Pottery Guild Uses OnlyFans to Boost Membership

When you think “OnlyFans” you might not immediately think “pottery”, but the Richmond Hill community pottery collective is arguing that the two are actually more closely intertwined than we may think.

The suburban Toronto, Ontario, Canada group enlisted the help of a Toronto-based marketing agency and, with some convincing, launched an OnlyFans page and an accompanying ad campaign called “Ceramics Are Sexy”.

One ad features a muscular potter and plenty of innuendos like “Grip the base” “Find your rhythm” and “Get wet” appear while the potter forms the dripping clay into, well, something phallic. 

The guild’s director, Kathy Verbeek-Chawrun says the guild - made up of mostly women over 50 and some in their 80s - hadn’t even heard of OnlyFans before. When she pitched joining OnlyFans to her crew, “There were definitely a few raised eyebrows,” Verbeek-Chawrun said. “But once we understood the thinking behind it and saw the creative, everyone realized it was clever, tasteful and actually a really fun way to talk about pottery.” 

The “thinking” behind the project came from Blackjet, a marketing firm based in Toronto. Verbeek-Chawrun said the goal of the ad campaign and OnlyFans account was to pass the joy of pottery on to the younger generation, while leaning into some of the similarities the craft shares with sex. Adam Thur, executive creative director at Blackjet said presenting pottery as similar to sex gets people talking, giggling and ultimately, paying more attention to pottery. “The anticipation, the release, it’s all very close to the language of sex. We felt that if more people understood that, they might see the craft in a completely different way and start paying more attention to it.” 

The guild’s members were skeptical at first, but once they started thinking about their craft in an intimate way, they understood. One member, Heidi Kreiner-Ley says, “The allure of pottery for me was its tactile, de-stressing and calming effect. “ Kreiner-Ley thinks the ads are “exciting” and “very sexy”. “Shaping clay is very sensual, and the ads capture that sensuality perfectly. The hunky guy sure helps, too - unfortunately we don’t have one of those at our studio!” 

Another guild member, treasurer Joyce Leuchtner says that her trust in Verbeek-Chawrun’s judgement nullified her lack of awareness about OnlyFans. “I had no idea what OnlyFans was about - I don’t think any of us did. But we trust Kathy, so we thought, ‘Let’s give it a try.’ As long as it’s tastefully done, why not?”

Perhaps the very fact that none of the guild’s older members are familiar with OnlyFans speaks to the platform’s popularity with younger people. What started as a mostly adult website has blossomed into a place where everything from climate change to HIV/AIDs can be discussed. Creators on OnlyFans are now sought after by most companies and non-profits with a message to relay to an audience. Content creators generally have more of a seat at the table than ever before. 

The guild launched the campaign and OnlyFans page last month, and since then, they’ve seen a significant uptick in website traffic. A 400% uptick, to be exact. 

Verbeek-Chawrun says they’ve accomplished exactly what they set out to accomplish. “The biggest surprise has been how quickly people got the joke,” she said, adding, “They come for the OnlyFans, but they stay to learn about ceramics. That’s exactly what we hoped would happen.” The guild has also received an increased interest on Instagram, where multiple viewers of their ad campaigns have inquired about upcoming classes. 

The ad campaign’s star, Patrick Dantas, has been a potter for nearly three years now, and he wants people to know he did the ad because it spoke to what he appreciates about ceramics. “What I find sexy about ceramics is that nothing happens without touch. Clay asks to be handled, and at the end, it will always carry the memory of the body that made it.”