February Recipe: Red Velvet Crinkle Sandwich Cookies
The first of our new recipe series - starting out with these delicious Red Velvet Crinkle Sandwich Cookies from West & Taylor.
Founder, CEO & Lead Potter of Dirty South, this blog features her writings on living as a modern-day southerner,
an inside perspective of the business, and what it is really like to own & operate a small shop. Grab a glass of sweet tea & enjoy!
Here's Lookin' at You, 2022
This past year, and in particular the last 3 months of 2021, made it clear to us that we have taken on more than what two sets of hands can make. Our plan to grow our production team a few years ago has had to be rerouted thanks to the pandemic, but we are still producing the amount of work we had intended for at least double the production team. Trying to balance my many other roles on top of a production schedule that is constantly backed up 6+ weeks, and also trying to manage our own household & social lives has just become too much. Way too much.
Some things have to change.
Shipping is NEVER Free – A Reality Check from Small Businesses
Small businesses have been hustling more than ever to survive since the pandemic hit, and this is just the latest blow that will negatively affect profit margins during the busiest time of the year for retailers.
This year I ask a few things of you:
- Be patient with small businesses.
- Order from them despite shipping fees
- Pickup or shop in-person if you’re within 30-40 minutes of their location.
In Pursuit of Fearless
Only recently have I realized & accepted that I am a very crucial part of what makes Dirty South Pottery special. Before I would separate my skills from “me” – I knew that my vision was important, my skills as a potter were important, my designs & ideas were important. But somehow, I failed to realized that all those things cannot be divided neatly from me – that the person I am created those unique things, and therefore is innately more special than any of them individually.
No More Classes in Clay - Here's Why.
"When are your classes going to start enrolling?” “Do you have classes for kids?” “Can you do a private class for a birthday?” “How do I sign up for classes?”- We receive questions like this on a normal basis, so we wanted to address it on our feed.
We do not offer classes in any form now, and we will not in the future.
For all the details, please read the full blog!
Giving Back - Mini Scooped is here!
But it’s not your average Plain-Jane fundraising event. One of the key pieces of Scooped is that we create a sense of community that is centered on our street. The general idea is that this feel like a neighborhood event that shows off the best that our street has to offer, with us creating parklettes for seating, booths of our contributing potters selling their work, performers from Leeds showcasing their talents on the sidewalk, and having demonstrations on the wheel outside on the sidewalk.
11 Ways to Help Your Local Shops Survive the 2020 Holiday Season
As we head into the holiday shopping season, it is very realistically a make-or-break time for many small businesses throughout our country. From increased cost of business, to downsizing staff, to a decrease in casual shopping, to eliminating large in-person sale events; much of what would be business as normal has now changed. And we collectively need your help keeping your favorite local shops alive to see 2021.
An Autumn Break - September 2020 Temporary Closing
From September 14-29th, 2020, our store will be going dark. No in-store shopping, no processing orders, no phone calls or emails, no pickups -
Dirty South Pottery will be on a break for the last two weeks of September.
Our online shop will still be open for orders, but we must stress that no order will be processed until September 30th, 2020. Read on for full details on this break.
Overdue.
I do not know exactly how to start this blog, but I am going to just start where I am at and see where it takes us.
First and foremost, I am going to start with this: Black. Lives. Matter.
This is not a trend. This is the truth, the battle cry for the unheard. I am not here to convince you of this truth, I am here to talk about how we are going to do our part to make sure that our children’s generation doesn’t have to hear this truth contested.
Anxiety & Encouragement
A few years ago I started to try new things to help level out the stress. I started to meditate. I tried reading for the last hour before bed. I exercised. I started eating more of the healthy, whole foods that I had chosen to ignore up until that point in my life. I planned travel. I allowed myself to fail and not dwell on it (too much).
But by far the thing that I started that I have consistently done in recent years to help with anxiety is drinking hot tea.
That’s right. Tea.
The Next Phase - Reopening
I think the most important part of the reopening process is to adapt the in-store shopping experience to make it safe for everyone – the shopper, the employees, the next shopper. For us and our little store, we are having trouble putting that puzzle together.
Shopping Updates Amid COVID-19
"We have had many people reach out to see how COVID-19 has effected shopping with us and to ask important questions. I wanted to take the time to create a space for all of those questions to be answered in"