Contacting the Wholesaler

Credit: lunchshow.co.uk

Preparation

Whether preparing for a trade show or direct approach to a wholesaler, you need to get things to a good standard before making contact.

This can be a lot of work, but it will benefit your sales across all the venues you have work placed.  Wholesale gets your work out to multiple locations, develops your relations with shops and, by extension, to communities and to customers that you would not be able to reach by yourself.

Presentation materials

You need to have a clear identity to your work – something which binds the separate pieces together, making it clear that it is your sensibility that runs through the works.

You need to have a pricing strategy that runs through your range of products.  This will be connected to the target market that you have identified.  This is important to getting your work taken up by wholesalers and stores.

Excellent photographs of your work are needed in all the literature you produce for the buyers. Photography can make all the difference. Include photos that highlight your story and integrate with your products.  These should be consistent across all your materials.  They should have a unity of style whether shot on models, on background (normally plain white or black), and with props that support the story of your work.

Line sheets

credit: sewport.com

Line sheets are simple listings of each of your products with a code, title, sizes, and prices with each product line and variation on its own line on the paper. Create simple, readable line sheets with clear instructions on how to order, minimum order levels for discounts, and all your contact and banking details. If you have a required means to get in touch, make sure that is included on the line sheet.  The line sheet is essentially an order form which each of you will have a copy, and from which you will create the invoice.  The agreed payment terms, including supply dates should be written on the line sheet when agreed.

Information on product and maker

Write the material for promotion of your work and yourself clearly and concisely.  Start with the most important information about the business and products. Details and methods should come much later.

Be consistent in the way you describe your products.  Always consider the target market.  The wholesaler will be much more dispassionate about the products than the ultimate buyer will be. The descriptions show the trade what your target customer is like and so they can see what the fit between your work and the shop’s offering is.  Use the concepts and words that are familiar to the ultimate customer. 

Review your literature many times, proofread, and finally get a friend to look over the materials for style, spelling, consistency and accuracy.

Your complete contact information is required on every piece of printed material.  It also is needed on all online and email communications.

The meeting

Do the work to know who you are contacting by name and job title.  Use the person(s)’ names, refer to the business, store or shop, indicate you have followed any blog or social media postings, and if relevant, be knowledgeable about the local area.

Be selective in what of your work you present to the buyer. You don’t have to have all your lines of work in shops.  You probably could not cope if you did.  Consider what you can supply in quantity that will fit with the shop’s offering.  This will relate to the materials you can source in bulk (for discounts), and what you can produce quickly and easily.  To offer the best prices at a profit, you will need to determine processes that can be streamlined; designs that can be simplified; processes that can be done by less skilled people.

Remember the buyer’s interests during the meeting

They are looking for a range of work that has wide appeal – to both/all genders.  A price range for different works to appeal to a range of customers is needed. 

You need to demonstrate you know what is going on in the design and crafts field and can respond, keeping your offerings fresh and contemporary. Colours, themes, shapes, interests change, and you need to show you are aware of current trends.

Owners are looking for exclusivity.  Store owners want to sell items that no other venue in their area has available.  It is arguable that the more of your work a shop sells, the more exclusive the two of you should become.

Part of the appeal for the shop is signed and dated pieces.  It adds to the caché of the work.  This should be done discretely to avoid distracting from the whole of the work. 

Often owners expect not only well-made items, but displays too.  At the least, you should have presentation boxes that show off your work well.

credit: theproductmart.com

Trade Shows

The alternative to trekking around shops is to attend trade shows.

Trade shows are a place to make contacts – shop owners, fellow crafts people, and representatives.  Yes, you are there to get orders, but the people you meet may be your future customers. Your contacts might help you understand the market better, or move your work in different directions.  It is a place to gauge how your work is perceived, and what you might change or re-enforce.

Networking can help you in gaining new contacts, and even friends in the crafting community.  Visit other stands and arrange to have a coffee break during the show with those you find compatible. You can compare notes on the show or general business stories with those who are not in direct competition.

