021 – Shaping Ceramics & Selling at Markets with Avé of Avé Rivera Studio

Hello & Welcome to Episode 21 of Roll Play Grow, the podcast for tabletop entrepreneurs, creators, and fans. I am Courtney Stover of Lightheart Adventures, and in this podcast, we talk to the creators behind the brands in the tabletop roleplay gaming space about who they are and how they are turning their passion for gaming into a career. 

Man, I gotta say, I really missed saying that! And just again, HI. I know we had a bit of an unplanned hiatus, and it just kept stretching longer than I intended. The short version is that my laptop had to go in for repairs, and I was without it for a couple weeks, which meant rescheduling everybody’s interviews. I also had some personal & medical issues crop up, so it’s been a chaotic month. But we are back, and I have some really great guests coming up. It also gave me some time to work on a few items behind the scenes, like updating Patreon awards and getting started on my handmade business. I don’t think I’ve really talked about that much, but I am currently working on creating a bunch of D&D themed pet merch! Brenton is designing patterns based off D&D classes that we’re getting printed on fabric. I’m making collars, bowties, and bandanas and hope to be ready to launch them for sale soon. I’ll have an upcoming episode soon where I talk about this in more detail, so definitely be on the lookout for that. As for Patreon updates, I’ve revamped the Roll Play Grow awards. We have two different tracks on our Patreon–one for those of you who are more into Brenton’s maps and adventures, and a track for those of you more interested in the podcast. Joining at the lowest tier gets you access to updates, affiliate codes, and the ability to ask questions for upcoming guests. The next podcast tier is for those of you who want to contribute more. If you’ve got a shop you’d like us to promote, we’ll have a podcast supporters section on the website, and I’ll even give your shop a shoutout on an upcoming episode! Like I said, it’s been a busy month behind the scenes, and I’m excited to share all of these updates with you in the coming weeks.

Avé is the talented creator behind Avé Rivera Studio where she makes gorgeous and nerdy pottery. She makes D&D themed mugs, fun jewelry and trinket trays, cute stickers and apparel, and more. You’ll have to make sure you’re following her on Instagram, YouTube, and/or Twitter, because her mug restocks tend to go super fast. Avé’s been running her business for six years, and it was really interesting to learn about the lessons she’s learned in that time, including working at markets, vendoring at the Renaissance Faire, balancing Etsy, a separate web store, blogging, YouTubing, and dealing with burnout. I really enjoyed chatting with Avé, and she has a lot of knowledge to share and I know y’all will enjoy listening to her.

Real quick, before we jump into this interview, I want to mention some other ways you can support us and this show. First off, like I said, be sure to check out our Patreon. You can also subscribe to this show on your podcast player of choice, leave a review if you’re enjoying the show, and you can check out our affiliate links. One of those affiliates is Friday Afternoon Tea. Friday was my wonderful guest back on Episode 6, and she creates nerdy tea blends using her superpowers. Basically, go buy a mug from Avé, and then get yourself some tea to enjoy with it! Go to fridaytea.com and use code LightheartADV to get 10% off your order and help support this show.