[ash from woodburner?]

Well, if you've got  a potter near you, you might try offering it to him/her. A number of high firing potters will use wood ash as a flux in their glazes - it help to know what the wood was that formed the ash, but even a general mix is invaluable. Of course, they may already have their own copious supply...[:D]

[Pottery workshop / atelier]

Hi Peter - thank you very much indeed for your reply - exactly the sort of information I was looking for - extremely helpful! I am now in the process of ploughing through 'auto-entrepreneur.fr'...

Very many thanks once again!

[Pottery workshop / atelier]

Hi all -  at some point in the next

12 months, my partner and I intend to move to France - with luck, to

the south of the Correze, within striking distance of Beaulieu sur

Dordogne.

I've asked this before on another forum, and whilst I certainly respect the replies I got there, I thought that there might be other perspectives to be found.

So:

The idea is that I set up a pottery workshop / atelier, and my partner

carries on working over the internet as she always has. She works for a

large legal publishing firm who have offices in France, and that bit of

it should present relatively few problems.

I’ve always assumed that getting permission to use a barn for arty

endeavours would be fairly straightforward – a typical setup being a

workshop, and an area for selling stuff. Am I right? In general, I

mean? I’m sure there are always local considerations to be taken into

account, but can anyone tell me the general attitude to such ventures?

Assuming that is correct, how will I then be perceived by the authorities? I understand that artists receive favourable conditions with respect to cotisation, etc., but is a potter considered to be an artist? Like most potters, I operate something of a mixed economy: I make 'domestic ware' - mugs, teapots, jugs, etc., - but also a fair smattering of one-off 'arty' bits. Am I artist or artisan? And what are the implications? In short, I'm very unlikely to be earning a great deal - what are my best options for characterising my self-employment?

I hope my confusion is clear (??!?) - all input very gratefully received!