ArtWorks "Big Pitch" finalists: CGCERAMICS and Untold Content LLC

CGCERAMICS, a company started by Christie Goodfellow, creates wheel-thrown pottery with an appreciation for design, materials and process. The functional pottery, such as dinnerware and planters, can be found regionally at top-rated restaurants and well-curated shops.

“I think I realized I was passionate about making pottery because I kept finding it,” says Goodfellow, who turned her passion of pottery into her full-time profession just four years ago. “I was drawn to the process and connected with the idea of making something that is just itself.”Christie Goodfellow, CGCERAMICS

Goodfellow, a Pittsburgh native, moved to Cincinnati when she was working in retail merchandising a few years ago. Serendipitously, her apartment was just five minutes from a large ceramics studio where she began spending evenings and weekends honing her craft of wheel-throwing. In 2009, she began selling her work online and at local art fairs and shops.

She makes custom tableware for restaurants and individuals, as well as garden and home décor for direct orders and wholesale. Each piece is crafted with mid-range or high-fire stoneware that has a warm, earthy palette. The straightforward designs and warm tactile feel of the wares complement an artful, farm-to-table approach, just as the ware’s meditative attention to detail and minimal finishes appeal to those who fill their spaces intentionally and highly regard the beauty and purpose of simplicity.

CGCERAMICS is one of seven finalists in the fourth annual ArtWorks “Big Pitch” presented by U.S. Bank, where they will compete for a $15,000 Judge’s Choice Award and a $5,000 Audience Choice Award during a live five-minute pitch on Sept. 28 at Memorial Hall.

During the Big Pitch process, CGCERAMICS will be mentored by Kaylyn Gast, a U.S. Bank Small Business Specialist and Steve Doehler, an industrial designer.

CGCERAMICS has been working out of a small backyard studio for the past five years and is looking to move into a larger space to support increased production. The $20,000 prize from the Big Pitch would enable CGCERAMICS to increase production capacity through the purchase of equipment, hiring employees and moving into a larger space. With the ability to create additional inventory, CGCERAMICS could take on more accounts and begin to create a more sustainable workflow.

“CGCERAMICS has grown organically over the past several years, and last year’s sales impressively doubled those in 2015,” says Goodfellow. “With 25 percent of inquiries discouraged with long lead times, now is the time for us to expand.”



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Untold Content, LLC

Untold Content, LLC, created by Katie Trauth Taylor, is a national writing consultancy that helps innovative organizations share their insights and establish their thought leadership through clear, thought-provoking content.

It serves government agencies, healthcare systems, scientific and technical companies, academic and research institutions and other innovative organizations that seek to establish fan bases to follow their thought leadership. Its team of expert writing consultants collaborates together with clients to think strategically and creatively about content development.

Two years ago, Trauth Taylor left her tenure-track teaching position at Miami University to focus on building Untold. Today, the Untold team creates everything from white papers and research reports to website content and book manuscripts. The range of its professional writing capabilities allows it to reach many disciplines and industries.

“This time last year, Untold was a one-woman company serving one major client,” Trauth Taylor says. “Now, we are a five-woman company serving more than 20 clients. We have proof-of-concept for our idea of a writing consultancy. There’s a definite need for writing consultants in Cincinnati and beyond.”Katie Trauth Taylor, Untold Content LLC

Her vision is to establish the company as a well-loved brand of storytellers here in Cincinnati and to work with clients at the national level. Five years from now, Taylor believes Untold will be a 10-15 member company serving clients within key centers of innovation across the United States and locally.

The emerging company is one of seven finalists in the fourth annual ArtWorks “Big Pitch” presented by U.S. Bank, where they will compete for a $15,000 Judge’s Choice Award and a $5,000 Audience Choice Award during a live five-minute pitch on Sept. 28 at Memorial Hall.

During the Big Pitch process, Untold will be mentored by Robert Sparks, a U.S. Bank Small Business Specialist and Jim Stahly of Score.

The real opportunity for Untold is to tell great stories of the work being done by experts and innovators.

“It’s simply incredible to see the number of scientific and tech startups forming here in Cincinnati,” Trauth Taylor says. “So many wise, hardworking innovators are popping up in our community, and yet many of them aren’t taking the time to pause, look up from their work and tell the world about it. My strong belief is that there are endless good stories that need telling. That’s what Untold is here to do.”

Winning the Big Pitch would allow Untold to invest in a local “home” office space and to start a focused marketing campaign to inform the Greater Cincinnati business and nonprofit communities of its creative, strategic approach to organizational storytelling.

“We need an energetic, collaborative space to call home,” says Trauth Taylor. “Underwriting on WVXU, pushing a brand video on social media and hosting brand storytelling meetups in our new space will all help us inspire more innovation within and beyond Cincinnati.”

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How to Attend the ArtWorks Big Pitch Presented by U.S. Bank:

ArtWorks Big Pitch presented by U.S. Bank returns for a fourth year at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28, at Memorial Hall. Seven of Greater Cincinnati's up-and-coming creative entrepreneurs will each deliver a five-minute pitch in front of a panel of judges and a live audience to compete for a $15,000 Judge’s Choice Award and a $5,000 Audience Choice Award.

Tickets start at $10 and are available here.

Read last week's profiles of Waterfields LLC and Handzy Shop + Studio.