outlets as varied as car boot sales, craft shows, gift shops and upmarket galleries. Our paints and glazes are designed to be simple to use so it is not difficult to acquire the skill to paint desirable wares. In a Ceramic Café environment, finished goods for sale can be a very useful addition to the business and they can also provide inspiration to the customers. The Cromartie Staff Our friendly and experienced staff are always on hand to help you. Please browse our website and do not hesitate to contact one of our staff if you have any queries or there is anything you cannot find on the site.
Telephone : 0044 (0) 1782 319435
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