Believe me, it's a tricky balance juggling between doing the everyday work (website maintenance, order processing/shipping, answering questions from customers, and producing existing product) and having time for the design aspects of creating new products. I would love to have an extra 10-15 hours a week free to devote to nothing but new product development but it never seems to work out that way.

Add in the time spent attending conventions and meeting with the retailers who carry my products and it really does amount to a full time (40-60 hr per week) job.

Time management is always a problem.  It is most definitely a full time job and for me it's not even my main job. 
I love experimenting with new techniques and materials so I set aside some time every month to try something new but you have to do the daily work of casting and packaging in order to be able to afford to experiment.  You can use machines to boost production so you have more time for other stuff but that requires money, which requires sales, which requires work (it's a vicious circle).  As long as you're enjoying the work it's not so bad, just remember to take some time off for family and friends.

I like reading these interviews.  It's always nice to hear what others who are in the hobby have to say, especially about the business side of things.

Itar

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