A Tour of Our New Studio - How we set our pottery studio

[@micheledickey4066]

What an incredible space!! I remember when you were in the little room behind the house! I would like to suggest that you look into if you really need to fire your kiln without anything in it. I have been a potter for over 20 years and I have never even heard of that and I can’t think of any reason you would ever need to do that. I know some people do that for the very first firing but that is a waste of energy as well as wear and tear on your kiln. Love your videos. The different kinds of shelving you have is just brilliant!!

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hi Michelle, I don't really ever have an opportunity to empty fire the kiln anyway. It's just something the manual recommends to help clean/repair the oxide layer on the elements and extend their lifetime. Not sure how useful it is though. Thank you!

[@marcocampagnaro7068]

Love the new studio! And yes I would like to see your office!!

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Aw thank you Marco! Great will pop it on the filming list :)

[@marcocampagnaro7068]

Thank you!! Really appreciate! And thank you for making such beautiful creations! It's an inspiration for us who are at the beginning!

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

@@marcocampagnaro7068 That's so lovely to hear! Thank you so much for your support :)

[@janlewis9099]

Lovely garden space, so you can separate the glazing and firing. I love the organisation and flow in your studio. ❤

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Ah thank you! Yes I like having them separate but I am also very jealous of potters with very big studios that have everything all in one place too!

[@houseofkenney5062]

I LOVE my standing wheel, too. Your space is lovely.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Ah thank you!! Yes the standing wheel is such a game changer! xx

[@islandgirrrl1]

Thanks from Canada for sharing your beautiful & organized setup! Might you be willing to share your dark green glaze recipe, please? It is so pretty and, as you said, a difficult colour to find.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hey so glad you found it helpful! The dark green is this one glazy.org/recipes/112401 with 7% copper I think :)

[@ellenthompson6474]

Thank you for such an informative and helpful tour! I learned so much from watching this! You have created a fantasy pottery forest! Congratulations and thank you for your generosity.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hi Ellen thank you so much for your kind comment :) So glad you found it helpful xx

[@liianabanana6320]

That green I love

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Yay thank you!!

[@liianabanana6320]

So lucky what a beautiful space

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Ah thank you so much!! very lucky :)

[@delankageharankahawa2407]

I enjoy every minute of your work. Great.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thank you!

[@gracechan2538]

Thx for all the information 🙏❤️

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

No worries, thanks!

[@erikapeterson3484]

Lovely. Terrifically helpful.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

That's great! So glad you found it helpful :) Thank you fro watching!

[@girileo8821]

Beautiful 🥰🥰

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thank you! 🤗

[@scottperkins7375]

You've built a very nice studio. It seems like we never have as large of a space as we want and you've done a nice job of utilizing the space you have. You said you use "slate" to decorate the little fam houses you make. How to you attach the slate? Thank you for inviting us into your studio. - Scott at Indian Oaks Pottery

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hey Scott! Thanks so much, it doesn't matter how much space you have, a potter will instantly fill it! To embed the slate i just crush it up into little bits with a lump hammer and then push it into the walls when its soft. It never really falls out once fired at all, althought it might depend on the stone you have available and your clay body I would think. I've done a few tests with other stone and crystal, like quartz, and some definitely don't enjoy their time in the kiln!

[@smaranikamohanty4436]

I really love it 💓💓💓💓

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thank you so much! :)

[@smaranikamohanty4436]

@@BlankEarthCeramics welcome ❤️❤️

[@sashasherkat792]

Great studio tour! Love your space. Just wondering what you have made your working table out of? Also how long from when you started doing pottery to when you set up your own studio and started selling? Love your work. Xo from Canada!

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hey Sasha, the table top is made from water-resistant MDF, there's a link in the description if you want a closer look and some of the details. I probably was learning for about one and a half or two years before I sold anything, and then maybe another year before I actually got around to setting up the studio properly. That was more because I was living in Singapore though and didn't have any space to set up a studio or anything like that Thanks!

