Studio Guidelines & Terms of Agreement
Fundamentals
Previous experience is required to work on the wheel.
No instruction of others except during classes & private sessions. “Instruction” includes both hands-on and verbal guidance. Co-working independently, such as exchanging tips, tricks, discoveries, or creative information is very welcome!
Creative concentration. Please respect others’ space & time. Be sensitive and communicative to others while staying concentrated on your own work.
Inclusivity. All ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, belief-systems, and bodies are welcome here. No tolerance for intolerance.
Shared Workspace
No reserving workspace for yourself or others. No guarantees that a free workspace will be available immediately.
First come, first serve. If workspace is not immediately available, you may have to wait. If capacity allows, you could work in a different method until your ideal space becomes free again. Have a look at our Contact & Info Page to see how busy the studio is at any given time.
No occupying more than 1 space at once, and fully clean up your first workspace before moving to another.
Shelf Policies
2 Week Policy - Wetwork Shelves (in-process work): In-process work & anything under plastic can be kept on our shelves for 2 weeks from the date you created your piece. If you come back to work on your piece, and still need to work further on it, you can update you label date. Updating your label without working on your piece is not allowed. If you leave your pieces on the shelves past 2 weeks, your work will be recycled.
1 Month Policy - Bisqueware & Finished work: Bisqueware and Finished Glazed pieces will live in our studio for 1 month from the date unloaded from the kiln. Work that is not picked up within 1 month will be discarded, used as glaze tests, or sold as seconds.
Workflow
Label & Sign your work. Always label your in process work with a weekly colored post-it, including your email. Our 2 week shelf policy applies. Always sign your work. Unsigned or unlabeled work will be recycled or discarded.
Slow Drying: To keep your work drying slowly, you can wrap it lightly while it stays on the in-process Wetwork shelves, where our 2 week shelf policy remains. You are responsible to prepay for your work before it will be bisque fired. Alternatively, you could prepay for your work in a leather hard state, but keep it wrapped on the kiln room shelves. The kiln team will only fire work once it is fully dry.
Materials: A Materials Fee is weighed alongside each firing fee, to account for materials that go into the kiln. That means you won’t have to pay for any scraps or trimmings of clay that goes back into our recycling bins. We try to keep all materials available & replenished at all times, but deficiencies can still occur, as a result of unpredicted community use or delivery delays. 100% materials availability is therefore not guaranteed.
Tools: All tools & materials at CK are available for shared use. Let us know if you can’t find a tool or if you notice a broken tool, so that we can replace it. No reserving tools or clay for yourself. Always return everything where you found it. Keep track of your tools and put them back where you found them. Sharp tools in the sink, for example, can injure us. Sponges can get mixed up in the clay. If your tools or sponges fall in the sink while cleaning, always retrieve them.
Clay Color Separation: While wedging, recycling, and using the sinks, always use the appropriate color for the clay you are using. Before switching colors of clay at your workspace, always recycle & clean up your first color before moving to the next.
Shared Sinks: Please limit your time at the sink if other people are waiting. Clay washes off best with big sponges, not with running water. If the sinks are overcrowded, you are welcome to use a red bucket to clean directly at your workspace during busy times. Please remember to save water while using the sinks.
Wareboards: Select a matching sized wareboard for your work, rather than a larger wareboard than you need. When moving your pieces on the wetware shelves, always move the wareboards themselves, do not touch the pieces of another person’s work. Always wipe clean your wareboards before returning them.
Throwing Bats: Round bats above the sink are for throwing larger pieces. Do not use a round throwing bat as a wareboard. We need them for wheel use. Bat pins are found at the desk, and should be fastened and loosened before and after use, then returned. Ask for help if you need to secure the bolts to your wheels for using a bat.
Kiln Room
Ready to be fired: We operate a pre-pay system for bisque firing, calculated by weight. We have a price for leather hard clay and a price for bone dry clay which accounts for the equivalent evaporation of water. Once paid, your pieces will be taken to the kiln room and fired within 2 weeks. Please do not place your greenware in the kiln room without paying for it first. Pieces on the greenware shelves without a pre-paid ticket will not be fired.
