Glass fusing pulled me in about four years ago when a friend handed me a stack of scrap dichroic glass and dared me to make a pendant. One microwave kiln session later, I was hooked. Since then, our team has fired hundreds of pieces across everything from a $34 microwave kiln to a $700 programmable … Read more
I have spent the last three years firing raku in my backyard studio, and along the way I have tested nearly every affordable kiln that claims to handle raku work. The truth is, dedicated raku kilns from brands like Olympic and Bracker are fantastic, but they also sit in a price tier most hobbyists cannot … Read more
Finding the best test kilns for your studio can feel overwhelming when you are staring at dozens of models with confusing spec sheets. I have spent months researching, comparing, and firing with small kilns to figure out which ones actually deliver reliable results for glaze testing, jewelry work, and small pottery projects. A test kiln … Read more
Spray glazing changed the way I finish pottery pieces, but the mess and the health concerns almost made me quit. Fine glaze particles float in the air, coat every surface in the studio, and settle into your lungs if you are not careful. That is where a proper spray booth comes in. After testing dozens … Read more
If you have ever spent three hours wedging clay by hand for a single afternoon of throwing, you already understand why potters obsess over finding the best pug mills. I remember the first time I fired up a real pug mill in a friend’s studio. We pushed through sixty pounds of reclaimed scrap in under … Read more
If you have spent any real time in a pottery studio, you already know the worst part of the job is not throwing or trimming. It is the endless wedging, the reclaim piles that never seem to shrink, and the wrist pain that creeps in after a long day of prepping clay by hand. That … Read more
I still remember the first time I tried to make 30 matching handles for a set of mugs by hand. Two hours later, half were too thick, a few cracked on drying, and I swore there had to be a better way. That frustration is exactly why the best pottery extruders have become a staple … Read more
A slab roller is a mechanical device that flattens clay into uniform sheets of consistent thickness, replacing the exhausting labor of hand-rolling with a wooden pin. I have spent the last three months putting eight tabletop and full-size slab rollers through real-world tests in our test studio, running batches of stoneware, porcelain, and earthenware through … Read more
Choosing the best pottery kilns for your home studio can feel overwhelming. I remember staring at spec sheets, comparing cone ratings, and worrying about whether my garage electrical panel could handle a 240V setup. After weeks of research, phone calls to manufacturers, and reading hundreds of Reddit threads on r/Ceramics, our team put together this … Read more
Relic hunting is one of those hobbies that grabs you and never lets go. There is something about pulling a Civil War bullet or a colonial buckle out of the ground that connects you to history in a way no museum display case ever could. But finding those treasures buried deep in mineralized soil requires … Read more