Crystals and Pots

Our new glaze palette came to fruition through exploring the bright colors of the 90s.  After launching the satin pastel collection we felt it would be a refreshing change to brighten everything up.  We did hundreds of tests to find the right colors in a number of base glazes.  After we set our palette we added zinc to the glaze to grow floating zinc silicate crystals in the glassy glaze

Crystals are a really exciting thing to see in a glaze!  It makes every kiln opening a treat.  Every surface comes out different.  The crystals we are growing are small zinc crystals that don’t require any specific firing schedule - we just let the kiln do the work.  Crystal glazes are typically associated with macro crystals that require a specific cooling schedule and are often formulated to run off the pot.  We wanted to avoid that so we design the glaze to stop and bead at the foot as it melts.  The crystals start as small seeds in the molten glass.  As the glaze cools the seeds start to form crystals because certain minerals in the glaze are binding together to form structures that are amplified versions of their molecular structures in perfect form.  Much like growing crystals and gems in the earth - they are a result of time and heat with the ability to amorphous glass structure while cooling.

The colors started from a 90’s windbreaker.  We were listening to a lot of 90’s music in the studio - Alanis Morrisette, Will Smith, Tribe Called Quest etc.  It seemed like a logical step to pay homage to one of our favorite decades.  To get satisfactory saturation for the colors we did line blends between a highly saturated color and minimal saturation.  This testing is rigorous but very rewarding.

We are excited to launch a high gloss glaze palette where each one is unique because of the crystals.  We love how the colors are complementing the spring season.  To round out the glaze selection we also included a nice satin black with a blush of purple sprayed over it called “INK”.  The whole glaze collection is very exciting for us and a more forward from the satin pastels. This week we launched our Monday Mug, Bloom Vase and Elixir Bottle in the new crystal colors.  Enjoy!