Site Questions

How does ordering a piece work?

You can place an order on pieces using the Online Order Form. The order form asks for your information so that I can contact you as well as the pieces you are interested in and the delivery method. I can provide pick-up or delivery for those in Central PA. I can also accommodate deliveries and pickups in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh area occasionally. Once I receive the order form, I review it and contact you to solidify the details. 

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Why don't you have products on your Etsy?

I launched my Etsy and started creating listings in early 2022. It wasn't long before I realized that I simply didn't have the time and energy to put into my business's Etsy, social medias and products. I made the decision that I would no longer list items on my Etsy in February 2022. The Etsy is still available for those who would prefer to conduct an order through there, although that method does incur an additional fee as Etsy takes a higher % from my sale than any other platform.

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What's a Custom Order?

Custom order would be bringing your own idea to life. It would be a personalized piece or personalizing an existing piece. For example the Facial Hair Mugs are custom orders where the facial hair would be based on the reference photo you provide. Custom Orders can also be a design that you've come up with that you want me to put on a mug. 

I accept Custom Order requests at my discretion.

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Pottery Questions

What is the process?

My pieces are wheel thrown rather than hand built. 

First the clay is wedged to remove air bubbles. Next it's thrown on the wheel and left to dry until it can be trimmed. During trimming, the piece gets it's final shape and attach handles as needed. I let those project dry slowly on my shelf and when they're ready I paint on underglaze and carve on designs. Then the piece is left to dry completely before being sent to be bisque fired. Before being fired, pieces are referred to as greenware, now that it's been fired it's referred to as bisqueware. The bisqued pieces are glazed by being dipped into buckets filled with glaze. Once the glaze is dried, I complete any final touches and it's sent back to be glaze fired. Once it comes out of the glaze fire, the piece is done!

I have some reels on my Instagram that show different steps of the process.

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Why does it take so long?

The biggest bottleneck in pottery is all the time pieces spend drying. Especially for larger pieces. 

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What are some of the difficulties of pottery and things you have to be careful of?

There are so many things. Some things to be careful of:

• Drying pieces well enough so that they don't crack while being fired

• Not drying pieces too quickly so that they don't crack while drying

• Applying too much glaze

• Applying too little glaze

• Not letting glaze dry completely between coats

• Different clay bodies change glaze interactions

Others just happen:

• Cooler/hotter firing temperatures can happen for a number of reasons and cause the glaze to do unexpected things

• Other pieces that are being fired can do unexpected things which can affect surrounding pieces in the kiln

• Piece warping (when the shape of a piece changes during a kiln firing)

That's not a complete list, but it gives you an idea. For someone who enjoys certainty, I don't know why I'm so drawn to an art that is extraordinarily uncertain. Definitely great practice in going with the flow.

And that's why custom orders have such a long timeframe associated with them. Stuff just happens sometimes!   

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