Signing of pieces: Studio work should always include a signature, with NO DATE. We use the date to locate Class pieces.
Firing schedule: Pieces are fired first come, first serve, and as quickly as possible. Studio work is usually fired within 1-2 weeks. Greenware will only be fired when it is dry enough. Bisque & glaze kilns will be fired when there is enough work to fill the kiln. Current firings & their estimated unload times may fluctuate depending on slower or busier times in the studio. We don’t email studio users when your work has been fired. It is your responsibility to check on it for pickup.
Firing deadlines: To request a special deadline, please speak with a Studio Monitor & leave a note with your request & your email address. We will do our best, but no guarantees.
In-process glazing- 72 hour policy: If you have partially glazed pieces that still need to dry or be finished before being loaded into the kiln, you can leave your work for up to 72 hours on a shelf. Please leave a note with your email address & time you left it there. The safety & storage of your work is not guaranteed on our shelves if left for more than 3 days.
No touching other people’s greenware in the kiln room. Ask a Studio Monitor for assistance if you need to make space on the greenware shelves.
Wareboards used on the kiln room shelves are for external firings, classes, & private sessions. Please put your pieces directly on the shelves to dry.
Breaking another person’s piece: Accidents can happen in a clay studio. CK does not compensate for any broken pieces. If you accidentally break someone’s piece, we kindly ask you to leave a note on the person’s piece with your contact info to work out the issue. In extreme cases, CK will intervene. (for policies on Kiln Damages see below).
Missing pieces: Keep track of your own work. CK can’t be responsible for finding your pieces. In some cases, a refund of your firing fee may be offered, but no guarantees.
Firing Fees, External Firings, & Kiln Results
Payment systems: For all greenware ready for bisque-firing, we require pre-payment. Pieces made at CK will be charged a separate fee if the pieces are bone dry or leather hard. External Firings will be charged one External Firing bisque-firing rate, regardless of whether the pieces are dropped off bone dry or leather hard. Glaze-fired pieces are paid for upon pickup.
Firing time: Work made at CK will be fired within 1-2 weeks. No email will be sent. External Firings can be expected to be picked up within 2-3 weeks, and an email will be sent for External work & class work only.
Pickups & Dropoffs: External firings must be dropped off by booking a Timeslot. External firings & class work must be picked up within 1 week of unload / email date, by booking a Timeslot.
Firing Fee: In-studio Firing Fee applies for work that is made 100% from start to finish at CK.
External Firing Fee: Work made outside or partially outside of CK is charged an External Firing fee. This includes work that is partially completed at CK.
External Firing Temperature: All clay & glaze fired in the studio must be approved with a photo of the compatible firing temperature of the clay & glaze being fired.
Firing Results: CK is not responsible for any unexpected or undesirable results of your work. We offer no refunds for unexpected results that occur in the kiln.
Glaze drips: If glaze from your piece melts onto our kiln shelves, you will be charged an added fee per piece, depending on the size of the melt.
Glaze on the bottom: All glaze must be removed from the bottoms of all pieces before glaze firing. Nothing with glaze on the bottom will be fired. In pre-approved circumstances, an exception can be made if an artist supplies their own glaze supports to prop up an unusual shape.
Firing Casualties: If your work cracks, explodes, or doesn’t survive the kiln in any way, you still pay your entire firing fee. Make sure your walls are well compressed and your form is properly supported. Avoid trimming or carving clay that is too dry. Wall thickness should be between 1/2 cm - 2 cm. Testing your glaze/clay combination always helps to make sure it fits before taking a risk and losing your work.
Re-fires: Not satisfied with your glaze job? We offer 1 free re-fired piece per month, per person, for studio users only. If you re-fire beyond one piece, you pay the full glaze firing fee again. Re-fires will have a lower priority in the firing process. No discount on re-fires for External work.
Donate your Piece: Want to donate a finished piece to the CK Seconds? You won’t have to pay for your glaze firing.