Have your product display in evidence at the show.  If that is not possible for some reason, have photographs of it in your literature that you can hand over. This enables potential buyers to see how your work might be displayed in their shop.

Take material to the show that you can hand out to prospective purchasers or representatives.  This could be inexpensive samples, the essential business cards, literature, and of course, the line sheet that you complete with the orders at the show, or be taken away if you cannot get them to commit immediately.  Be sure you get material from them too and that you record what they were interested in, so you can contact them after the show.  A contacts book for you to keep information in is essential.

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Selection of a gallery or shop in which to place your work is a complex interaction of commission levels; the value you place on your time in preparing for and attending craft fairs or putting your work online; the perceived prestige of the shop/gallery; the potential relationship between you and the outlet; and the relationship of the consignment, wholesale and retail prices.

Sintering

This is a process used in glass to stick glass together without any change in appearance of the separate pieces.  It has various names - fuse to stick and lamination are two.

General description
“Sintering or frittage is the process of compacting and forming a solid mass of material by heat or pressure without melting it…. Sintering happens naturally in mineral deposits [and] as a manufacturing process used with metals, ceramics, plastics, and other materials.

“The atoms in the materials diffuse across the boundaries of the particles, fusing the particles together and creating one solid piece. Because the sintering temperature does not have to reach the melting point of the material, sintering is often chosen as the shaping process for materials with extremely high melting points such as tungsten and molybdenum….
 
“An example of sintering can be observed when ice cubes in a glass of water adhere to each other, which is driven by the temperature difference between the water and the ice.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintering
 
Applied to glass this means that you can make a solid piece out of multiple touching or overlapping pieces that do not change their shape.  This is done by using low temperatures and very long soaks. 
 
The usual process is to take the glass at a moderate rate up to the lower strain point.  The rate of advance is slowed to 50°C or less to a temperature between slumping and the bottom of the tack fuse range.  The operator must choose the temperature, largely by experimentation. 
 
The slow rate of advance allows a lot of heat work to be put into the glass.  This, combined with a long soak (hours), gives the molecules time to combine with their neighbours in other particles.
 
Sintering can be done in the range of 610°C to 700°C.  The lower limit is determined by the strain point of the glass being used and practicality.  

The upper limit is determined by the onset of devitrification. This  has been determined by the scientific studies of sintered glass as a structure for growing bone transplants.  Devitrification reduces the strength of the bonds of the particles at the molecular level.  These studies showed that the onset of devitrification is at 700°C and is visibly apparent at 750°C regardless of the glass used.  Therefore, the choice was to use 690°C as the top sintering temperature. 
 
For reasons of practicality the lowest temperature tested was 650°C.  Indications were that at least an additional two hours would need to be added to the sinter soak for each 10°C reduction below 650°C.  This would make for a 12-hour soak at 610°C.  For me this was not practical.
 
My recent testing has indicated some guidelines for the sintering process:
 
The ramp rate has significant effects on the strength of the resulting piece. 

• A moderate rate (150°C) all the way to the sintering temperature needs a two-hour soak at the top temperature. 
  
• A rapid rate (600°C) - as used in medicine – to the sintering temperature requires approximately six-hours soaking.
• A rapid rise to the strain point followed by the slow 50°C per hour rate to the sinter temperature requires a three-hour soak.

 
The temperature range of 610°C to 700°C can be used for sintering.  The effects of the temperature used have these effects:

• With the same rates and soak times, lower temperatures produce weaker glass.
• The lower the temperature, the longer the sinter soak needs to be for similar strengths.  Generally, the soak at 650°C needs to be twice that of sintering at 690°C.
• Lower temperatures produce more opaque glass.  In this picture all the glass is clear powder and fine frit in the ratio 1:2, powder:frit.

 

The annealing of sintered objects needs to be very cautious. The particles are largely independent of each other, only joined at the contact points.  The annealing soak needs to be longer and the cool slower than for simple tack fusing. 

• Testing showed that annealing as for 12mm is adequate. 
  
• There was no advantage of annealing as for 25mm as that did not increase the strength.

