Gregory D Lamont on sun 10 may 98
Dear Clayarters,
I know this topic has been addressed in the past, but it seems to have been
long enough ago that I can't find anything in the archives so I'll broach
the topic again: I have been asked by a friend to bisque-fire some tiles
made by her Sunday school class and to do a glaze firing for someone
else.. Both parties are willing to pay me. Trouble is-- I don't know what
to charge them and I want to formulate some sort of policy for this. I
will be firing these in a 7 cu.ft. electric kiln. For others who've fired
work for others: What factors did you use to arrive at your price? Or, did
you just "pull a price out of the sky?" Did you charge by the piece or
set a price for the for the whole load? What do you think is a reasonable
price to ask? TIA for all your suggestions/advice.
Regards,
Greg
u1004425@warwick.net on mon 11 may 98
Hi Greg,
I 've been charging a high price for this convenience, and it works for
me for a few reasons.....$2.00 per pound for EACH firing..(.that
includes the cost of the glaze.Pots are weighed, a quick sketch of each
put on a bill because many people would argue about the size or colour
of the finished peice.) This high price disuades the curious only, and
is still resonable enough for the serious to have their work fired. When
people ask, "How come so much?", i reply that part of the fee is to
cover the space that their piece takes up on my shelves. Lots of people
have their pots in my kiln, so it must be working!
Good luck,
Marilyn Dale
Jean Lehman on mon 11 may 98
I charge $50 to fire a whole load in my electric kiln to cone 10.
Or, I also charge by the piece. Someone gave me the following idea, and I
have used it for several years.
Take a 16 inch square box and cut away the top flaps and two joining sides,
leaving the bottom and two sides. Mark that off in one inch squares in all
directions. Write 10 (cents) in the first square on each of the three
pieces, and then increase each square in all directions by five cents.
To measure a pot, just stand the pot in the corner. I add the two largest
dimensions together. Thus, a 5x3x3 mug would be 10+5+5+5+5 for the
height, and 10+5+5 for the width (I don't charge for handles) or 30+20 or
fifty cents for a mug. The least possible charge is 20 cents... which
sometimes I'll cut back if there are beads or tiny things that just get
stuck into empty places... especially if there are lots of pieces at once.
I tried to figure out how to picture it, and failed, but each side looks
like this, except it is completely filled out. The three squares in the
corner would have 10s in each one.
|60
|55
|50
|45
|40
|35
|30
|25 30 etc.
|20 25 30 35 etc.
|15 20 25 30 etc.
|10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 etc.
It seems to work out all right with neither party feeling ripped off. I
usually just let the person do the measuring and I trust them to pay me a
fair amount. In fact, they are usually more careful about getting it right
than I am. I do give a break to Sunday School or Scout troups... and often
just donate or ask for a little to cover the *real* cost.
Hope this helps.
Jean
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Dear Clayarters,
>
>I know this topic has been addressed in the past, but it seems to have been
>long enough ago that I can't find anything in the archives so I'll broach
>the topic again: I have been asked by a friend to bisque-fire some tiles
>made by her Sunday school class and to do a glaze firing for someone
>else.. Both parties are willing to pay me. Trouble is-- I don't know what
>to charge them and I want to formulate some sort of policy for this. I
>will be firing these in a 7 cu.ft. electric kiln. For others who've fired
>work for others: What factors did you use to arrive at your price? Or, did
>you just "pull a price out of the sky?" Did you charge by the piece or
>set a price for the for the whole load? What do you think is a reasonable
>price to ask? TIA for all your suggestions/advice.
>
>Regards,
>Greg
---------------------->
Jean Lehman, in Lancaster, PA
j_lehman@acad.FandM.EDU (that's an _underscore_ not a hyphen)
http://www.art-craftpa.com/lehman.html
Check out the 1998 Strictly Functional Pottery National at:
http://www.art-craftpa.com
MiltonsLin on mon 11 may 98
Hi Greg!
If you check cooperative studios, commercial potteries, and other places
offering to fire the work that a potter creates, the most common approach is
to offer it by the cubic foot of space in the kiln. The actual rate is figured
by the cost of fuel used by the kiln. Electricity is usually more costly than
gas (particularly in rural areas!). The per-kilowatt hour rate is multiplied
with the number of hours it takes to fire the load to a given cone. Another
factor to consider is labor (what it costs to pay someone to load the kiln--in
your case, this would be you).
So I suggest you combine these factors when coming up with a kiln charge for
your customers. Best Wishes!
Milton, of Yucca Valley
David Hendley on tue 12 may 98
I would not even CONSIDER firing a piece for someone
in my cone 10 firings.
No matter what they say.
The possibility that it was made with a low-fire clay is
just too disasterous an outcome.
Just another something to think about....
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@sosweb.net
Stephen Mills on tue 12 may 98
Over here at Bath Potters' Supplies we operate a firing service for
customers. The charges are based on the average cost of firing the kiln
to stoneware plus a percentage for wear and tear plus a small profit
margin. Thus our 4 cu ft Olympic is charged at 14 UK pounds per firing
to any temperature, plus sales tax (VAT), for the use of the whole kiln,
or proportional to the amount of space taken if more than one person's
work is fired. While we take the best care possible, all firings are at
customers risk.
This service is very popular, and has helped a lot of people out who
initially could not afford their own kiln.
We operate three kilns, of which the 4 cube is the biggest.
Steve
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
home e-mail: stevemills@mudslinger.demon.co.uk
work e-mail: stevemills@bathpotters.demon.co.uk
own website: http://www.mudslinger.demon.co.uk
BPS website: http://www.bathpotters.demon.co.uk
Stephen Mills on thu 14 may 98
In response to the anonymous sender of the extract and comment below:
Yes, we have a 1 cube, a 2 cube, and the 4 cube. the firing service is
offered as a helpful service, a sideline if you like . All three Kilns
work virtually all the time. Our main business is as Potters' Suppliers,
that's what we concentrate on. Most people only bring in small amounts
of wares. When they get serious, they buy or build a Kiln.
Steve
In message <1.5.4.16.19980513105959.2a371c88@mail.odyssey.on.ca>,
Stephen Mills writes
>
>We operate three kilns, of which the 4 cube is the biggest.
>Steve
>--
>
>Steve:
>
>Are you serious? your *biggest* kiln is 4 cubic feet?
>Is this a mis-print?
>
>
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
home e-mail: stevemills@mudslinger.demon.co.uk
work e-mail: stevemills@bathpotters.demon.co.uk
own website: http://www.mudslinger.demon.co.uk
BPS website: http://www.bathpotters.demon.co.uk
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