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It’s funny the way that life rarely turns out how we might envisage. Why do people make their five year plans and tell everyone that is the only way to achieve anything?
In year 12 I studied Biology, Chemistry, Maths, History, English and Hospitality. I was the dux of hospo and achieved a study score of 40 for English. I then went on to do a science degree majoring in genetics and chemistry. What part of my formal education do I use now? Not the science, although it still interests me. My English skills and my hospitality training have proved to be the most useful. In fact, it is amazing how many skills and personal traits I do use in the shop. I use my practical skills painting, hammering, fixing dripping taps, keeping the coffee machine running smoothly. I use my hospitality skills making what I hope are really enjoyable hot and cold beverages and taking on the role of food safety supervisor (fortunately Mum is very conscientious and I don’t have to be on her back about doing the right thing) . I write facebook and blog posts. I read stories to small children so that their mother or grandmother can shop for pottery. I even put my first aid training to use when an elderly customer was choking on a piece of apple in his muesli (he goes for banana these days). I use my social skills to make people feel at home in our space and to help them find the pottery they’re after. I have some idea of business red-tape, including council permits and importing goods. I no longer feel so reluctant to write on our sandwich board (despite the fact that an artist friend of Mum gives me a hard time about my artistic skill deficit) and in order to educate myself about pottery I’m going to pottery classes. People sometimes assume that I work in the shop as a stop-gap until I can get a real job. Maybe they’re right - maybe this is not a real job, as I never have that Sunday-night (Tuesday night , in our case) sinking feeling. Oops …. Did I say “I work in a shop”? sorry, I mean, I’m an “entrepreneur” …..
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  During our January closure, Mum sent me to the UK and Ireland for 3 weeks of pottery education. Of course, one of the must visit places for me was the Nicholas Mosse Pottery, in Bennett's Bridge, Ireland. Many of you will have seen their lovely pieces in our shop and we’re surprised how many customers have actually also visited the factory. Before travelling to Kilkenny I stayed a few days in Dublin. Co-incidentally, this was the weekend of the “Showcase” trade show, featuring Irish designs and craft and I met Nick and co. there. The Nicholas Mosse website, conveys the impression of a most welcoming and warm environment. This couldn't be more accurate - such a great bunch or people making and selling a fantastic product. Interestingly, having asked Nick about how much 'hands on' work he gets to do, he mentioned being up at midnight sticking on the lion heads (on the new soup tureens). So some things never change. Whether you have a business established for 40 years, or like us, a new one, sometimes there are just things that have to be done, regardless of the hour, and usually there is no one better to do it than yourself! I had thought of hiring a car as transport prior to my trip but my age quickly put a stop to that idea - the young driver excess would have cost more per day than the car. Public transport from Kilkenny where I was staying, to the pottery in Bennett's Bridge is scarce at best, and not available at the time I was travelling. This left the option of walking (about 2 hours) or hiring a bicycle, which would usually rather please me, but it was 3 degrees and raining. I know from firsthand experience why everything in Ireland is so green and beautiful! I arrived only just on time, having stopped twice to adjust the hire bike, and having under estimated how much further my route along the back roads would be compared to the main roads. A bit damp in body and spirit at this point, I was certainly glad of the warm welcome (literally and figuratively) at the pottery. The pottery is most appropriately housed in a beautiful old flour mill, formerly owned by Nick’s family. I was shown around by Billy, the accountant at Nicholas Mosse Pottery, who was most knowledgeable about everything; be it history, the throwing of the pots or the decoration and firing. My favourite part of the production line was watching Francis throwing the clay. The morning I was there, he was throwing the new soup tureens. It is enthralling to watch a highly skilled artisan at work. The rather humble Francis told me that he is still learning (which I'm sure is true, but doesn't mean he isn't a master of his craft) some forty years after he started his pottery throwing journey. The precision and speed at which pots were turned out was truly remarkable - I could have watched all day. Here is a link to the Nicholas Mosse website http://nicholasmosse.com/how-its-made which will take you from the raw clay to the finished piece. Another stop on the tour, that was of particular interest, was visiting Michael, who is in charge of designing the patterns that you see on each piece. While I was there, he was working on a commissioned piece which looked like a water colour painting, but on a piece of pottery, and it hadn’t even been glazed and fired yet. It would look stunning when finished. Also on the go were some of the prototypes for the new lawn patterns, which are a little different to the other pottery, but brilliantly compliment the rest of the range. (These are currently