Kiln Damages: If your work causes a kiln disaster (extreme glaze/clay meltdown or explosion), damaging kiln shelves, kiln furniture, other people’s work, or the kiln itself, you must compensate CK for any equipment damaged. If your work destroys someone else’s piece in the kiln, you will be required to fully compensate any other person’s time &/or artwork affected by the damage. Haftpflichtversicherung, or Personal Liability Insurance is recommended to protect yourself.
Professional Clean-up Standards
Dry clay, glaze & plaster in dust form is TOXIC! Always maintain professional cleanup standards. Wipe up ALL clay & glaze before it dries, to avoid ceramic dust becoming airborne and infecting our lungs.
Clean-Up: Always follow our Clean-up checklist, posted in the studio, which includes the floor. Clean-up is included as part of your hours.
No dry sanding inside. Use a dust mask and always sand outside only.
No dry sweeping. The bristles on dry brooms make hidden dust airborne. Always wet the floor first. We also have wet brooms and wet dustpans.
Do not shake out your towel or apron. Wring out your towel after use and wipe down your apron with a sponge before hanging it back up.
Wipe down all surfaces & tools you used. Then squeeze out your sponge and wipe down everything again. Feel free to replace tools while still wet.
Mop the floor under where you worked before you check out.
Payments, Extensions, Logistics
Check-in and Check-out with a Studio Monitor every time you arrive and leave the studio.
Quick Checks such as pick ups, covering/uncovering your pieces, or checking if something has been fired, don’t need to be checked in/out. Any other work you do in the studio such as sanding must be included in your Studio Hours.
Extensions on a Monthly Pass are only allowed in all cases of medical illness or emergencies with a doctor’s note.
Sharing of a Monthly Pass, or any of its remaining hours, is not allowed.
Recommend a Friend: We offer a 10% friend discount for your next purchase at CK if you recommend someone to take a class or purchase a Monthly pass for the first time.
Personal Material / Storage
No personal belongings left at the studio for continual use. This includes shoes & clothing, skateboards, etc. Anything left behind will be put into the lost & found box, and discarded if not claimed.
Outside clay is not allowed in our studio without approval. Different clays with unknown temperatures can melt and destroy other people’s work. For approval, please check first with a Studio Monitor. If approved, you must rent a box for your personal clay, recycle it yourself, or take it back and forth with you.
Storage Boxes can be available for monthly rent if necessary for extra personal materials & tools. Boxes become available from the start date when you purchase the box, for 1 month. Please ask a team member for info. Boxes must be wiped out every month for dust control.
General Studio
Kitchen: Feel free to help yourself to a tea/coffee while you work. Be sure to always put your dishes in the dishwasher.
Visitors: Friends & Family are welcome to accompany you briefly at the beginning/end of your work time. Visitors are always welcome for a tour, however, they are not allowed to stay alongside you while you work.
Digital Detox: No WiFi. Take a break from your devices while working with your hands.
CK Library: Feel free to look at our ceramic books while you take a break, capacity limits provided.
Phone & Video Calls: Please avoid private conversations and be aware of your noise level. No personal calls or video calls allowed.
Noise Warning: Necessary machines will be used periodically in the studio for construction work and clay recycling. Feel free to ask for earplugs if you need ear protection.
Kids 10 years or older can work accompanied by an adult in the studio. The same policies & prices apply to kids.
Strollers & Babies are welcome upon approval, if there is space available. Please ask first.
No bikes or scooters. Skateboards ok.
No pets.
Social Media Credit
Mutually beneficial Social Media Sharing: CK requests that you appropriately credit us @ceramic.kingdom as the host of your creative experience, whenever you post a photograph or video taken in our space. This includes stories & posts on any social media platform. From successes to disasters, we'd love to see what you’ve been working on. When you credit us, we can also easily share your posts with our network.
Data Protection
Photographic Consent: You, your hands, & your work might be photographed at CK, and might therefore appear in CK’s online presence. If you don’t feel comfortable with this, it is your responsibility to let us know.