Getting your own kiln at home is exciting… but it’s also a whole new learning curve. Here are 5 things I wish I’d known before my first firing — so you don’t have to learn the hard way. 1️⃣ Use witness cones on every shelf 2️⃣ Get to know how your kiln actually behaves 3️⃣ Learn manual programming 4️⃣ Test glazes with different firing schedules 5️⃣ Sort your ventilation before you fire anything None of this is scary — it just makes your firings more consistent, your glazes happier, and your stud

Amber Grace Ceramics on Instagram: "Lately I’ve been deep in manual kiln programming mode 🔥 Not because something was wrong with my clay or glazes — but because the kiln needed a bit more conversation. These were the issues I ran into, what was actually happening, and how manual programming helped in my case 👇. Save for when you next have fitting issues. 1. Bloating This one showed up in the glaze firing, even though the problem started way earlier. Gases hadn’t fully escaped during the bisque