I have worked closely with Rhiane over the past few years through her business "The Northern Kiln".  From our initial meeting, Rhiane has demonstrated professionalism and keen business acumen in the development and execution of her unique business model which offered an on-line presence and sales channel for potters across Canada.  The website is visibly alluring and she created effective technological enhancements in the background to ensure the order to delivery process was seamless for both the customers and the vendors.  Rhiane also created effective on-boarding materials to ensure an easy set up process and implemented a successful social media campaign which significantly helped me to grow my business.  I have worked with entrepreneurs in my professional career for decades, and Rhiane definitely stands out in her ability to create, build and successfully execute a business from the ground up. 

I was pleased to work with Rhiane for almost 3 years, as one of the potters represented on The Northern Kiln (TNK) website, which she set up to enable Canadian potters to sell their work online across the country.  The onboarding resources and how-to guides that she developed and provided were thorough and easy to follow.  The website itself was attractive, easy for customers to use and was well maintained.  Any questions that I had regarding the site or the shipping app were promptly and adequately answered.  The site enabled me to grow my customer base beyond Ontario, where I am based, to sales across the country.  On several occasions Rhiane liaised with customers regarding special orders, from which I was able to benefit.  The periodic analyses that she shared with us potters were useful for reflection and planning purposes.  In summary, my experience with the TNK was a positive one, due to the professional and respectful nature of Rhiane herself.  I wish her well in her future endeavors.

I worked with Rhiane for about two years as one of the potters featured in her company, The Northern Kiln. My experience was very positive in a number of ways: (1) Listing my pieces through the site allowed me to reach a broader cliental than would have been possible otherwise; (2) I found the instructional material, submission of my pottery offerings and product photos to be straightforward; (3) It was a pleasure to work with Rhiane. She was responsive to my questions and submissions, and helpful in resolving any difficulties.

In terms of the business, the concept was solid and the timing appropriate. TNK provided vendors a less competitive service than sites such as Etsy. It also provided customers in rural or isolated communities an opportunity to select products that otherwise would not have been readily available.

I think Rhiane's experience with developing, operating and eventually closing The Northern Kiln has given her an excellent understanding of both the positive and negative aspects of her business venture – what worked and what didn’t. To my mind, this is one of the most valuable attributes that Rhiane could possess.