A QUICK NOTE

I want to thank you so much for being here and for supporting my work and art. By purchasing my pieces, you are directly supporting a small business, and that means a whole lot to me. I do my very best to be sustainably minded, use compostable and recyclable materials, eliminate plastic in my artist practice, donate profits, create works that are of value to their owners, and work from a place of love. I truly believe objects hold energy, and I do my best to energetically be an open vessel (no pun intended) when I craft vessels, sculptures, and other forms. 

WHY CERAMICS TAKES SO LONG?!?!

Ceramic works and sculptures from start to finish take time…. a lot of time, like most yummy things! There is the time to sculpt, which can take hours, days, or even weeks depending on the piece. Then you have to properly dry the pieces out. Now this part is tricky! You can’t leave your work out in the open to dry overnight, with differences in clay wall thickness, you need to slowly, sometimes over weeks, dry a sculpture out. Uneven drying (the outside drying before the inside) can cause cracking due to the tension on the clay and can lead to pieces exploding in the kiln (all water in clay must be evaporated before entering the kiln). After this you have two firings: 1) your bisque firing; where water is molecularly fired out, turning it from clay to ceramic, and making its surface porous, therefore more suitable for glazes, and 2) your glaze firing, further hardening the clay, and can add either an aesthetic touch to your piece or make them functional. 

PRODUCT INFORMATION:

Due to the nature of ceramics, each piece is one of a kind. I rarely make replicas of forms, so each sculpture is truly its own. No machines and mass production lines here! I’m sure if you’ve landed at this point on my website, you have an eye for unique, one-of-a-kind objects made by hand. Cool, because so do I, that’s why I’m here! 

Each piece I craft is different. Some are sculptural (meant to be decorative) and others functional (food-safe or plant-safe). Objects will be labeled either food-safe or decorative in the description to clarify.  For my functional pieces, I want to note that due to the semi-porous nature of stoneware, sweating and condensation may occur if used to hold beverages or food. 

SHIPPING

Currently, as I am still selling my work on Etsy, all shipping and handling will be processed there. Once your package is in the hands of USPS, I unfortunately have no control over it. Outside of available tracking information, I am not liable for lost or stolen packages. If you live in an area where theft and lost packages are commonplace, email me at: scifres22@gmail.com and I will happily add the signature confirmation to your order in the shipping options. 

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability is at the forefront for me. As an artist creating objects, in a world filled with objects, I’m well aware of the impact I leave on this Earth. I’m always on the search for the most sustainable practices in my life and this includes my artist practice, especially when it comes to shipping. 

All my ceramics are shipped with recyclable cardboard boxes held together with paper tape. Each piece is wrapped in recyclable Kraft paper with added reinforcement from starch-based biodegradable packing peanuts. Lastly, I try to reuse materials so If you find plastic in your package, please try and reuse it too. Single-use packing sucks, but recycling doesn’t have to! My goal is to always avoid virgin sourcing, use recycled materials, and give as much life to existing objects as I can. 

GIVING BACK

Currently, I’m searching for ways I can offset my carbon footprint as a small business. I’m keeping my eyes open and will keep you updated on my socials and blog. So far I’m considering donating some profits to organizations, carbon calculating, or funding nature-based carbon offset and removal projects. If you have any recommendations, I’m always open!

RETURNS AND EXCHANGES

At this time- all sales are considered final. 

Unless there is a flaw, or a piece comes damaged during shipping, orders are not refundable or returnable. 

BROKEN SHIPMENT

All my pieces are packaged with extra precaution to avoid damage, but if damage does occur 1) I’m so sorry and 2) please email me at scifres22@gmail.com within 3 days of receiving the item with images of the piece and its box. I will gladly get in touch with you to fix this issue.

Please note, that if a piece breaks, it is a one-of-a-kind piece. Although I can recreate it, I can’t replicate it. So note that it won’t be exactly the same as the one before. Replacement may take up to 6-8 weeks, depending on the piece, due to the nature of ceramics.