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No kiln? No problem!
Armadillo Clay now offers firing services! Our highly-experienced clay professionals will fire your low- or mid-fire clay pieces in our Quonset Hut Studio right here at Armadillo Clay. Turnaround time is approximately 1-2 weeks. Drop off anytime Monday through Friday, 9am - 4pm. Once your work is fired, we will call to collect payment! It's as easy as that! |
The Rules
To protect our equipment and other customers' work, we have a few basic rules when it comes to our firing services.
- You must know what clay and glaze you used on your work. We will not fire unknown clay or glazes. Commercial bisque is always welcome!
- No paper clay or paper armatures!
- Work must be dry or nearly dry. We will NOT use our kilns to dry your damp work.
- All work must come to us boxed. No loose pieces.
- We do not fire glass or precious metal clay.
How to Pack Your Work
Greenware is fragile, and so is unfired glaze! To ensure your pieces survive the car ride and the trip to the kiln, make sure to pack each piece carefully. Wrap each individual piece in old newspaper, towels, or bubble wrap to keep them from getting damaged. Armadillo Clay is not responsible for any damage that occurs due to insufficient packing. All items must be brought to us in a box (or multiple boxes). All containers and packing materials will be returned to you along with your fired work. If you are bringing low- and mid-fire work, pack each in separate boxes.
Penalties
Though rare, any damages to our kiln or kiln furniture directly attributed to your work will result in replacement or repair charges at your expense. This includes but is not limited to: glazes running onto the shelf, unknown or misidentified clay melting to furniture, and armatures burning off or fusing to the shelf (if wire).
Pricing
Pricing is calculated by the amount of space your work takes up in the kiln, and is estimated when we load your pieces. When your work is fired, we will call you to let you know how much the firing cost and collect payment. However, we can usually give you an estimate when you drop off your work, just by taking a look at what you've brought. Here are the pricing tiers:
$5.00 - A single small piece such as a coffee mug or cereal bowl.
$12.50 - A few small pieces that can fit into a 13" x 13" square (up to 8" tall).
$17.50 - Half shelf in one of our big round kilns. As many pieces as we can fit into a 26"L x 13"W x 8"H space. (This is the most commonly-used size.)
$26.25 - Three-quarter shelf in one of our big round kilns. As many pieces as we can fit into a 26"L x 19"W x 8"H space.
$35.00 - Full shelf in one of our big round kilns. As many pieces as we can fit into a 26" diameter x 8" tall space.
$5.00 - A single small piece such as a coffee mug or cereal bowl.
$12.50 - A few small pieces that can fit into a 13" x 13" square (up to 8" tall).
$17.50 - Half shelf in one of our big round kilns. As many pieces as we can fit into a 26"L x 13"W x 8"H space. (This is the most commonly-used size.)
$26.25 - Three-quarter shelf in one of our big round kilns. As many pieces as we can fit into a 26"L x 19"W x 8"H space.
$35.00 - Full shelf in one of our big round kilns. As many pieces as we can fit into a 26" diameter x 8" tall space.
FAQ
What cones do you fire to?
Can I glaze the bottoms?
That depends on the firing temperature. For low-fire work, the answer is yes, so long as the piece isn't too small! For cups, bowls, trays, figurines, etc, feel free to glaze the bottoms! We can put your pieces up on stilts (little spikey stands) for firing.
For mid-fire (cone 5) work, the bottoms of your pieces must be completely free of glaze. Leave a minimum 1/8" glaze-free clearance at the bottom of your pieces.
What about underglaze?
Though underglaze will usually not stick to the shelf at mid-fire temps, there is some risk of certain colors fluxing out just enough to become 'tacky' and stick to the kiln washed shelf. This may result in small bits of kiln wash stuck to the bottom of your pieces. We are willing to fire mid-fire work with underglaze on the bottoms, but it is at your own risk.
Low-fire work with underglaze on the bottoms is perfectly fine and should not stick.
Do you fire beads?
Yes, we will fire ceramic beads, but you must provide your own bead rack for the glaze firing.
I need this tomorrow! Can I pay extra for a rush firing?
Firings are done on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not offer any rush services.
- We fire all low-fire (04-06) work (bisque and glaze) to cone 04. Though most glaze instructions recommend 05 or 06, there is rarely any noticeable difference in results firing low-fire glazes to 04. Doing so allows us to get your work through the kilns and back to you much faster.
- All bisque firings are done at 04, no matter what clay body.
- Mid-fire glaze firings are done at cone 5.
- We can also fire Gold Luster and Mother-of-Pearl Luster at cone 018.
Can I glaze the bottoms?
That depends on the firing temperature. For low-fire work, the answer is yes, so long as the piece isn't too small! For cups, bowls, trays, figurines, etc, feel free to glaze the bottoms! We can put your pieces up on stilts (little spikey stands) for firing.
For mid-fire (cone 5) work, the bottoms of your pieces must be completely free of glaze. Leave a minimum 1/8" glaze-free clearance at the bottom of your pieces.
What about underglaze?
Though underglaze will usually not stick to the shelf at mid-fire temps, there is some risk of certain colors fluxing out just enough to become 'tacky' and stick to the kiln washed shelf. This may result in small bits of kiln wash stuck to the bottom of your pieces. We are willing to fire mid-fire work with underglaze on the bottoms, but it is at your own risk.
Low-fire work with underglaze on the bottoms is perfectly fine and should not stick.
Do you fire beads?
Yes, we will fire ceramic beads, but you must provide your own bead rack for the glaze firing.
I need this tomorrow! Can I pay extra for a rush firing?
Firings are done on a first-come, first-served basis. We do not offer any rush services.