Kiln shut down

Terrible timing last month, I had a private session scheduled on 10/31 that went well. After she left and the glue dried it was time to start firing and I found out the controller went kaput.  Crapped out, failed and with the most awful noise.  Called my  kiln distributor and the end result, best guess, is that the relay died.  Waited for the replacement and it did not work.  Back to square one waiting for more new parts, throw in a vacation before Thanksgiving and end result no work done since the beginning of October.

The new parts came today and it still does not sound right.  Will try a trial firing this weekend.  If it does not work properly, it will be time to call in a repairman.  I never expected a big problem so soon.  Of course it happened within 6 months of the warranty period. I do not use it every day and not with high firings, so it is a bit unusual.  Need to continue to prepare for my next holiday show in December with something else.

Festival Update

OK, here it is.  I have put it off long enough.  "The Too Life Festival" was not to successful for most of us this time around.  I covered my fee and a bit more, that is very disappointing after the last time I attended when I made very good sales. Everyone blamed the economy and that the event was in October instead of September as usual. And many people were busy with sports or weddings on 10/10/10, because attendance was lower than normal too.

After taking my time to repack and restock my shelves with my fused glass so that I can find what I need for later sales, I took some time off.  Since I worked all summer we postponed a short vacation.  Just got back from Pacific Grove.  Needed to recharge and the ocean really does that for me.  In fact water in general does that for me.  Must be because I grew up living 50 feet from a river.

I am back and all set to work. One of the people stopping at my booth asked about any classes I offered.  After following up with her she came this weekend and completed a plate. Sunday I was ready to fire her project and my kiln kept on making alarm sounds. Just great I thought.  In addition to her firing I needed to make a few more items for a holiday boutique.  My kiln is only 3 years old.  Called my distributor and after hearing the sound using my cell phone he figured out that it is a broken relay not a broken alarm. New part on the way.