shawnhar

Yes Johnny, it's great and also a little scary. It's a gift shop with a little bit of everything. - When I said :a shelf", what I really meant was a shelving "unit" with 5 shelves, 8ft wide by 12in deep. Plenty of room for now.

Well, I am officially a potter now, sort of. Still a long way to go but the foundation is there. We have a retail store that has done well and I finally left my corporate job to pursue pottery further (and our store). We have a shelf in the store to sell my wares and it does around 1k a month, I know it's not much but that is passive, it just sits there. looking forward to this next chapter in our lives! My sponge holders have come a long way!

Pretty sure every store bought mug bowl or plate we own would not survive this, lol.

Mark, I aspire to reach your level, but alas, I have entered a strange new world, and I am but an egg.

This... It sounds like your physician could be the but of an old joke... Doc, it hurts when I do "this". Doc- then don't do "that". I wish you luck and hope you can find a way! - I like the idea of throwing small items, less clay is always easier on my bones.

That is awesome thank you for the inspiration!

Yeah but... he only makes mugs! That was my dream, to just make mugs, they are my favorite.

This x1000 I learned this the hard way!

OMG that is adorable

I will put a dragonfly on a spoon rest, or make "one like that, but in this glaze". I will make a berry bowl in "that" color, with a saucer for drips, etc.... But real custom work is a no, even though, I end up doing it anyway, my wife thinks my abilities are greater than they actually are, so I end up making a garlic keeper or something I don't normally make. I always feel the customer is a little disappointed, at best.

I hate them. My wife and I have a running joke that I will divorce her if she takes another custom order.

This makes me very sad... Iv'e had my eye on some 26" for my big kiln because of the price, but why would anyone ever buy these if they warp at cone 6? That is the most common glaze firing.

This is what I would do, just hit the bisque with black underglaze as if it were a wash.

I would! (And I did) I love books for learning things like how to wire electricity, or replace the ecg valve in your car, but I HATE books for learning movement/skill things, like pottery or guitar. Find what works for you, and don't be afraid to fail up.

Thank you! - That was exactly the kind of info I needed, you guys are awesome!

Thanks Neil!

Sorry to ask but I have had no luck searching other than one post that said 12-14 hours. Finally got my big kiln wired in and will be testing soon, but I am missing how long to set the timer for. I have a bunch of failed pots I will be loading the kiln with so it will still have the same mass as a "real" firing, but only a few "real" glaze pieces. I plan to do low 1hr, med 1hr, then high. How long after the switches are moved to high does it take this kiln to typically reach cone 6?

I made the handle by slapping the clay down like you would if you were going to make a slab without a roller, but it results in a pretty random set of ridges and valleys.

No freebies unless it was my fault, but I give them the option to replace the one they broke for half price. I look at it like a wholesale price for customer retention/good will and it's less than the cost of advertising with a more positive interaction.

I hadn't thought of it like that, but I agree completely! Thanks

Thanks all. I don't usually make mugs like that, but sometimes I like to add an unusual one to the mix, sometimes it's just the handle, sometimes textured with slip, etc... to make a unique item. There are lots of folks that buy those simply because they are really different, in fact those usually sell faster than the "normal" ones. My policy was assuming they would break a regular one, (I make 3 shapes) and just grab one off the shelf. The customers are well aware of the fact that reproducing one of the weird ones is not really possible and I have had folks just straight up buy another mug because they broke a weird one, but this man was very attached to this mug and asked me to try. We discussed it and tempered expectations. I',m going to make 3 and he can pick the one he likes the best, or one from the shelf. @Babs He bought it this past Winter, the picture is one I took when I made it. @Callie Beller Diesel That is actually a mug I made this Winter so I'm not sure how much my work has "evolved" since then, lol, and yes, the weird handle was the biggest factor. @GEP I would maybe tell this customer to pick another mug, but I am really low on stock right now and they are all "normal", the unusual aspects of this one was the reason he bought it, so I agreed to try, plus he is the only person to ever ask for it. I can reproduce the technique used to make that handle, basically slapping the clay down like you would if you were going to make a slab without a roller, but it results in a pretty random set of ridges and valleys.

I have a policy where I tell folks I will replace their mug, spoonrest, sponge holder, etc... all the day to day use stuff, for half price if they bring me the broken pieces back. In 3 years no one has taken me up on it. Well, today it happened, but yikes, the one time the person takes me up on my offer... and it's "that" one! I told the customer it will never be the same, there is no way to recreate that handle, sigh...

No way the VL lite can do 20lbs, you would be lucky to do 10. I can stop it with 5. The Wisper is WAAAAAY better, but even it would probably struggle with 20lbs. You want to use large amounts of clay go with a Skutt.

If you look closely you can see hundreds of little blisters. I think they were always there but you have finally "rubbed through" them with your spoon and stuff can now get in there. If the "stuff" is just coffee then I wouldn't worry too much, but if it ain't coffee stains it could make you sick, so no, not food safe. Having said that, a rock from the woods is "food safe" if you heat it up enough, just sayin, 450f heat kills everything

Same for me. I don't trim unless I have to, I give my pieces a visual foot while throwing and be done with it.