A Super Handy Way to Calculate Firing Fees Carrie Wiederhold

Kiln space rental is always in demand because many home potters aren't able to afford their own kiln or the electrical work needed to set one up. I myself have often let friends rent space in my kiln because it helps me fill the kiln faster and fire more often. But I have always used a pretty unscientific approach to what I charge—namely, does X amount sound reasonable to you?

I have often thought that I should be a little more careful about what I charge for kiln space rental and I figure other potters might also wonder about this very topic. So in today's post, and excerpt from the Ceramics Monthly archive, I am sharing Carrie Wiederhold’s great system for calculating kiln space rental charges. –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

PS. To see how Carrie answers some frequently asked questions about this system, check out the November 2018 issue of Ceramics Monthly!

While there are many ways to calculate firing fees for pottery studios, we studio owners and operators seem to struggle with how to charge our members and students for firing their pieces. There are countless posts and message boards that pose the same question: How do you charge for firing in your studio and why do you do it that way?

That leads to more and more questions. Should we charge a flat rate? Should we charge separately for bisque and glaze firings? What are studio costs for firing? How big are your kilns? The list is endless!

Firing Fee Box

At my studio, Gailanna Pottery in Macomb, Michigan, I have come up with a way to calculate firing fees for students and members that are firing outside of the scope of our class and membership prices. After a lot of reading, suggestions from peers, figuring, and Google searches, I came up with our firing box and fee schedule.

Our firing fee box consists of a three-sided, three-dimensional grid that gives us the cubic inches or cubic feet for each piece. To make your own, here is what you will need:

• 3 standard-sized foam poster boards
• Tape (a sturdy tape to hold up to studio dust and water) I used blue painters tape because it was what I had here already.
• Permanent marker
• Yard stick

Mark all three boards with 1 inch lines, both vertical and horizontal, forming a grid.

Turn two boards with the gridded insides facing each other and tape the outside long edges together to create a book cover that will open to a 90° angle.

Place the remaining board (the base) so that the gridded side is facing one of the taped boards, and tape the outside bottom edge on the short sides. You should now be able to fold the bottom down and have what looks like the inside of a cube (think geometry).

Label the inches on each board where they are easily seen. We labeled them at each side and marked off 5-inch increments with bolder lines.

Mark the maximum firing height for your kiln (this is the max height you are willing to fire inside of your kiln, not your actual kiln height). I also drew the outline of my kiln shelves on the bottom board for kiln shelf reference when artists are making pieces with a large circumference.

Now that you have your firing fee box, this is how I go about measuring pieces and charging for space in the firing.

Measuring and Charging for Kiln Space Rentals

Bisque (cone 04) and glaze (cone 6) firings combined with the use of studio glazes is charged at $.06/cubic inch. The $.06/cubic inch is based on electricity during firings, kiln maintenance and replacement costs, space costs, loading and unloading, as well as glaze costs. Those are averaged out per firing/per kiln for a year. There are firing-fee calculators you can use online to determine your base rate.

Here’s an example of how we determine the exact cost of firing a piece: A mug that measures 4 × 3 × 5 = 60 cubic inches. 60 × $.06 = $3.60 for that piece to be both bisque fired and glaze fired, using my studio glazes.

Artists measure their pieces at the greenware stage. I have a triplicate carbon-copy sales ticket booklet that is used to record the name of the artist, the dimensions of each piece and a description. One copy is placed on the pieces, one is kept for their record and once stays in the book. When you choose to settle up on the fees is up to you.

the author Carrie Wiederhold, owner of Gailanna Pottery in Macomb, Michigan, teaches beginner through advanced wheel-throwing classes as well as creates her own work for several juried art shows and markets. She has been working with clay for 13 years. To learn more, visit www.gailanna.com.