Kiln Disappointments

My last firing was a low-fire glaze. I've talked about the joys of unloading a glaze kiln full of bright shiny surprises (yay!), and now I'm going to talk about the disappointment of opening a glaze fire and finding bubbles, cracks, and discoloration (boo!).
 I wanted to fire a full kiln load of glaze pieces, so I've been waiting until I had enough work to do so. That was problem number 1: Anticipation and expectations.
Problem number 2: I bought low-fire commercial glazes that I'd used a long time ago (with good results) so I didn't feel like testing was necessary.
Out of my last firing only TWO pieces were sellable. I have other monkey mugs, a wall piece, and a few other little creations that will have to go in my junk pile. So disappointing! I really should have tested the glazes...

The good news is that I am quite pleased with these two (both are for sale in my etsy shop):

Monkey Mug

Dotted Terra Cotta Mug

Thank you, Brad, for the awesome photos!

My Latest Endeavor

I've been collecting vintage things for YEARS. I discovered thrift stores in high school and haven't spent very much money on new clothes since! I prefer the uniqueness and the history that vintage items have.  I have also been hoarding things for ReLove Projects. I'll find a cool vintage dress and think that I may someday want to use it for the fabric, but then the dress is so awesome that I can't bear to cut it! My collection has become quite large...

About a week ago Brad went to a job interview. The job was to take photos of vintage goods to sell online. It was a part-time job, the pay was measly, but it was an opportunity that he wanted to look into nonetheless. The night before his interview I was looking around my house at all of the unnecessary things I have. My first thought was, "I should sell this stuff." That thought developed into an idea and the idea became Vintage Rhino! Brad and I have officially gone into business together selling quality vintage goods.  Brad is the photographer, tech savvy, and business development. I am the artistic director, collector, and customer service. Right now we're both working constantly on getting our website launched, but until then you can check out our goods on Etsy: www.thevintagerhino.etsy.com.

We are SO EXCITED! It's been really fun- we make a great team. Vintage Rhino gives me a way to sell my vast collection of unused vintage things, it gives Brad a way to use his photography skills and have a job that will pay more than it would for someone else. Over the weekend we photographed a bunch of things I'm ready to let go of. These are some of my favorites: (click on the picture to be directed to our shop)

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering about how Brad's job interview turned out... Before I even pitched my idea he decided that the part-time measly paying job wasn't worth the drive (1 hour + in traffic).

PS- Clay updates coming soon!