Enjoy The Beauty In Every Day with Kalon Ceramics.

Anne Gibson is the owner of Toronto-based business Kalon Ceramics, which specializes in handmade, unique, and thoughtfully crafted pottery. Each piece is handcrafted from stoneware and glazed by hand. The ceramics are stunning, special enough to stand alone, but sturdy enough for daily use. 

The brand name Kalon (Kay-lawn) is a Greek word meaning beauty that encompasses both physical and inner aspects of what it means to be beautiful. Every time Anne Gibson creates a ceramic piece, it is meant to inspire people to appreciate the beauty of the world that surrounds them and feel joy in the present moment.

Anne delivers this feeling in her featured Kalon Ceramics collections, using shades of deep blue and petal pink. Each piece holds wonderful possibilities and a reminder to savour a quiet moment with a teacup, or the warmth of bringing friends together with a serving bowl, or inspiring the joy of sharing a gift. What could be better than receiving a piece of beautiful handmade pottery that is made with passion and creativity?

The process of making pottery, from clay lump to a finished pot, is slow, but deeply satisfying. Anne is passionate about the infinite versatility of her raw materials. She is a free spirit who absorbs inspiration from the environment around her. A walk in the woods, a sheet of origami paper, a blossoming tree, and any beauty from the everyday.

Every inspiring journey has bumps and challenges. Due to COVID-19, Anne faced many challenges in making her pottery. The studio she worked in to create her ceramics was closed down. While Anne had a wheel at home to work with for practice, she didn’t have a kiln. Firing the pieces in a kiln is an essential part of her process. She planned to move to a new studio, but closures and restrictions made this option unfeasible. For somebody as hopeful as Anne, there’s always a silver lining guiding her, even in the hardest moments. Anne decided to take matters into her own hands and purchase a kiln of her own.

With the purchase of her own kiln, Anne decided to take another leap and open an online store. She applied for the ShopHERE powered by Google program and was paired with an eCommerce Coordinator. Her eCommerce Coordinator gave her the proper support needed to get her business online and have an eCommerce store setup. First, her coordinator helped with the design, and then trained Anne how to manage the online store on her own.

“While I may have learned these things eventually on my own, having the knowledgeable support of my eCommerce Coordinator made the process roll out far more smoothly and efficiently than working independently ever would have.”

Anne was satisfied with how the store was built and its many functionalities. It allows her to give her customers many payment options while remaining easy for her to manage. She was able to set up automatically calculated shipping rates, which was great for Anne, as she had no idea how much shipping pottery could be. Anne loves that the Shopify theme she chose gave her both flexibility and media-rich options to show off her unique pieces. 

“Function and form came together, just like in making pottery.” 

Getting the online store up was more work than she had anticipated. Since she had so many items requiring their own photo and description, building the catalogue took some time. Operating the online store seems straightforward to Anne now, but there was a lot to take in and learn about the store’s functions through the building process. 

“I was especially glad to have an eCommerce Coordinator to keep me on track and lead me through the process step-by-step. Despite the work involved, I feel the effort was totally worth it.”

Anne is happy with the positive feedback she gets about the professional look of her new online store. 

She has expanded the reach of her business since going online. Instead of just selling in person for a limited number of customers in her local area, she now can reach customers all over Canada and the United States. Anne hopes to continue to expand her business in the future to include worldwide shipping. 

Now that Anne is online, her biggest challenge and opportunity is reaching customers across the globe. She wears many hats: potter, photographer, office manager, accountant, janitor, and marketing department for her business. 

“I see that other artisans have been able to balance production and promotion, so I know it’s possible.” 

In addition to the online store, Anne also received marketing training and she has found Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to be the most valuable piece of marketing knowledge she received from the ShopHERE program’s marketing webinars. She learned how to find keywords and write SEO descriptions to make it easier for customers to find her online. 

“I think the ShopHERE program is an invaluable resource for small businesses to learn how to set up and navigate online sales.”

While the knowledge and skills needed to build an online store may not be in your unique set of skills, Anne notes that the ShopHERE program “bridges that gap with know-how and ongoing support.” 

If you would like to see all Anne’s wonderful and elegant pottery pieces, you can visit Kalon Ceramics here.

Are you a small business owner? Let’s start your eCommerce journey together. You can sign up for ShopHERE powered by Google program here.