Developed a lockdown clay addiction and need to know more?
Here’s some answers to some of the most common questions we’re asked about hand-building at home:
Do you offer a firing service?
Yes, our ‘fire and glaze’ service is available to book here.
Can I glaze myself?
Yes, we offer glazing workshops, where you have 2 hours in the studio to finish your pieces using our glazes. New dates will be set once lockdown ends.
Do I need to fire my creations?
If you want to be able to use them, yes. To make functional ceramics you need to fire them in a kiln – luckily for you, we have a couple! We fire the clay all the way up to 1250°c, so it’s not something you can do at home. Clay that’s only left to air dry is not only super fragile, but it will crumble and return to its original, wet, sloppy state as soon as it makes contact with water.
What does the ‘fire & glaze’ fee cover?
Our $45 fee covers two firings and glaze for the 3kg worth of clay included in your hand-build-at-home kit. The first firing is the ‘bisque firing’, and the second is a ‘glaze’ or ‘stoneware’ firing. General firing services elsewhere charge around $9/kilo per firing, (so firing 3kg of clay would amount to $54 alone, plus the cost of a glaze.) Pottery kilns are specialist equipment so they’re expensive to buy, run and maintain. They use energy to run and time time to load and unload, but we think it’s worth the effort – once your work is fired and glazed, you can keep your creations forever and use them whichever way you’d like – coffee, flowers, candle holders, whatever!
Do I need to cover my work in plastic?
Only if you are still working on a piece! Once your masterpieces is done, uncover that baby and let it dry out.
Do my pieces need to be dry before firing?
Yes. Clay needs to ‘bone dry’ before we put in into our kilns or we run the risk of clay explosions! If you’re not sure if something is dry enough, you can still drop it off for firing. If needed, we’ll be able to tell, and we can just dry it out for longer in our studio before firing.
How long does clay take to dry?
This is a tricky one, the answer is that it’s completely weather and atmosphere dependent. In the depths of a Melbourne winter, it could take 2-weeks or even longer for large items. As our weather warms up, the best thing to do is take advantage and leave your work out to dry on a sunny, breezy Spring day.
Can you leave things drying for too long?
Nope! Even if you still have things waiting to be fired from lockdown 1, they are still completely fine to fire.
Do you use food safe glazes?
Yes, all of our glazes make your creations safe for eating and drinking.
Can I choose my glaze colour?
Unfortunately it’s not possible for us to glaze specific items in specific colours, so you do have to put your trust in us a little. We keep a stunning selection of house-made glazes on rotation at our studio and we only ever put glazes that pop into our selection. You are welcome to select ‘neutrals, colours or a mix’ when booking to give us an idea of what you like.
How can I stop my work from breaking in transit?
Before firing, dry clay or ‘greenware’ is at its most fragile. Try and limit any movement as you transport you work to us – we recommend lining your box and padding around your work with a bathroom towel, tea towel or excess packaging from all those online lockdown purchases! Any delicate attachments, like handles, can be supported with scrunched up tissue or newspaper.
Something else you’re not sure of? We’re happy to help! Get in touch below…