Dry Materials Policies
Here at The Ceramic Shop, our dry materials business has been booming! Between our extensive offerings of various clay, glaze, and colorant materials and our customized dry materials services (including providing dry materials by the pound and our increasingly-popular glaze mixing service), our techs stay busy! As such, we’ve outlined our general dry material ordering policies below for your convenience.
1. For in-store pickup of dry materials by the pound (including clays, glazes, and stains), please allow 24-48 hours (not including weekends) for your order to be assembled. Please note that more complicated orders, such as custom glaze recipes, may take longer. Our technicians will contact you when your order has been completed. The reason for the wait is, in general, safety – because our technical staff are the only ones approved for chemical handling, they are the ones who must fulfill every order. If you need a material or an order sooner, we will do our very best to accommodate you – please give us a call, or email a qualified glaze technician at GlazeLab@theceramicshop.com.
If you are planning a visit to The Ceramic Shop, and intend to pick up custom materials, calling in your order or placing it online (and selecting ‘In-Store Pickup’ at checkout) a few days ahead can save you a lot of time. That way, we can have your order ready to go when you visit us! For your convenience, our storefront is open on Saturdays for pickups, but please note that we do not always have a technician on staff over the weekend. If you are hoping to pick up measured-out materials or custom glazes on a Saturday, please be sure to place your order by Wednesday at least, and please wait for confirmation from one of our technicians that your order has been complete before pickup.
2. We dry-mix custom glazes for just the cost of materials rounded up to the nearest pound (for basic materials) or quarter-pound (for stains and colorants). We’ve received some inquiries as to why we round up; this difference is how we can cover a mixing fee with no additional cost to you. This means that the larger the quantity of dry-mixed glaze you order, the more economical it is for you!
3. We are happy to provide order quotes to you for custom mixes, both dry and wet. Say you have a tried-and-true dry glaze recipe, and you’d love to have us mix a 30-lb. batch for you – but you have no idea how much you can expect that to cost. Perhaps you just need one pound of an unusual glaze, but don’t have access to a lab to do it yourself. We are happy to provide quotes to you for various mixes, materials, quantities, and states (dry or wet) for your project, and we like to ensure that all parties are in agreement before custom mixing begins. This means that you will never get hit with an unexpected mixing fee.
To get the ball rolling on your custom order, all you have to do is send in your recipe and desired amount(s) to our technicians at GlazeLab@theceramicshop.com. Yes, we can provide quotes for different amounts of the same recipe!
4. Custom orders must be paid for prior to mixing. Because we cannot re-sell custom glaze mixes that have not been picked up, we do request that payment is received prior to our technicians taking the time and using the resources to mix your custom order.
5. We can do your homework for you – for a fee. Our custom-mix service presumes that you have done your research on your clay, glaze, or slip recipes, including materials involved and percentages used. If you need some help with any material or recipe research, we are more than happy to help you – however, please note that research-based services will be subject to our consultation fee of $60 per hour. Like our custom mixes, we can most certainly provide you with a project quote prior to embarking.
As always, we are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding these services or policies.
Please call us, or e-mail GlazeLab@theceramicshop.com.