[@kathrincockhill1746]

Thank you ..this was so useful.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

So glad you found it helpful! x

[@adelbendavid5512]

Really enjoyed watching your tour. I am about to set up a studio but a larger one for classes etc. I have the same wheel as you and ordered a diamond core tool grinding disc bat but mine didn’t fit the wheel for some reason and yours seems to look different. Did you have to make adjustments with your batt?

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

So glad you found it helpful and good luck for your new studio - how exciting! I had the same problem because of metric vs imperial measurements - they are very slight out. I bought a diamond core pad that is smaller and has sticky back plastic on the back so I could attach it to a wooden batt that fit my wheel. www.scarva.com/en/gb/DiamondCore-Tools-120-Grit-Diamond-Grinding-Disc/m-7783.aspx

[@HelenField-s9t]

Hello, thank you for sharing your studio set-up - it is a useful video because I have just got a quote to convert my single garage into a studio, which I am really excited about. Is it okay to keep a kiln in the same space or should I house in a separate building? What would be the best solution please? Also, I plan to use the garage studio year round (I live in the UK) and was wondering what the best form of heating will be?

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

That's great news! Congratulations :) You can have the kiln in the same space as long as you vent the fumes out and make sure it has the recommended clearance from surrounding furniture etc. I use an electric heater but it isn't the most efficient - I'm hoping my next studio will be much bigger then I'm planning to have a wood burner but that would depend if you have the space. I recently have put a de-humidifier in the studio to remove the excess moister in the air but as a by product it does also generate heat which is fab. I'm sure you have but make sure the garage is very well insulated so that will help a lot :) Thank you so much for watching! Su x

[@jennifernewman8668]

Please let me know where you bought the diamond disc that you use for grinding the bottom of your pots on the wheel? Thank you, Jen

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hi Jen its from diamond core tools: diamondcoretools.com/collections/diamond-grinding-discs Thanks!

[@alisn.7998]

Very interesting to see how you’ve set up after trying it out for a while. Where did you say you get your batts, as I couldn’t catch it. Thanks.

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Thanks Alis! All my batts are from Hartley and Noble hartleyandnoble.co.uk/

[@irishemmap]

Thank you for sharing, love to see other people's set ups. I'm new to pottery and about to invest in my first kiln. I'm looking at keeping it outside in a metal shed (like bike/bin storage thing). It doesn't look like you have vents on your kilns, do you find the windows in the shed provide adequate ventilation?

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hey that’s amazing! Congratulations on your first kiln. Yeh I would say so - I open all the windows when it’s firing and that seems ok for us. I don’t keep anything else in the room just the kilns x

[@irishemmap]

@@BlankEarthCeramics thanks so much for replying, appreciate it.

[@minipott]

what a sweet setup! I am so jealous! Is the studio very cold in the winter? I live in Canada so I don't think it would be possible for me to setup something like this. Certainly couldn't store clay outside!

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Hi Catherine! Ah thanks so much :) It does get chilly in the winter but the electric heater I have works ok as the space isn't so big. I think if the studio was a little bigger I would look into getting a wood burner for the winters. Hehe it might make things a bit tricky if you left your clay outside!

[@andreasdeluma521]

Do you store the clay outside during the winter? Isnt it bad if it freezes?

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Yep I store it outside - if it freezes the water with just thaw again when it warms up - you just have to make sure that you wedge the clay properly as there with be 'fractures' in the clay where it froze. It doesn't affect the actual clay though :)

[@yourbeamofsunshine]

How often do the elements need changing?

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

I think it's around every two years if it's normal used e.g. not firing it all the time. Our elements needed changing very quickly (before a year) because we had a kiln that was too small for the amount of pottery we needed to make so it never got a break or day off haha! Now we have upgraded to a bigger kiln I hope that wont happen again!

[@jamesbingham4538]

Simon Leach perhaps??

[@BlankEarthCeramics]

Yep I love his videos! xxx