Need advice on new website

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Cable
Sorry, I did not realize you were already featuring her pottery on your website. I made my "judgements" from looking at her April Grigsby website. I hope you don't view my critique as being too harsh. I thought you were asking before you bought.

But I really would not change my critique. Some of her pots are really nice. But not all of them.

 

[Cable]

@Cable
Sorry, I did not realize you were already featuring her pottery on your website. I made my "judgements" from looking at her April Grigsby website. I hope you don't view my critique as being too harsh. I thought you were asking before you bought.

But I really would not change my critique. Some of her pots are really nice. But not all of them.

It's an interesting assessment and might just be a photography issue. I own three of her pots and will take a look at them and see. I'll also ask her about it. It could be that not all pots are intended to be freeze-proof.

 

[Smoke]

Does anybody here like April Grigsby Ceramics???

Bonsai Pots | Black River Bonsai

www.blackriverbonsai.com

Just do a search, "April Grigsby" and see what comes up. You will see my name a lot. There is a pot with April and me in the photo that you will never see again. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/shohin-seminar-santa-nella.32035/#post-530234

 

[Cable]

Just do a search, "April Grigsby" and see what comes up. You will see my name a lot. There is a pot with April and me in the photo that you will never see again. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/shohin-seminar-santa-nella.32035/#post-530234

Apparently that post didn't come across right. lol. It was my way of saying that she had some of her pots listed on my site! She moved to the Cleveland area and belongs to the same bonsai club I do. And she has talked about you, my Smokey friend. Says you're actually a very nice person which I find really hard to believe.

 

[Cable]

I just looked at her website. All in all, there are some nice pots there. However, the shape of maybe half of her pots, with the walls either perfectly vertical, or insloping, will probably lock the soil ball in place, not allowing freezing soil ball to expand. Many of her pots will break if allowed a freeze-thaw cycling. To be freeze-thaw resistant, the walls of the pot need to slope outwards, so the freezing mass of soil can expand and "float up".

Some of her pots have very nice proportions, some are a touch too deep compared to diameter. All in all, there were a few pots I would not mind having in my collection, there were more that I would not buy due to proportions or shape.

Her use of glazes is good. Colors subdued enough. Clean colors. I do like more complex blended glazes, like what Brian Soldano, Roy Minari, Randy Davis, Sam Miller, Sorce, and others do. But her glaze colors are nice and clean and subdued.

So that is my opinion. I have not seen her pottery in person, this is just my impression from her website.

Here's her reply...

Well that’s interesting that you had such a detailed comment. The person is correct about the shape of the pot affecting the ability of a pot to withstand freezing and thawing. One thing that helps wintering a pot with in-sloping walls is making sure the soil isn’t water logged during winter. Ultimately I wonder if there’s always going to be an aesthetic vs mother nature issue that a bonsai keeper will always be challenged with.

The clay body I use is vitrified, so in other words, the fired clay itself is highly resistant to freezing and thawing. The shape is another story and the person is correct in what they said.

I thought the comment about proportions was interesting too. Since I’ve been making bonsai pots I’ve had a surprisingly large number of requests for deeper pots. I started out making much shallower pots but customers kept asking if I could make the same shape but just a little deeper. When I was located in California’s Central Valley, my customers were challenged with really hot summers so they tended to want deeper pots that didn’t have to be watered multiple times a day. But the same seems to be true here too. I get asked all the time for slightly deeper pots. Hmmm… interesting. I’ve wondered if some of my customers are also wanting a transition pot that’s a little deeper than what a “final” pot would be once the root mass has been successfully reduced?

Kinda curious if you know what part of the country they’re located in.

I certainly appreciate their compliments and I’ll certainly take their feedback into consideration, so thank you for sending their comments!

Maybe I need to write some sort of disclaimer for any pot that has a shape that is not out-sloping and therefore more susceptible to the physics of waterlogged soils that freeze in the winter.

 

[Smoke]

Apparently that post didn't come across right. lol. It was my way of saying that she had some of her pots listed on my site! She moved to the Cleveland area and belongs to the same bonsai club I do. And she has talked about you, my Smokey friend. Says you're actually a very nice person which I find really hard to believe.

