Friday, March 21, 2014

Kickstarter Update

My kickstarter project has reached 93% of the funding goal in 72 hours! That is just amazing! I am blown away by the generosity and support, thank you so much. There are still 26 days left so plenty of time to contribute if you are interested.  If there is anyone out there interested in contributing but not interested in the pots I have a plethora of deer tail brushes available.  The brushes won't show up on the kickstarter page but you can specify by sending me a message via kickstarter.  The best part ist that the brushes are available immediately.  You can contribute to the existing rewards:
$15 for one brush
$35 for two brushes
$50 for three brushes

You can view the project here.

Cheers y'all!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Kickstart my kiln.

Hello to all my loyal blog readers.  If you've been keeping tabs then you know that I'm in the process of tearing down my wood kiln and replacing it with a new kiln.  2013 was not a stellar year for the pottery business so I've decided to try an alternative method of funding for the kiln.  My initial plan was to try a "buy a brick" program that a few other potters have used with success, but not having the web skills to set that up left me seeking other options.  I have chosen to go with Kickstarter, they have a proven track record as well as a great format that's easy to use for computer illiterate folks like myself.  If you're not familiar with kickstarter, the basic idea is that you contribute and in return for your contribution you receive a "reward".  In this case you receive a certain piece or pieces of pottery depending on your contribution.  The kickstarter format is all or nothing.  So if the funding goal is not reached then the project is considered unsuccessful and the backers aren't charged. So that's it in a nutshell. There is a short video and a lot information about the project on the site so I won't go into it here, the video is also at the end of this post.  My project can be seen by clicking here.

To make it an incentive the pieces you receive for your contribution are below retail and shipping costs.  The pieces will be shipped out after the kiln is up and running, but if you're local or catching me at a show, you are more than welcome to come by the shop and pick out your pot(s). I also will be more than happy to send pictures of pieces for you to choose from.

As an added long-term bonus I intend to write an article about my burners with full disclosure about their construction and operation.  Open-source kiln firing, if you will. 

Well, that's all I have for now.  If you have any question/concerns about kickstarter, my project, the rewards, the universe, etc. I will be more than happy to answer them.

Cheers y'all!


Saturday, March 8, 2014

Steady slabbin'


I poured a slab yesterday for the new kiln.  It's an 8x10 slab, enough room for the kiln and the apparatus for the oil burners.  I've positioned the new slab right outside the studio to make loading and tending the kiln easier.  It'll have a roof over it sooner or later.  This coming week is our spring break and I'm hoping to make some headway getting the wood kiln down and maybe getting this one started. I busted up a wheelbarrow full of pots from the shard pile and used it as fill underneath the slab, an offering to the kiln gods if you will.  I did this with the last kiln and that kiln produced great pots.  Maybe it's just an empty gesture but why tempt fate?

 

One of these days I'll actually get to make some pots.

Cheers y'all!