 
Porosity
Although the structure of the sintered glass appears granular, it is not porous except at or below 650°C.  At the lower temperatures, the glass becomes damp on the outside and weeps water.  At 670° and 690°C the outside became cool to touch but did not leak water.  This observation depends on evenly and firmly packed frits.
 

Grain structure at 650C

Grain structure at 690C

The keys to successful sintering of glass are the use of a heat work through slow ramp rates, and long soaks throughout the whole firing.

Further information is available in the ebook Low Temperature Kiln Forming.

Craft and Wholesale Pricing

Craft fair pricing 

Image credit: craftprofessional.com

An important element to be considered in setting prices for pieces at a craft fair that are also consigned to a shop, is that the price the shop is selling your item at, is also the price you should be asking at craft fairs.  Without doing this you risk losing the consignment arrangement with shops and stores.

Also remember that when attending craft fairs or pop up shops, you are doing the setup, travel, marketing, sales, etc., that the shop is doing in a commission arrangement. That cost needs to be reflected in your price for the item at a craft fair, even if different work is being offered.  Especially if the craft fair is in the region of any of the shops or galleries you have placed similar items, you need to be fair to the shops in your pricing to be able to continue supplying them.  The same principle should apply to your online sales.

Some people solve this problem by having a craft fair range and a consignment range.  The craft fair items can be offered at a slightly lower price, if you must. But remember to factor in the costs of craft fair and pop-up shops even when pricing craft fair lines.

Wholesale pricing

Image credit: erplain.com 

Also note that your price on consignment needs to be high enough that you can take wholesale orders without losing money.  Wholesale orders are where the buyer pays you for the work in advance or upon delivery without taking a commission. They normally expect to buy at a lower than commission price and multiples of the work you are offering.

Maybe you feel you do not want to do wholesale work.  Stop a moment to consider that instinctive reaction. Wholesale means you have made the sale already without having to wait for the ultimate sale to occur, as you would on consignment. You do not have the administration of keeping track of stock in various galleries. You have certain, and almost immediate income. All these things make wholesale attractive.

It is the expectation that the wholesale price will be half or less of the retail price.  To make the piece affordable to the wholesaler and for you to still make a profit, you need to add something to the consignment price to enable the items to be sold by the wholesaler and the consignee at similar prices. This is most often less than the full difference between wholesale and consignment prices because you receive the money up front.  Cash can mean quite a lot.  You also need to have enough cushion to be able to give a discount on orders for multiples of the piece.  And that means you need to set the minimum order number to get that discount.

The bottom line (as they say in accountancy circles) is that you need to set the wholesale price first and then work back to the consignment price and retail price.

The wholesale price should be about 10% above the absolute minimum price where you can make the desired profit.  This enables you to offer that amount of discount for orders of multiples of your work.  This then implies the retail price is twice the wholesale plus taxes.  The consignment price will be about 70% to 60% of the retail price (based on 30%-40% commission levels).  More realistically, you can visualise the consignment price to be 10% to 20% higher than the wholesale price, leaving the shop to add their percentage on top of your price.

Image credit: seobook.com

Selection of a gallery or shop in which to place your work is a complex interaction of commission levels; the value you place on your time in preparing for and attending craft fairs or putting your work online; the perceived prestige of the shop/gallery; the potential relationship between you and the outlet; and the relationship of the consignment, wholesale and retail prices.

Firing multiple layers

Glass Stela
Credit: Stephen Richard

Fusing multiple layers is prone to the creation of multiple large bubbles.  It also needs a strategy to schedule for thick layers.

Avoid bubbles

A widely recommended strategy for stacks of glass is to fire in pairs of layers. Then combine the fused two-layer pieces in a final firing. 

It is easier to fire two layers of glass than 6, 8 or 10 layers. The heat up is easier and less time consuming for multiples of 6mm than multiples of 3mm. The bubble squeeze schedule is simpler.  It also allows inclusions between the initial two-layer sheets and then between the layers of 6mm sheets.

This multiple firing strategy reduces the risk of large bubbles in a stack of multiple pieces. It seems the weight of the 6mm layers forces the air out from between the thicker glass more effectively than thinner layers. 

