Chocolate Glaze

Last month we had an order for a custom sink. The buyer wanted it a matte black for a rustic look. We didn't have a glaze that matched what she wanted, but she was willing to pay us to mix and test a glaze for her. We were fortunate that our potter friend Tom Gray had a glaze that was exactly what she wanted. He even had a 5 gallon bucket of it, that he was no longer using, and was willing to sell to us. It worked out perfectly!

Doesn't it look like a big bucket of melted milk chocolate?

It takes two of us to glaze most sinks. Jeff turns the sink as I pour the glaze over it, and into a bucket.

This is the finished sink. It's very different from others that Jeff has made, both in shape and glaze.

You may have noticed that I have played around with the format of my blog. I wanted to "lighten" it up a little, and give it a cleaner look. Jeff took a look at it and said the font is too light for him to read. My off the cuff response was, "Well you don't have to read it!" In reality, I don't wan't it to be difficult to read, so let me know what you think... should I darken the font? Let me know in the comments. Thank you in advance for feedback!

Vessel Sink

A recent customer sent us a photo of their vessel sink, installed in their newly remodeled bathroom. It's very rewarding to see how beautiful they look in the setting they were intended for!

This "nuka" white glaze is definitely the best seller. Check out Jeff's Etsy shop to see more of the vessel sink styles that he can create. Special order sinks typically take about 6 weeks to complete. We often have a few that are in stock and ready to go. We have shipped all over the USA and as far away as Saudi Arabia.
Jeff Brown Pottery on Etsy

All In A Days Work...

There hasn't been anything too exciting happening around here. Jeff and I have been busy with the usual production.

Sinks and pigs are continuing their popularity into 2018.

Late yesterday I finished this round of salt pigs, piggy banks, and big piggy banks. I think when all was said and done there was around forty. It seemed like it took forever to get them completed. Our studio has been very humid and I did a lot of shuffling them around, covering, and uncovering to get them to, and keep them at, a workable state.

We are enjoying some warm Spring like temps and the daffodils are blooming. No matter how many years I live in North Carolina, flowers in February will continue to amaze me!

Vessel Sink

I love this vessel sink! So much that I would love to keep it. Unfortunately it doesn't fit in with our 1960's brick ranch style house. Jeff threw the bowl on the wheel using stoneware clay. The cobalt brushwork was applied when the clay was leather hard. He fired the vessel sink in the salt chamber of STARworks wood kiln. The end result it reminiscent of the pottery Jeff made while working production in New Hampshire for both Salmon Falls Pottery and Northwood Pottery.

 If you click on the photo, it will take you to Jeff's Etsy shop.

Delivery

 Last week we were just about out of Highwater Aurora clay. We called our local supplier on Friday to say Jeff was coming to pick up some clay and materials, only to find out Aurora was out of stock. Two weeks before it would be in stock again. Yikes! We have sink orders to fulfill and this is the clay we need for them. Jeff got on the phone with Highwater, in Asheville, NC and they said they could get it to us by Tuesday. The cost difference was negligible... just a few dollars, and it would be delivered to our door.

What we didn't know was that UPS would deliver in an 18 wheeler! The driver was great and he was able to back into our long driveway.

We must have been the next to the last delivery, because the big truck was just about empty. The driver was very helpful in getting our clay and glaze materials unloaded. In no time he was on the road again, and Jeff was back to making sinks.

The Sink Glazing Dance

Yesterday was glazing and loading the gas kiln day. Jeff and I had three sinks to glaze including this monster size one that is big enough to take a bath in...

We are fortunate enough to have an intern from East Carolina University this month. She took photos and a video of the process. It's been great to have an extra set of hands around the studio. You will be hearing more about intern Liz in future posts.

This video is glazing one of the smaller sinks. The big sink was a real pain, and didn't go as smoothly. I probably would have to edit out some of the colorful language in that video to keep the blog's PG rating!

The kiln was loaded by 6:00pm. I bricked up the door while Jeff switched out a burner that was giving us trouble. Our day was done by 7:45 pm. Jeff lit the first burner at 7:00 am this morning. We are hoping to put her to bed by 8 or 9 pm today. We are so anxious to get the studio moved to the new house. It's so much easier to live and work in one location.

Celebration of Spring in Seagrove!

The Celebration of Spring Pottery Studio Tour is my most FAVORITE event of the year! The countryside is green, the flowers are blooming. It's a perfect time to get the spring cleaning done in the gallery, rearrange inventory, and put out new pots.