There is a good percentage of this forum that actually knows me in real life, even guys like Walter Pall, who would say the same thing you do. What the other percentage of this forum that has never met me does not like, is my nature to call bullshit, tell the truth, and that really pisses people off.

Especially when it is true!!!

 

[Japonicus]

The Blue Pfitzer are gigantic!

I'm ready to order one when it's trending dry...
do you have any Pro-Tekt by Dyna-Gro? The silicone may help keep foliage from drying out.

 

[Smoke]

Since I seem to be one of the two people that has ever talked about hedge pruning a tree as a technique I feel it is time I mention a few things about it. The word hedge means "boundary" it is an ancient word and comes to us from ancient times. This is what wikipedia says about hedge for those that are lazy...

"A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, and of sufficient age to incorporate larger trees, are known as hedgerows. Often they serve as windbreaks to improve conditions for the adjacent crops, as in bocage country. When clipped and maintained, hedges are also a simple form of topiary."

To hedge a plant, one clips it to a boundary. This is no different than what one does when they clip their bonsai to shape. Many people clip their tree to a boundary, "hedge" it, to a more loose airy feel or allow many more "tips" to jut out of the boundary. I think what people get hung up on is the fact that pruning a boxwood hedge around your driveway is not the image that most people want to associate to their pruning of their bonsai. Hedges were not always pruned with a motorized hedge clipper and in the past hedges were maintained with hand tools same as bonsai. When making topiary, clipping to a boundary is no different than bonsai, it's just the shape hedged to is more fanciful, but the same none the less. In the two trees I showed of Bjorn, it is easy to see the exactness of the trimming, more akin to an actual hedge than many people wish to express. That's OK. Maybe after this people will not think in the same way and treat the word like a red haired step child. Maybe in the future we will not call bonsai hedged, and not call trident maples green helmets

On the tree below the foliage is obviously trimmed to a boundary and is in deed hedged to the actual meaning of the word. Not hedging to a boundary would yield and very messy, unorganized tree. I understand the need to call it "clipping or pruning to shape" much in the same way people seem to think they need to allow their leaves to "harden off" before pruning them. See, I didn't say hedge!

 

[Cable]

I'm ready to order one when it's trending dry...
do you have any Pro-Tekt by Dyna-Gro? The silicone may help keep foliage from drying out.

I do not. I'm not really worried about the foliage drying out. I have the ability to water multiple times a day.

Since I seem to be one of the two people that has ever talked about hedge pruning a tree as a technique I feel it is time I mention a few things about it. The word hedge means "boundary" it is an ancient word and comes to us from ancient times. This is what wikipedia says about hedge for those that are lazy...

"A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges used to separate a road from adjoining fields or one field from another, and of sufficient age to incorporate larger trees, are known as hedgerows. Often they serve as windbreaks to improve conditions for the adjacent crops, as in bocage country. When clipped and maintained, hedges are also a simple form of topiary."

To hedge a plant, one clips it to a boundary. This is no different than what one does when they clip their bonsai to shape. Many people clip their tree to a boundary, "hedge" it, to a more loose airy feel or allow many more "tips" to jut out of the boundary. I think what people get hung up on is the fact that pruning a boxwood hedge around your driveway is not the image that most people want to associate to their pruning of their bonsai. Hedges were not always pruned with a motorized hedge clipper and in the past hedges were maintained with hand tools same as bonsai. When making topiary, clipping to a boundary is no different than bonsai, it's just the shape hedged to is more fanciful, but the same none the less. In the two trees I showed of Bjorn, it is easy to see the exactness of the trimming, more akin to an actual hedge than many people wish to express. That's OK. Maybe after this people will not think in the same way and treat the word like a red haired step child. Maybe in the future we will not call bonsai hedged, and not call trident maples green helmets

On the tree below the foliage is obviously trimmed to a boundary and is in deed hedged to the actual meaning of the word. Not hedging to a boundary would yield and very messy, unorganized tree. I understand the need to call it "clipping or pruning to shape" much in the same way people seem to think they need to allow their leaves to "harden off" before pruning them. See, I didn't say hedge!

