Hidden Gems: Meet Ian Bramlett of A House of Pots

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Bramlett.

Hi Ian, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I buy and sell more pottery than any individual you’ll ever meet, but in the beginning, all I wanted was to sell was cacti.

In 2017, I lived in California with my family and I had compiled hundreds of cacti for a landscaping project I called “the cactus fence”. Once you have countless bare-root plants sitting on your property, it becomes apparent that you need more pottery, which I was lucky enough to find in my own backyard, so to speak.

One day on my commute to work, where I was a copywriter for a local tech company, I drove past a pottery importer who was having an annual clearance sale. Essentially sight unseen, I purchased what came to be known as “a divorce-worthy amount” of pottery, approximately 30,000 pounds, with the intention of reselling the majority so I could keep a portion for free.

I had never sold a pot before. I had no idea how to find buyers for ceramics. I didn’t have a clue how to price the items, display them, or effectively market my pottery; but I guessed I could figure it out.

Soon after posting my wares on buy and sell apps, it was clear I was onto something. Hundreds of daily messages converted into dozens of weekly visits to the Inland Empire home where I was selling the pots from.

What evolved was a pottery speakeasy of sorts, nestled in a backyard garden and shielded by the only cactus fence customers had ever seen. The user response was strong. People would drive over an hour in instances to find the best deals on pots, which is what I provided. Customers weren’t as interested in my collector cacti staged in terracotta pots as I had hoped, but they might buy ten to twenty colorful glazed ceramics per visit.

Trends and patterns were becoming more apparent to me with each pot I sold. People liked variety, vibrant colors, and above all else, the lowest prices on pottery available. I was onto something, with the dollars in hand to prove it.

Before I knew it I was selling pottery on the weekends every weekend and two years had gone by. I grew my relationship with my supplier to the extent I was ready to make pottery my full-time career and began looking for the next move.

Here, my career aspirations converged with my intent to relocate my family to Colorado, and I began scouring the Front Range for suitable commercial locations to operate from.

Fortunately, I found a darling little derelict C-2 property in unincorporated Denver to purchase and dedicated my efforts to building a new existence for myself in Colorado.

The transition wasn’t smooth, and after two years of operation in the North Denver suburb of Sherrelwood, we’re still working out some of the kinks. But if anything is abundantly clear, it’s that the good people of Denver and the greater Front Range love gardening and are relieved to find the one business in Colorado selling pottery reasonably.

My specialty is having the lowest prices in town and then further discounting my best in market pricing on purchases of two or more items. I find that when you own tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of pots, the best approach is to price them like you’re losing money and then give plenty away for free just for good measure.

Only having the best prices isn’t enough though. My patrons demand high-quality products, a variety of inventory, and a location that is quick and easy for them. This explains why my shop is under a 25-minute drive from the majority of the Denver metro, why I try to keep 1,000 different items in stock at all times, and why most of my planters are Colorado winter and frost tolerant.

A key to my success is how I approach freight. I pay 75% less to have items shipped than some of my competitors. I achieve this by shipping FTL exclusively, which is to say full 53-foot semi-truck loads only. Freight is a large reason why pottery costs so much in Colorado, and why inflation is so rampant nationwide. Even when the cost of shipping doubles, which it has several times, strategic purchasing and logistical management ensure my inventory remains reasonably priced when local plant shops, nurseries, garden centers, and big-box stores can’t help but raise their prices.

I am and will remain the low price leader.

It doesn’t hurt that I sell succulents and houseplants as well.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As a self-financed small business owner, I can tell you there’s nothing smooth about the struggle.

Easily, the greatest conflict comes from the tension we all share, managing work/life balance, and in my case being a business owner and a father. When I’m at my place of business, I’m terrible at being present to pick my son up from school, take my daughter to the park, or spend time with family on the weekend.

I’m fortunate and blessed to have found a line of work that I’m passionate about, that produces a sustainable living, and that I imagined into existence, but what is money at the end of the day when the sacrifices made cost us time with others we can’t get back.