It is also a simpler set of firings.  If you were to want to make up a 12mm thick piece from 3mm sheets, your heat up will be very long compared to firing two layers in three firings.

E.g. Stone* recommends a heat up for 2 layers of 3mm glass:

240C/hr to 250C, no soak

400C/hr to 500C, no soak (a bubble squeeze could be inserted here by raising the target temperature to 650, with a 30-minute soak)

500/hr to top temperature.

This is about 2.3 hours to top temperature without the bubble squeeze and 6.7 hours to cool.  This means that you could fire twice in one day, if organised well.  If you are planning a final tack fused layer that should be done in the last firing of the combined layers.

However, it is a much longer schedule recommended by Stone for 6 layers of 3mm glass:

• 25C/hr to 125 for 20’
• 30C/hr to 250 for 20’
• 40C/hr to 375 for 20’
• 50C/hr to 520 for 15 (a bubble squeeze could be inserted here by raising the target temperature to 650, with a 30-minute soak before continuing at the same rate to the top temperature).
• 150/hr to target temperature

This is about 18 hours to top temperature without the bubble squeeze and another 18 hours to cool.  This strategy requires 1.5 days, assuming all the layers are even.  The same amount of time is required for both strategies, but the chance of large bubbles is dramatically reduced.

He recommends for 3 layers of 6mm glass:

• 200C/hr to 250, no soak
• 340C/hr to 500, no soak
• 400C/hr to 600, no soak (a bubble squeeze could be introduced here by changing the target temperature to 650 with a 30-minute soak)
• 500C/hr to top temperature.

This is about 2.5 hours to top temperature and 18 hours to cool without the bubble squeeze.

This means that it only takes 2/3 of the time to fire 3 layers of 6mm glass than it does to fire 6 layers of 3mm glass.  Yes, you lose some time in firing the pairs of 3mm glass, but you gain in reducing the risk of creating large bubbles that will ruin your final piece.

Inclusions

If you are putting elements between the initial two-layer pieces for fusing, you need to introduce a bubble squeeze.  Putting elements between the fused pairs will also require a bubble squeeze on the final firing.

Tack fusing the final layer

Note the times indicated above are for even layers.  If you have uneven layers or are tack fusing, the times will be extended much further than the ones noted there.

For a tack fused set of top layers, you will need to add those in the last firing, or do a sharp tack firing before the last firing.  In the case of a tack fused pair for the top layers you will need to reduce the rates of advance for the last firing by about 1/3. This would mean:

• an initial rate of 135C,
• a second ramp of 230C,
• a third of 270C and
• the fourth of 335C instead of the rates for even layers. 

You will also need to reduce the top temperature.  Observation will be required to determine when the correct profile has been achieved.

Further information is available in the ebook Low Temperature Kiln Forming.

When firing multiple layers of glass, the risk of creating large bubbles can be reduced by firing pairs of 3mm sheets, and then combining the results into one stack.

*Graham Stone. Firing Schedules for Glass, the Kiln Companion, 2000, Melbourne Australia.  ISBN 0-646-39733-8

Maintaining Consignment Relationships

Stay in communication.  There are several ways to do this.

photo credit: Careers in Sport 

Get on their newsletter list and put them on yours.

Check with them occasionally as a reminder you are around.  Some pretexts for making contact are: you may need to be paid or want to know what is selling or not; to check on stock levels; you may also offer promotional opportunities and want to know what they would like to be put forward.  But do this remotely (email, telephone, etc). An in-person visit should be done by appointment.

Make sure you can restock when the shop needs it. And inquire regularly if more stock is needed.  Find out their delivery hours and stick to them. Restocking requires an inventory list.  This is also the time to bring any new lines you have developed.  Ask if it is OK to bring it before visiting.

Remove old stock. Placing new or seasonal items in the shop can help with sales.  You can get advice from the shop.

Promote the shop.  Use your social media, include them in your list of outlets.  This mutual promotion gives rewards of increased visibility and with determination, sales.

