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Best Way To Approach This Custom Job?


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I'm considering accepting an offer to do some custom beer steins for a local pub.  They have a logo they want me to put on them and are happy to have many different styles, colors designs.  We agree they would be a wholesale order, 50% up front, Total payment on delivery. And a small batch to start with.

 

My question is, what is the most efficient way to get the logo on them?  It is round and I can make a stamp, have a stamp made, or stamp each letter in with alphabet stamps I have.  Is the round shape going to make getting a round stamp on them harder?

Then, how to glaze?  RIO in stamped impression, then wax and dip?

This is a new direction for me, I'm tempted, but would be happy to learn from other's experiences.  Thanks.

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I use a rubber stamp that for chalices and patens that is oval in shape. As my patens(plates) are not flat, I have removed the wooden backing and press it into the paten with the end of a fettling knife handle. The same technique will work well for your situation. However, if you made a plaster or bisque impression as a mold of the stamp, and then applied a sprig made from the mold you would have raised lettering that might work somewhat better for your purposes. With this technique most glazes would break over the high area of the sprig and show well. You could also highlight it as you said with the wash.

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Get a stamp made. It will cost less than $20 and save you a lot of time. There are tons of online sources.

 

Make the sprig thin, like 1/16", then lit it stiffen up to almost leather hard before applying. Staining the stamp with underglazes looks great. Apply the underglaze, wipe it down, leaving the underglaze in the recesses. Then wax over the sprig and glaze the pot.

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I'm tempted to make a few beer steins for Christmas as gifts..so am curious to see what others have done in the past! I may try and a few with red iron oxide and the rest with underglaze.

 

I may also make a few Mom and Dad coffee mugs for some of the new mom and dads that I know. I'd like to add a footprint on the sprig along with their names but haven't quite figured out how to add the footprint yet. May carve it or paint it with underglaze..

 

Would you recommend stamping on a sprig and then attaching it to the mug or stamping directly on the surface?

 

-Ria

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What I did for a custom order of mugs that had printed words was:

1) get a PDF file of the logo to be used.

2) send this logo to a sign printing shop that has cutting capability on their plotter, and have them cut a stencil out of stiff Mylar (I paid about $25 for this)

3) Use this stencil as sort of a silk screen. Print the image upside down onto a piece of newsprint with regular slip, about the same consistency as Greek yogurt. You could use coloured slip, but I just used the same clay body.

4) Let the slip set up for about 60 seconds, and apply to a leather hard mug with gentle pressure. Do not remove the paper until the slip and mug together are quite dry.

 

I glazed mine with a celadon that highlights the letters, but you could use this with any clear-ish glaze that breaks and pools on a similar fashion.

 

I have some good images of this in progress on my website, under Distress Centre Mug, and I have a not so good image of the finished ones in my gallery here.

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Chris, the wholesale and custom designed part is the 'new'.

I make mugs and soup bowls with stamped designs on them ,but the stamps are smaller than this would need to be for readability, and the roundness of the piece is not a factor in ease of stamping cleanly,

I am ok with a variety of ways to get where I'm going, but interested in input on the most efficient way.

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I would get the stamp.

Cut a thin circle of clay with a cutter

Like Neil says apply that and stamp

This gives a stand out look and is easier to glaze around and wax

Not sure what temps your going to but fill impressions then clean off and wax over and glaze.

Clean quick easy

Mark

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