View attachment 305509

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I think the issue for some people is not the definition but the supposed haphazard nature of the trimming in this way. I agree with Walter that when done correctly it can create a natural look quite quickly. I tried it and thought it went well. I just prefer to so the slower, more traditional pruning at this time because of the therapeutic benefits. If I had a ton of deciduous like he does I, too, would take the hedge trimmer to them. lol

 

[Smoke]

I do not. I'm not really worried about the foliage drying out. I have the ability to water multiple times a day.



Thanks for the detailed explanation. I think the issue for some people is not the definition but the supposed haphazard nature of the trimming in this way. I agree with Walter that when done correctly it can create a natural look quite quickly. I tried it and thought it went well. I just prefer to so the slower, more traditional pruning at this time because of the therapeutic benefits. If I had a ton of deciduous like he does I, too, would take the hedge trimmer to them. lol

Obviously I don't need to explain the difference between "rape" and treating a lady right? The trees, you wish to treat um right....I rape the shit out of them....just a different approach.

 

[Japonicus]

I have the ability to water multiple times a day.

Oops, have to put that one back into context...
...prior to shipping a plant on the dry side, watering with Pro-Tekt lest a delivery botched up job occurred
and was in transit longer than expected, in trying to keep the weight and cost of shipping down,
would have just been a simple request if you use the stuff at all. It would be better to ship a heavier prepped can
but a 3g can with medium moisture would be ridiculous to ship individually, cost wise. I would venture a guess as is,
at $43 for 2 day shipping? IDK

 

[erich_raudebaugh]

Looks good so far. I'm testing your site out by buying one of April's pots from you. There were some html errors but I don't have enough knowledge to parse them. I should have taken a screenshot, oops!

 

[Cable]

Oops, have to put that one back into context...
...prior to shipping a plant on the dry side, watering with Pro-Tekt lest a delivery botched up job occurred
and was in transit longer than expected, in trying to keep the weight and cost of shipping down,
would have just been a simple request if you use the stuff at all. It would be better to ship a heavier prepped can
but a 3g can with medium moisture would be ridiculous to ship individually, cost wise. I would venture a guess as is,
at $43 for 2 day shipping? IDK

Ah gotcha. I will certainly keep that in mind. This is my first time buying 3 gallons but I don’t plan to ship these “as is”. At a minimum I’ll be digging down to the nebari and shortening the pot. Last year I only sold ones that I had repotted into training pots.

Looks good so far. I'm testing your site out by buying one of April's pots from you. There were some html errors but I don't have enough knowledge to parse them. I should have taken a screenshot, oops!

I was wondering if that sale came from here! Thanks, I have already passed it along to her! April ships direct.
Interesting on the html errors. I haven’t noticed them before but I did see that I had like 17 un-applied updates in Wordpress so maybe that will fix?

 

[erich_raudebaugh]

Maybe, give it a shot.

 

[Cable]

Finally ready to go live with this! Stupid pandemic delayed my tree order but now I'm up and running!

 

[Hartinez]

Good on you cable. I think it looks good. I built a website for my design business (link at bottom of page) and I figured out what worked and didn’t over time, and tweaked things as I went. I imagine you’ll do the same. I wouldn’t worry too much about the little details of the site. One comment if you don’t mind. There are a few, 1 in particular San Jose juniper that I would buy, but It looks like you did a partial styling and there are no stumps left to Jin. I’d maybe leave more than not on the junipers to give people that opportunity. In most cases it looks like you did, but this one in particular could use a couple strong jins. Regardless. You’ve done well and should be proud of your efforts. Like a good bonsai It’ll only get better with time.

 

[Cable]

Good on you cable. I think it looks good. I built a website for my design business (link at bottom of page) and I figured out what worked and didn’t over time, and tweaked things as I went. I imagine you’ll do the same. I wouldn’t worry too much about the little details of the site. One comment if you don’t mind. There are a few, 1 in particular San Jose juniper that I would buy, but It looks like you did a partial styling and there are no stumps left to Jin. I’d maybe leave more than not on the junipers to give people that opportunity. In most cases it looks like you did, but this one in particular could use a couple strong jins. Regardless. You’ve done well and should be proud of your efforts. Like a good bonsai It’ll only get better with time.
View attachment 308924

Thanks for the tip. I try to leave jins but sometimes get going and forget!