Further, there’s never any gain without an appropriate amount of grind.

When it comes to sourcing from suppliers, arranging freight, unloading semi-trucks, manually counting and arranging every item, interacting with customers, visiting wholesale accounts, and being present at my place of business so as to conduct physical sales, business ownership is a seven-day-a-week job.

In terms of on-site improvements, A House of Pots isn’t nearly where I’d like it to be at two years into operation, and there’s a struggle in organizing and financing everything that needs to get done.

From May 2020 to December 2021 there was a true pottery shortage nationwide, spurred in part by increased consumer demand during the Pandemic, so for the majority of my time in Colorado, I haven’t had nearly enough pots.

Keeping 500+ plants alive in an indoor setting, which I adorn the insides of my commercial property with quite liberally, is also quite challenging. Most plants have different care needs, and the yo-yo like weather means you might be under or overwatering your photosynthetic friends at any moment.

The successes and the satisfaction far outweigh the struggles, but I can’t even imagine the journey is going to be a smooth one.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
A House of Pots is a retail and wholesale pottery business that also sells plants from a commercial property that resembles a residence. In fact, the building was a residential property until being converted to a commercial in 1985.

The business is known for having more pottery than any other competitor, and, more importantly, the best prices and value for customers available.

Retail operations are weekend only year-round and there are over 20 boutique plant shops, nurseries, and garden centers that we supply ceramics to under a wholesale arrangement.

Many things set us apart from the competition, including the fact that the price can drop on any item at any time as deemed by the owner. There’s no corporate structure to get in the way of supplying customers with a deal that they can’t say no to.

Oddly enough, the branding centers around my own eccentricity. It’s quite clear to customers that this is a one-man show and they appreciate the authenticity of my approach, even if it’s unorthodox. Every week I’ll publish a new “for sale” listing across local buy and sell sites that exhibits my personality and humor.

These listings feature photos from around the shop, new items in stock, information about the location and how to access it, random SEO-driven copy deemed “pottery jargon”, and a playful theme for the week intended to endear readers.

Successful post topics have included:

* Plant Game Dexter Makes Pottery Disappear – Pots & Plant Sale
* Just Buy Her Plants, Stupid – Pottery & House Plants for Sale
* So You’re Going to Be a Plant Daddy – Succulent & Pottery Sale
* Don Potts’ Pottery Sale – They Call Me the Don of the Pots
* A Divorce-Worthy Amount of Pottery – Plant + Planter Sale
* Giving You All the Fuzzy Feels: The Mom Zone Plant + Pot Sale
* Attorney & Pottery Client Privilege – Plants / Planters for Sale

My writing style is playful and irreverent and customers have responded well to this branding. The fact that I’m able to sell as much pottery purely from Internet leads with no physical sign and just fun, funny little musings makes this pottery pappa plenty proud.

How do you think about luck?
Luck has plenty to do with where I am, where my business is located, but little with who I am or the manner in which I succeed.

Firstly, I was lucky to have found my primary supplier, who happened to have been located 15 miles from my original location.

I’m lucky that four months before finding my shop’s location, I flew to Denver for a job interview that blew me off, delaying my purchasing timeline, perfectly aligning me with the availability of the property that was perfect for me.

I’m lucky I’m in a field of work that appeals to all demographics, as all ages, genders, and ethnicities love plants and pots.

I’m lucky that bad luck never lasts, like inventory shortages, poor sales through entire seasons, and so many pots breaking upon arrival, from my mishandling, and being stacked far too high.

But everything I have business-wise was brought into existence from my own imagination and initiative. I make my own luck, for better or worse, and my success or failure will be determined by my own actions or inactivity.

I’m very lucky to have found the house that’s the namesake for A House of Pots though.

I can’t imagine I’ll ever be as lucky in real estate again though, as commercial properties with freeway frontage and the zoning to build a jumbotron just minutes from Downtown Denver don’t grow on trees.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ahouseofpots.youcanbook.me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahouseofpots
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ahouseofpots

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