The Pottery Process

Throwing:

First the vessel is thrown on the wheel, and then it dries to a leather-hard stage overnight. Carving and Texture: After the vessel is at the leather-hard stage, it is trimmed. Then texture or hand carving is added. Logo: Once the piece is trimmed, the genuine KC logo is stamped on the bottom to give it the mark of quality.

Drying:

The vessel dries out for several days before it is fired. At this stage, it is called "greenware." Electric Kiln Firing: Once the vessels are dry, they are loaded into an electric kiln and then fired for the first time (bisque firing), which hardens the piece into a less fragile state called bisqueware. This firing takes one day and then the pieces cool inside the kiln the next day.

Glazing:

The vessel is removed from the electric kiln and is now ready to be glazed. The hand-mixed glaze recipes were developed and perfected specifically for our gas kiln with the result being a range of unique colors and combinations. All the glazing components are natural and lead-free. Once the glazed piece is fired in the gas kiln, it is food-grade and oven, dishwasher, and microwave safe.

Gas Kiln Firing:

The vessel is loaded into our gas kiln for the final firing, called the reduction firing. This firing takes about twelve hours, and the kiln reaches temperatures of up to 2370˚F. The temperature of the kiln is watched closely throughout the day and increased manually every few hours. During this process the kiln is put into "reduction," which means it is starved of oxygen. This is the stage that brings the characteristic beauty out of the glaze and makes each piece individual. During this stage of the firing, some of the glazes develop speckles or splashes of different colors due to the process of oxygen being pulled out of the clay body. After the firing, the pottery cools within the kiln for 36 hours.

Finishing:

After the gas kiln is unloaded, the bottom of each piece of pottery is sanded to ensure that there are no sharp areas. At this point, the pottery is packaged for sale. The detailed process used to make our hand-made pottery makes each piece individual and of heirloom quality. Both the decorative pieces and the functional-ware are produced from all-natural clay and glazed with natural mineral glazes – a truly "green" process.