By mail

I've been getting a lot of online orders lately; since mid-April or so, I've been averaging one or two a week. I don't have any direct-to-order links on my website, nor do I have an Etsy account (a good thing, from what I've heard. They've started charging artists per view, whether something sells or not. WTF?). To place an order, people need to send me an email.

So it was not unusual, two weeks ago, to get another one. Here's the text:

Greetings i am [name], i actually observed my wife viewing your pottery on my laptop severally and i guess she likes some of your pottery piece i must also say Your work is really stunning The uniqueness quality to your work is so lovely I am very much interested in the purchase to surprise my wife. thanks

[name]

I read it to Denise, and she immediately said "Scam!" I tended to agree, the wording seemed... off. But when I went to Google and searched a few key phrases, nothing came up. I noticed, though, that the "From" email and the "Reply to" were different--same name, different number--and when I searched the latter, I immediately hit an "artist beware" posting. Yup, scam, of the sort that buys your piece, pays you for it plus payment for their own "shipper", who picks it up, takes payment, and vanishes. Shortly thereafter, their credit card comes back bogus, and you've lost your art, and the "shipping fee."

This week the inbox was also busy. Three email orders, one in response to pictures I posted here, obviously legit. Of the two others, well... the first was from a Hungarian name, which might explain some of the rough grammar, but it still tripped my sensors:

Good Day,
How is work and family? I picked interest in your artwork and decided to write you. I will like to know if your artwork can be purchased and shipped internationally?. I can email the artwork of interest and payment will be completed in full once you confirm my purchase order with a quotation. Kindly let me know when you are in office and ready to take my artwork order also let me know if you accept either Visa Card/MasterCard or PayPal for payment
Best Regards
[name]

This one was easier to search. A few key phrases like "I picked interest in your artwork" led to a bunch of hits, targeting mostly photographers, painters, and in a few cases, galleries. International shipping is an obvious red flag. Less obvious is the PayPal reference. I tend to think of PayPal as a reliable payment system, but the online posts reminded me that they're primarily safe for the buyer. If the buyer complains, they're quick to refund their payment (and take it back from the seller). Less likely to work the other way around.

With all the scammers around, how can I ever know who to trust? I hesitate to enumerate the clues and tells--don't want to create a tutorial for a better scam--so I'll just leave the second email, an example of a real order. 

Good afternoon Frank,
A few years ago I met you at the Eugene farmers market. I fell in love with your work and spoke with you about purchasing a whole set with the crab design. I'm finally getting my own place this year and was wondering if we could plan a possible monthly order? I don't think I'll be able to purchase everything at once but I was wondering if I could order 1 dinner plate, 1 bowl, and 1 tumbler every month until I can collect a set of 9, then move on to the larger serving bowls, salt shakers etc. If that is something we could do, how much would the 3 items cost per month?

I hope you are doing well and I look forward to doing business with you,

[name]

You can see the difference, I expect.

Raising cane

I struggle with cane teapot handles. They're never quite the right size, they're stiff, they want to split if you push them too far. I long ago gave up on the things, going instead to to pulled clay handle on the side of the pot.

But last week, I found the elephants graveyard tea set in the shed, and someone wanted to buy it, so I had make the handle fit. As you might be able to tell from the first photo, the handle was way too big. The span between the ends was around seven inches; the loops on the pot were closer to four. It looked like I'd tried to force it in the past, as one of the end tabs was starting to split.

I used to work at a Craft Center at the UO that had a lot of woodworkers, and one of the tricks I remember seeing there was steaming wood to make a bent-wood chair. It took a special long, thin pan, which I didn't have access to, but I realized for this project, I didn't need it. Since the handle was already bent, needing only to bend more, I could work with what I had on hand in my kitchen: A low, wide stock pot with about an inch of water in it, and a vegetable steamer basket. I looped some picture wire around the ends of the handle, tied it off as tight as I could, then popped the whole thing in the steamer and put on the lid. Ten minutes boiling later, and I was able to pull the handle out of the pot with gloves, twist on the wire loop with a heavy pair of pliers, and narrow down the opening a good three inches. I tucked the tabs into the loops, slid the little reed rings down to hold them tight, and unwound all the picture wire.

Voila! Teapot handle, perfectly fitted.