only in the larger pieces and we have a few pieces in stock. They also look lovely with our Polish Pottery.) Using a lift to access the different floors of a building isn’t a particularly novel experience these days. It was pointed out to me though, that the lift here was a relatively recent addition, installed sometime in the last 15 or so years, and that the pottery used to transition between floors of the building on a forklift! Surely there can’t be too many scarier jobs than sending pottery up a floor or two on the front of a forklift! Having set up our shop, in what we feel is a very homely and slightly rustic way, to suit our wares, I have often looked at other shops and their set up with a more critical eye than I previously would have. Here though, I walked in and immediately felt like I was back in The Cup&Mug (well not quite, but close). Anyway, scones and tea called, which, being a true boy, was a matter that needed to be attended to. This signalled the end of a fascinating and inspiring experience. (So much so, that I have enrolled in some pottery classes myself, but that might be the subject of another blog.) Then full of tea and scones, and once again warm and dry, it was time to venture back out into the rain on the bike. At this point I realised that I had been too busy taking everything in, and hadn’t taken a single photo as we were going. The first thought at this point was of course 'Mum's going to kill me', which wasn't far from the truth. Inspiration though will last a lot longer than photos and hopefully it means I might just have to go again.
One of the things I love most about having The Cup&Mug, as many of you know, is that it allows me to me indulge in one of my greatest pleasures – people watching. We encounter all sorts of interesting people and situations and here is the tale of one such occurrence.
At home, I have a reputation of being very gullible. We’re all still laughing about the time that the 14-year-old Ashley took me in, hook, line and sinker when, completely straight-faced, he said he’d learnt at school that adolescent boys grunt because their jaws are literally slack and it is physically difficult for them to speak. I’d like to think I only exhibit this credulity when I'm in the company of people I know well and trust and that I am a touch more healthily suspicious in other circumstances. Although a very broad range of customers pass through the doors of The Cup&Mug, there have been only a handful of times when my intuition has switched to “high alert, though not alarmed” mode. One of these few occasions occurred recently. A young couple came into the shop late in the afternoon, when I happened to be there by myself, and looked around at the pottery. The attractive, very out-going young woman declared it beautiful and said “What is your name?” and told me hers. It’s not at all unusual for us to exchange first names with customers but somehow this was way too early in the piece and without good reason and I was immediately on guard. I wondered if she was “a bit simple” or under the influence of some substance, or casing the joint. Their reaction to everything was completely over the top: the tea samples smelled like the best tea you could ever encounter; this was the most unforgettable shop - they’d walked past but just had to return; this was the most amazing chai latte (despite the fact that she didn't want it sweetened and Tim assures me that no-one has unsweetened chai latte) and when I said my son-the-barista had taught me all I know they asked to meet him so that they could compliment him themselves. Would I like to join them at their table? I politely declined. The man said very little, but the woman was extremely forward with her questions: Was I the business owner? How long had we been here? How was the business going? Are we intending to open another shop? Why did I open this business? What did I do for a living before? What do I like about working for myself? She was very smooth and flattering – told me that I am obviously a very perceptive and together person and someone like herself, running my own business and being in control of my life. At first I tried very hard to stop the flow of questions by answering as minimally as possible without sounding rude. It was quickly obvious that approach wasn't working so I remembered the number one tactic from my childhood basketball days - offence is the best form of defence- and started on my own 20 questions. She told me she has a business and was visiting Melbourne to learn more about this amazing business model. After 15 minutes or so, she asked me if she could take 15 minutes of my time to explain her business which I might like to be involved in. By this time I’d guessed it to be some sort of pyramid scheme and said that I didn't want to be offensive but I have no interest in being involved in something which is not inherently worthwhile. She assured me that this is inherently worthwhile because it gives people both money and freedom to enjoy their life without the pressure of a 9-5 job. When I stood my ground she asked if my son is an open minded person and could she have his phone number. I politely said I wouldn't give his details to her but if she wanted to leave her details I’d pass them on. I felt completely scammed even though I gave them nothing but time. If they’d come to my front door at home or rung as a telemarketer, I wouldn't have given them 2 minutes but because they came to my shop I felt trapped. In retrospect, I saw where all the questions and flattering comments had been leading and felt as though I been cheated