Be inventive. Create ways of communicating your continuing interest in the mutual business benefit both parties receive.  Use anniversaries, local events, things unique to their business, etc., as occasions to be in touch without any commercial objective.  There are lots of creative ways to be in touch.

Selection of a gallery or shop in which to place your work is a complex interaction of commission levels; the value you place on your time in preparing for and attending craft fairs or putting your work online; the perceived prestige of the shop/gallery; the potential relationship between you and the outlet; and the relationship of the consignment, wholesale and retail prices.

An important element of maintaining relationships with your galleries is keeping in contact, being interested in how their business is, and responding to their communications.

Other posts on consignment:

Consignment

Consignment Agreements

Consignment Rates

Consignment Venues

Recovering from Devitrification

An explanation of what devitrification is, can be found in the link.

Mild devitrification is generally a smeary appearance on the surface.  Most often this can be corrected by either removing the surface, adding a flux or putting another surface over the piece.

mild devitrification
photo credit: Bullseye Glass Co.

Removing the devitrified surface

Sandblasting and grinding are two common methods of removing the surface. If you have access to a sandblaster, this is the easiest method of removing the surface.  You can remove the surface with manual methods too.  You can use wet and dry sandpapers, starting with coarse ones and proceed through grades to at least 400grit (0.037mm).  The flexibility of the sandpapers is that they can conform to uneven surfaces that tack fusing provides, to remove devitrification in depressions as well as the high bits. Diamond hand pads and sheets do the job more quickly, but are more expensive.

Acid etching is another surface removal method. There are various etching creams on the market which will remove the surface. You need to apply and leave for a long time to allow the acid to work on the glass surface.  It is best to keep the acid paste damp to enable the acid to work over a long period.  A piece of cling film will work well.

Making a new surface

You can provide a new surface by using devitrification sprays.  There are both commercial products and do it yourself ones that work.  The do it yourself product is a borax solution.  The method for making the solution is given here.

Borax powder

You also can give the devitrified surface a new one by covering it with clear powders.  Powders sifted evenly over the surface until there is a thin covering over all the piece will give a new surface concealing or covering the devitrification.  Fine frit does not work so well, as more needs to be sifted over the surface.  This will not be applicable to tack fused pieces, as the whole piece needs to be taken to a contour or full fuse to make sure the powder or frit is completely smooth.  This will make the tack fused areas flat.

Left to right - devitrified surface, powder covering, fired piece
Photo credit: Bullseye Glass Co.

When dealing with devitrification, the whole of the surface should be treated, not just isolated areas.  Treating isolated areas will most probably leave a difference in appearance between the treated and untreated areas.  It is not worth the risk of having to fire yet again.

Dealing with devitrification usually involves removing the devitrified surface or making a new one.

Bubble Squeeze Temperature

“My bubble squeeze temperature is higher than my slumping temperature.“ The writer goes on to say that their bubble squeeze is at 1250°F/676°C vs. a slumping range of 1150°F/620°C - 1175°F/634°C.

I applaud the writer for doing the slumping at the lower range of slumping temperatures. This allows the glass to relax into the mould with fewer marks being picked up.  The temperatures might require significantly long soaks depending on the span, depth, shape, weight of glass, etc.   But it is a good practice to get work done at as low a temperature as practical.

 But...

There does seem to be a misunderstanding on how a bubble squeeze works. Like most things with glass, any process works over a range of temperatures.  Bullseye glass begins to soften about 540°C. This continues to about 680°C where the transformation range begins – that is, the glass is behaving more like a viscous liquid than a softening solid.  A bubble squeeze or a slump can begin anywhere in this 540°C to 680° range.  At the lower end of the range, any slump will take “forever”.  At the top end, some slumps may occur too quickly and have mould and stretch marks on the bottom. 

Credit: Fusedglass.org

However…

This note is about the relation of bubble squeeze to slumping temperatures.  If you can slump an item at 620°C, you can also perform a bubble squeeze at that temperature.  Both processes rely on the glass becoming “soft” enough to relax into the shape below it.  It may be that you will need a very long soak to press out air in a bubble squeeze at 620°C, but it can be done if you are willing to wait a long time.  

