Make something that’s real and physical, enough with the computers!
Templates can help you make cups, simple vases and even a teapot if you’re feeling adventurous, or you can make free form shapes.
When the items are done we’ll bake them and they’ll turn solid and white. About two weeks later they’re ready for optional painting.
What does the clay cost and what does painting cost?
A kilo of clay is $60 plus tax. A kilo is typically enough for two regular sized mugs or two figures.
You can make as many items from the kilo as you want, but we discourage making many small items if you want to paint them later because it’ll get expensive.
Painting is optional and after baking you can take the items home and paint with your own acrylics at no charge. Acrylics paint is not food safe and does not get baked again.
If you choose to paint in the studio, the charge is $20 plus tax per item. and you can use either our acrylics or our shiny glaze paint. Small items must be painted with acrylics.
Any tips for a good result?
The most important tip is to attach pieces properly. The surfaces of the pieces must be scratched up (scored) and wetted a little to make them gooey. Then press them together and wiggle a little. If the pieces are joined without proper scoring, they’ll most likely separate during baking.
You must avoid large, solid chunks of clay so don’t for example make a snowman from three solid balls of clay. The walls should be no more than two centimeters thick at most. If it is a hollow shape there must be an airhole for the moisture to escape.
The clay dries quickly if left sitting out so wrap up pieces you’re not immediately using.
Fully dry clay is extremely brittle and cannot be reattached if it breaks.
What if the items break in the kiln?
We bake the items carefully after an appropriate drying period, but we cannot guarantee that the items are intact after baking. If you follow the tips in the other column the chances of success will be greatly improved.
The clay is heated up to about 1100C in a process that takes a day or more. Our position is that if the items broke during firing in our kiln they would have broken if they’d been fired in a kiln of your own. Therefore there is no refund or do-over if anything breaks, sorry.
Will you fire clay items that I’ve made with my own clay?
In some cases, yes. It depends on the circumstances at the time, like what kilns are available, how busy we are etc.
We only do cone 04 clay firings so the clay must be “low fire cone 04” clay. If it is “high fire” clay we cannot fire it, sorry.
For the firing, the rule of thumb is that you pay for the space you need. The following prices assume a cone 04 firing. Minimum space is the room taken up by four standard mugs next to each other, which will cost $35. Tall items may come with extra charges. A full kiln load is $100. Painting of the fired items is not included the price.
Can I store unfinished clay projects in the studio?
Sorry, it’s not possible for us to store work-in-progress in the studio. If your project is not finished, we’ll wrap it up safely in a box and you take it home where you can finish it before bringing it back for firing.
A clay project dries over the course of a day or so under cover, and if left too long it becomes too dry to work on, so it’s best to take it home to do detail carving etc.
How long do I have to pick up the items?
We have limited storage space so once they’re baked the items must be picked up or painted within 30 days. We do not guarantee they’ll be kept for more than 30 days, but if you need them kept longer you just need to tell us.
We call you as soon as the items are ready for pickup or painting, and we will call again before the items are disposed. Make sure you check your phone messages. Unfortunately we do not compensate if the items were disposed.