Production & Inventory Software for Pottery & Ceramics
Potters, ceramic artists & clay studio sellers
Overview
Pottery involves expensive kiln equipment, precise glaze recipes, and a multi-step production process from throwing to final firing. Ardent Seller helps potters track kiln depreciation, scale glaze formulas, document firing schedules, and understand true costs across every piece.
Common Challenges
- Tracking kiln depreciation and maintenance on expensive equipment
- Managing glaze recipes with precise ingredient ratios
- Documenting multi-step production (throwing, bisque fire, glazing, final fire)
- Managing size and glaze variants for each form
- Calculating true costs including clay, glazes, kiln firing, and labor
How Ardent Seller Helps
Purpose-built features for pottery & ceramics.
Equipment Tracking
Track kiln depreciation, element replacement schedules, and firing costs across your equipment.
Recipe Scaling
Scale glaze formulas while maintaining precise ingredient ratios for consistent results.
Production Steps & Directions
Document multi-step firing schedules and production processes with time estimates.
Product Variants
Manage sizes, glaze options, and form variations with individual inventory and pricing.
Labor & Services Tracking
Include throwing, trimming, and decorating time at custom rates in product costs.
Automatic COGS Calculation
See true per-piece costs including clay, glazes, kiln firing, labor, and equipment wear.
Free resources for Pottery & Ceramics
Downloadable guides, checklists, and templates — no email required.
Product Pricing Calculator
A working Excel pricing calculator — materials, labor, packaging, and platform fees in, a defensible retail price out. Plus a batch tab that shows what 50 vs. 10 actually costs.
Should I Raise My Prices? Decision Tool
A live web tool that runs the +10% / +20% / +30% price-hike math for one product — including the volume drop that comes with each — and tells you which scenario clears the most monthly profit.
SKU Naming & Barcode System Starter Kit
A vendor-neutral PDF primer on building a real SKU system — prefix conventions that survive variants and reorders, when barcodes start paying for themselves, free vs. paid barcode options, and a one-page printable cheat sheet for the workbench wall.
Craft Show Prep and Profit Tracker
Pre-show break-even math, a packing and booth-setup checklist, in-show data to track, and a post-show reconciliation page — one printable per event.
Wholesale Line Sheet
A working Excel line sheet for handmade wholesale — buyer-ready front sheet, per-SKU pricing math behind it, and the formulas already wired in.
Spreadsheet vs Inventory Software: The Decision Guide
When a spreadsheet is enough, when it stops working, and how to tell the difference before it costs you.
Guides for Pottery & Ceramics
In-depth articles to help you get the most out of your business.
Kiln Costs Uncovered: What Pottery Sellers Forget When Pricing Ceramics
Most potters price their work based on clay and glaze costs — and completely ignore the kiln. Electricity, element replacements, kiln wash, stilts, and firing time add up fast. Here's how to calculate your true cost per firing and bake it into every price tag.
Pottery Seller's Glossary: 36 Terms You'll Hear from Suppliers, Galleries, and the Tax Office
Selling pottery is three jobs in one — the supply yard, the gallery, and the tax office, each with its own dialect. Here are the 36 terms a working potter hits in their first year, in plain English, in the order they actually come up.
The True Hourly Wage of a Maker Business: What Your Hour Is Really Worth
Two times materials is the most expensive pricing decision in the maker community. A worked, calculator-backed walk-through of the cost stack under your hourly rate — and the math that tells you what to actually charge.
Equipment Depreciation for Small Makers: Stop Ignoring Your Biggest Hidden Cost
Your oven, kiln, mixer, or 3D printer loses value every year — and if you are not accounting for it, you are underpricing your products and overpaying on taxes. Learn how depreciation works and how to use it.
Selling at Juried Craft Shows: How to Apply, Price for the Booth Fee, and Actually Profit From a Weekend
Juried craft shows are not bigger farmers markets. The booth fee is five times higher, the customer is different, and the break-even math has to be done before you mail the application — not after the truck is unloaded. Here is the real walkthrough: applying, pricing for the venue, booth setup, running the weekend, and the post-show step almost everyone skips.
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