Meet Savannah Lawton | Creator of Wild Domestics Pottery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Savannah Lawton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Savannah, what do you attribute your success to?
Knowing what I’m selling! I don’t simply sell pottery: My Mushroom Mugs are morning magic makers that enhance your coffee or tea. Coffee in the morning is a spiritual experience, people buy my mugs as an offering to this ritual. The environment is disintegrating before us, my teapots capture a scenery long after its erosion takes place. And my vases create the perfect gift for that impossible person to buy for in our lives. Making pottery is my passion and having it go to loving homes is the purpose of it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Wild Domestics was my white buffalo. It has been a spiritual journey that came unexpectedly. Art is tricky. You don’t know how to sell it, how to price it, how to allocate your time to it while not being plagued with the “starving artist” mentality. When you pursue art as a career, it takes a lot of blind faith. Art is so subjective, and in most cases a luxury item that has a narrow market for consumers. I have the benefit of my passion also being a functional product. Still though, I started this business not knowing it was going to be successful, not anticipating the lessons I would learn, and not understanding the polarity in experiences I would have. It all took off a lot quicker than I ever had hoped for and I am glad that I got all the bureaucracy out of the way early on. I formed an LLC, got a business bank account, set up a POS system, and created a website long before I was making any real money off of it. This was the biggest benefit to my success, because in the first few months my style really established itself and I got rewarded for my talent. My mugs doubled in value and my following turned occult. I still had my ups and downs. I learned some lessons the hard way. I learned the cost of associating with the wrong people by bringing on apprentices that did not share the same values as I did. I learned how public image plays a larger role than what your brand represents. I learned how location is everything. And lastly, I learned how to allocate my time. I killed myself doing 3 markets a week the first 2 years of the business. My brand suffered because I pumped out subpar product just to fill the table each week, instead of making what I love. Now that my daughter has been born, I have a fresh perspective on how to be successful. My iconic mushroom mugs sell the best, so I focus on elaborating this style into other forms to pay the bills instead of simply putting myself out there with pottery that doesn’t appeal to people. My time has become more precious, so being smart and innovative with my sales channels has also been a pivoting point for me. I am clever with how the business makes money by partnering, with local businesses, looking for high paying commissions and contests, and having confidence in the value of my work to charge appropriately. My vison of success is being able to support my daughter and I by doing what I love. I want to show her that she can be successful by following her passions and chasing her dreams.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

Ooooo Exciting!

Our day would start at Foret Flg for a croque madame and a matcha latte.

Then we would head to West Fork Trail for a hike down on Oak Creek to see it’s Jurassic canyon and beautiful swimming holes.

Followed by heading back up to town for a pottery lesson at Wild Domestics Pottery of course.

And while we are dirty, we would hit the Grand Canyon Deer Farm to talk to Mozart the cockatoo and get pick pocketed by the sika deer.

All this activity would leave us famished, so we would have to grab a bite at the retro chic Asian fusion restaurant , Lotus Lounge. But if we wanted something more authentic, then we would hit Asia Station.

Ending with sitting in the plaza having an espresso and sweet treat from Late for the Train and the Candy Shoppe.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My journey would not have been the same if it was not for my family. Before my success in Wild Domestics Pottery, I was on a dark road with a lot of bad habits that almost cost me my life a few times. I alienated myself from my family, my friends pulled away from me, my dreams and passions got put on the back burner. I endlessly romanticized the idea of saving lost souls, to the point where I became a martyr of my cause. Too proud to be wrong and in too deep to give up, I kept trying to save people who couldn’t be saved, until I was the one who needed saving. It was then, that I tried to get out and needed help. My Mom and Pop helped me relocate, change my identity, establish myself in Flagstaff, my sister gave me a home, and my daughter made sure I never looked back. So, in that, I dedicate my success to them.

Website: www.wilddomesticspottery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wilddomesticspottery/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/savannah-lawton-1063251a3/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wilddomesticspottery/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wild-domestics-pottery-flagstaff-6?osq=pottery

Other: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/4827582