Off Center Productions

Off Center Productions LLC is a working porcelain studio, Lana Weed focuses on beads and antiquities and Joan Tucker makes faces, baskets and other pendants. Each are inspired by ancient design themes and artifacts. They have established a successful pottery studio, Off Center Productions in Lacey, Washington. All of their work is handmade in their studio and is glazed in their own kilns. They have had many exciting things happen over the last few months.

The most recent is that Andy Smith of Kickapoo Jewelry, a Texas designer, recently used a piece from their "Antiquities" line porcelain which she had photographed by the famous Robert Diamonte. (see first photo)

They have also held a few trunk shows and I thought it would be interesting to see how they go about setting those up. In Joan's words:

We learned about how to do a Trunk Show from Guy and Jam-e from Wild Things who do trunk shows all the time on the way to bead shows.

How are they done? You simply (get up the nerve) to contact a store or shop ... make a date, decide on what percentage you will give them. They advertise. You:

• show up
• set up tables (or they may have tables)
• put out your ware (simple or fancy)
• stay and talk to customers as they buy

We have had the store ring up sales and do tax and we bill the store as though it was a simple wholesale purchase. It is seriously fun and painless way of attracting new customers. Holding a simple class/demo only adds to the fun. We had my daughter do a Kumihimo demo and we sold kits.

Lots of the well known bead folks do trunk shows and they may do something more special but for us we are happy to meet folks, sell some ware and frankly keep the costs down...bead shows are more and more difficult to find.

I personally love talking to customers so I have ball; Lana usually hauls the carts and helps keep it all going smoothly. For those of you who teach, it could be an opportunity to talk about doing some classes.



Also Nora Dalton, using one of Joan Tucker's face pendants, won First Place in this year's Bead Arts 2008 Award Winner contest in the Other or Mixed Media catagory. This contest is in it's sixth year and sponsored by by Step by Step magazine. Here is the link.


Here is the brooch that won was designed by Norma Dalton with Off Center Productions porcelain.





Also exciting is the necklace Joan Tucker created which is featured in the Beading Daily section in November's Step by Step Beads magazine.

Check out OffCenter Productions' Blog because something new and exciting is always happening!