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I've been firing one 7 cubic ft electric kiln with an overhead vent hood for the last 8 years or so. I'm getting ready to purchase a second kiln of the same size.

I think it might make sense to also buy the undermounted vent now, because I could use one vent for both kilns, and fire both kilns at the same time, and this would take up less space in my small studio.

My other option is to buy the swing-arm bracket for the vent hood, so both kilns could share the hood. This would not be as space efficient, and would only allow me to fire one kiln at a time. I don't think I have room in my studio for two overhead vent hoods. This option would be cheaper. And because I am already used to this vent, I know my firing results will be the same.

I guess my main question is ... has anyone made the switch from vent hood to undermounted vent, and were there any differences in your firing results? I'm leaning towards the undermounted vent, but I don't want my pots to look different!

Mea

One of the glazes at the studio where I teach is behaving very strangely. The sludge that settles on the bottom is gelatinous and sticky. It's very difficult to stir the sticky sludge back into the glaze. Even when the glaze appears to have been stirred thoroughly, it will separate when fired. It will look like the normal glaze, but with blotchy patches of clear glaze here and there.

The recipe contains Veegum, which is the only ingredient that I am not familiar with, but I do know it helps with suspension. I'm wondering if this is causing the sticky situation. If so, can this batch be saved? Or, does anyone have suggestions for how to avoid this problem?

Mea

Hi everybody,

I just added a new installment to my "Hourly Earnings" blog series, where I measure the value of my time spent on my online store.

For those of you who are contemplating online selling, I hope my experiences will encourage you to try it. Whether you choose Etsy, BigCartel, or any other available venue ... it doesn't take a big investment of time, and there's only one way to find out if it will work for you.

Enjoy!

http://www.goodeleph...line-store.html

Mea

I've started a new thread for comparing the various online venues that are available to potters. We've had related discussions before, this one is mostly about the pluses and minuses of Etsy:

http://ceramicartsda...ence-for-sales/



Chris Campbell mentioned WholesaleCrafts.com in another thread. This website is for connecting handmade makers with wholesale buyers. I think this is the least expensive way to enter the wholesale marketplace, but it is best suited for lower price range items.

I'd also like to mention ArtfulHome.com. This website/catalog is highly selective and upscale. It was a printed catalog long before it was a website, they've been around for a long time. You can apply to work with them through JuriedArtServices.com.


For me personally, I decided to create an online store last fall, and I chose BigCartel.com. BigCartel provides a store and a shopping cart, but unlike Etsy it does not provide a marketplace. I decided I was not interested in any traffic that Etsy could bring, given that there are 100,000s Etsy stores. My BigCartel store is designed to look like my own website, not an Etsy store, and I don't mind the responsibility for driving my own traffic there.



If anyone has more to add to this topic ... questions, success stories, cautionary tales, etc ... please share them in this thread.

Thanks everyone,


Mea

To anyone who is interested, on my blog now I reveal my thoughts about one of my secret weapons for selling pottery:

http://www.goodeleph...alespeople.html



EDIT: Does anyone else have any "secrets" to share? They can be things to do and things not to do.

Mea