Happy couple with a new vessel sink for their bathroom remodel

It was super busy day. Barely enough time to eat lunch in shifts. We still have some nice pots available and day two starts tomorrow. If you are in the area, please stop in!

Yearning for Spring

I was browsing through photos yesterday and came across this one, take on March 1, 2011...

The tulip tree did not look like this on March 1, 2015! There are a few fuzzy buds and that's it. We are expecting warmer temperatures this week, even a possibility of 74 degrees. In between those warm days it is still expected to drop into the 20's overnight.

 Despite the struggle to keep warm and dry, some pots have been made and bisque fired. Yesterday I got all the underglaze applied and wiped down.

Today we will glaze and start loading the kiln. My glazing will be straightforward... mostly nuka glaze and the usual assortment of piggy bank color combinations. There are a few sinks for this firing. Jeff and I do those together. I pour the glaze and he does the turning, dumping, and dipping. It's sort of a dance that we have choreographed quite well. It can get messy, so we like to set up our dance outside. Looks like we picked a good day for it.

Vessel Sink Making

Jeff has started off the new year with a couple of orders for vessel sinks. I was in the studio and with my phone so I decided to take some photos of him in action.

The studio has a small area near the back door that is lower then the rest of the room. It's sort of an awkward space and it's where we keep our glaze buckets. Jeff has made the two levels work to his advantage for throwing sinks. He moves one of the wheels to the edge of the higher level, putting the wheel at a good height for him.  The stand up wheel that he uses everyday is higher than this. He uses his whole body to center this large amount of clay, which means his clothes have to be hosed down outside before going into the washer!

Jeff uses a torch to stiffen the clay while making sinks. It allows him to finish throwing them at one sitting. You'll notice that he throws them on a large plaster bat, attached to the wheel head. They are ready for trimming in one to two days. They take forever to dry so he usually loads them into the electric kiln and keeps it under 200 degrees for a few hours. The next morning they are ready to bisque fire, but still going very slow at the beginning.

If you'd like to take a look at some finished sinks, this link will take you to Jeff's Etsy shop:

Jeff Brown Pottery

Time Flies

Has it really been a week since my last blog post? I have been so busy that the week has flown by. In between taking care of customers (traffic is picking up around here) we mixed glaze, glazed pots, loaded and fired the gas kiln. Last night we started to unload the kiln. More than half of it was filled with piggy banks for a wholesale order. The other half was two vessel sinks and some odds and ends.

The snakes were part of the "odds and ends".

It's a good thing my sister doesn't read the blog. She doesn't like snakes in any way, shape, or form.


We had our fingers crossed that this sink order would fire perfectly and it did!

We had another made and ready to go just in case. It is the first time that Jeff and I have collaborated on a vessel sink. This order came from a show last Spring, where we barely made our booth fee. Getting this commission made the show worth going to.
Have a great Sunday, hopefully I will have something to say before next Sunday arrives.

Pigs Can Save Your Life...

... or at least the day.
Jeff and I had time at Lazy Daze to think of all kinds of things that our spectacular pigs can do for you. Cook dinner, clean the house, CPR, mouth to mouth resuscitation, and all the while saving you money. Yeah, we were getting a little punchy by the end of the day. When all was said and done, the pigs saved the show.

There was a good crowd at Lazy Daze. They just weren't spending much money. The people who were selling in the $10 to $15 range, where doing okay. We didn't sell a single mug or wine cooler, both of which are typically popular.

Jeff tweaked our outdoor show booth to include a display for vessel sinks. He did get a few good leads on special orders. At the end of the day, thanks to the pigs, we covered our expenses and made a little money. We are seriously considering going back next year, with a booth of pigs.
Piggy banks, piggy jars, piggy salt and pepper shakers. We will just go hog wild.

running water

We spent today battling the frozen water pump/pipes issue that comes along with arctic temps in a structure that wasn't designed for this kind of weather. As I looked at the dishes piling up in the sink, my mind drifted to the vessel sinks that Jeff has been making, and shipping out across this country and Canada...

Jeff's sinks are a generous size, deep and wide enough to function well. I have seen, and used, many vessel sinks that just weren't deep enough to wash your hands in without splashing water everywhere.
Clicking on the first photo will take you to Jeff's Etsy shop where you can take a look at pricing etc. We have a few sinks in stock, but most are custom ordered.

I am hoping that tomorrow we will have water and I can wash all those dishes that are piling up! In the meantime, I hope you are all fairing well in these frigid temps.