by having to a play a game where they knew what was coming but I was kept in the dark as to the true meaning of their engaging with me. They weren't at all unpleasant but it was the insensitive zeal of the newly converted and manipulative “evangelising” tactics that I found offensive and distasteful. I’d bet money that she was trying to prove to him that she could sign up a new recruit in less than an hour. Anyway, no harm done and hopefully I'm a tad wiser. As a result of checking up on the information provided, and following a few leads on the internet, I now know quite a lot more than I did about pyramid schemes (which are illegal in Australia), multi-level-marketing and the grey area in between, which seems to be pyramid schemes masquerading as multi-level-marketing. There is no end of people sharing their bad experiences on forums on the web. Tim also now has a slight knowledge of such things and a few nights later was able to reply to the request from a friend “Do you want to contribute $10 to my pyramid scheme” with a resounding “No” which also killed the subject dead for those present who had never heard of such a thing. Most days bring new, interesting people or experiences our way. We just enjoy the lovely ones, feel sorrow at the sad ones, laugh at the tricky and sticky ones and try to learn as much as we can. “ Success is relative: It is what we can make of the mess we have made of things. ”
— --T.S. Eliot I can’t believe it’s been a year since we opened the doors. The time has flown. There are many things about working in The Cup&Mug that have been quite a surprise to me. There was the unsolicited advice we received at first – a bit like being a first time parent, I suspect: “no-idea’” is obviously emblazoned across your forehead and every passing stranger feels at liberty to tell you where you’re going wrong and how to rectify the situation. What an interesting and diverse array of people pass through our doors. I have been pleasantly surprised at how social working here is. I’m not a shopper and didn’t expect to get to know people by name and engage in pleasant conversation – Tim had to tell me quite early on that I should stop talking to the customers because their coffee was getting cold. I’ve loved friends coming in by themselves, ostensibly for a coffee or piece of pottery, but also as an opportunity to catch up. I’ve enjoyed my friends bringing their friends or relatives and then I meet them as well. I’ve discovered how lucky I am to have such a talented, versatile, personable, jack-of-all-trades as a business partner. However, I think the aspect which has most surprised me is the complete randomness of each day. We sell Polish (and Irish) Pottery combined with a small drink and food operation but in what proportions the day pans out is completely unpredictable. We have had a few days where we have sold only food and drink and no pottery, a few almost all pottery and no food days, and every other possible permutation - lots of food and lots of pottery, lots of pottery / little food, lots of food and drink / little pottery, lots of small pottery sales only, a few bigger pieces only, batch after batch of scones and no other food, only other food and no scones: the combinations seem endless and just when I think we’ve experienced them all another variation appears. Some days we have an endless trickle – one person after another where we’re not exactly busy but not really at liberty to accomplish any other tasks. Other days we have hours with few people then we’re run off our feet for two or three hours straight. At first I kept looking for patterns and routines, but honestly, there are none. At one stage we thought we could confidently declare that a Friday before a long weekend is bound to be bad or Sunday afternoon is afternoon- tea time but no sooner do we think we’ve worked it out and the theory is proved quite wrong. I remember being a new parent and my mother telling me to stop trying to work out the meaning of every episode of the baby sleeping or not sleeping, crying or not crying, happy or not happy. She told me not to bother because by the time you work it out the child’s on to the next stage anyway. Maybe business is like babies! Extrapolating from his restaurant experience, Tim assured me that business is random and just go with the flow. Some people, even if they are not regular customers, will comment on the activity level. The person who happens to come when we are very quiet, thinks we are always very quiet. The person, who happens to come when we are busy, thinks we are always busy. Sometimes the person who already loves Polish Pottery and thinks they’re in heaven when they find us, will say, on being offered a cup of coffee, “Oh, you serve food and drinks, do you?” The person who is there for a social catch-up will, after being prompted about the true nature of the shop, will eventually tentatively ask, “Do you sell this?” as they vaguely wave in the direction of the pottery. We all see the world from where we stand. Is it possible to do anything else? If you always come when things are quiet, how could you assume that things must be busy sometimes, or if you always see the bustling moments why would you assume there would be very quiet times. If you’re after a coffee you notice a café; if you’re already a Polish Pottery tragic you will recognise a Polish Pottery shop as you wizz past. How do we know that everything in life is not like this – maybe we can only see things from our own point of view much of the time. And how do we know when we have the whole picture? May be I just think too much! |
