Kiln Crowdfunder

After a flying start on the kiln, the project hit a a bit of a brick wall, with a need for extra funds.

We decided to embark on Wilderness Wood’s first ever Crowdfunder to raise the more than £800 needed to buy the remaining bricks and shelves, and finish the studio.

We were amazed and delighted by the response, and were able to meet our target in just over a week.

The kiln was finished before Christmas and the first firing took place: Yoni and Molly (our super-star volunteers) worked tirelessly to feed the fires to bring the temperature up to an incredible 1050oC. There was then a tense wait to let the temperature drop, when there is a risk of the ceramics cracking - fortunately none of the pots broke, and we were able to sell some of them at the Christmas Fayre.

An inconveniently positioned fire bowl, leading to a potters broken finger, meant the production of new pots has slowed, but we are hoping to have another firing of the kiln in the coming weeks.

Yoni will also be holding the first pottery workshop in March - although this won’t involving any firing of pots.