Many people begin their bubble squeeze at 620°C for fusing glass with a soak.  I am not sure that a soak is required at this point, as slowing the rate of advance over the next 50°C will have the effect of increasing the heat work the glass receives without the need of a soak at the beginning of the bubble squeeze ramp – unless you have a rapid rate of advance toward the bubble squeeze.  

They then progress slowly (maybe 50°C or less, depending on thickness) for the next 55°C to 60°C and soak at that higher temperature for half an hour, or more for difficult shapes.  This additional heat work allows the glass to gradually become more plastic and deform more slowly than at a higher temperature bubble squeeze.  This is often called a cautious bubble squeeze, since it starts at a lower temperature and moves gradually to the top of the bubble squeeze range.  It removes the single shot bubble squeeze at a higher temperature, when air might already be trapped. 

In general terms, the slump can be carried out at or below the softening point of the glass.  This softening point is also the maximum temperature for a bubble squeeze. For example, float glass has a softening point of about 720°C, so a bubble squeeze and slumping can be in the 660°C to 720°C range.  Some glasses have even higher softening points, and others have much lower softening points than Bullseye or Oceanside.

Further information is available in the ebook: Low Temperature Kiln Forming.

Consignment Terminology .

You need to communicate clearly, and in writing, with a consignment sales agreement to ensure the best chance of building a positive experience that works for you and the shop owner.  This means that you need to know the terminology used and required in consignment agreements.

Meet the taxation requirements

Make sure you have complied with the legal requirements in your jurisdiction for selling.  In the United States, for example, you need a tax identification number.  In the United Kingdom, you do not need anything other than your personal tax number, unless you are selling so much that you are employing other people.

Written contract

You need more than a verbal agreement.  Ask for their consignment agreement and take it away to consider the terms.  It is not pushy to do this; the shop owner would do the same. If the gallery/shop does not have a standard contract, you need to develop one and negotiate it with the owner.  The important elements are the commission rate, payment terms and frequency, insurance, breakages & theft, inventory arrangements.

Commission rate

A direct sale to the shop is normally marked up 100% of your price plus taxes to give the retail price.  So, the commission taken should be less that than that.  If the shop wants 50% commission, counter with direct sale at that level of commission.  It would be exceptional circumstances only that 50% commission would be acceptable to you.  30% - 40% is more usual.  The agreed rate should be written in the contract.

Payment terms

How frequently will you be paid for the work sold?  This needs to be included in the agreement.  Associated with this is inventory.

Inventory

You need to provide an item and price list for the gallery and one for yourself.  It should state the name of the parties at the head. It is essential to list the date delivered, the number and description of the items. Each line of work needs to have the item price to the gallery and the total price for each line. This list gives the sums you expect to receive upon their sale.  It is possible you will want to include, by agreement,  their commission and the retail price, although the gallery may change the retail price at any time.  If they want to reduce the price, that will come from their commission.  The price on the consignment form is not to be reduced, even though they ask for it. If they want to increase the price, they will keep the additional sums – in which case, of course, you should be thinking about increasing your price to them.

Exclusivity

What about choosing between galleries with different commission levels when you would like to be in both?  How do you choose?

Generally, shops and galleries expect to have an exclusive arrangement for their area.  This means that you can’t have your items in different outlets in a defined area.  What is that area?  If you are comfortable with the area restrictions, you then can approach the decision about commission levels.

Suppose you have different shops offering to take your work, but at different commission levels.  What do you do?

First, you do not reduce your price to the higher commission place.  You set a fair price for your work in the items.  That is a price at which you can make a profit.  That is what you deserve.  So, you place the items in either place at your single, set price. That may make your product more expensive in one shop than another.  That is not your problem. That is the owner’s decision.  You can see everywhere that there are different prices for the same product.  Usually, there is a perceived difference in quality, service, prestige, etc., between the places.

Reporting

The reciprocal of this is the listing by the shop of items sold and resulting sums due.  The frequency of this reporting needs to be in the agreement. 

Loss, theft, breakage

The fact that the work on consignment remains your property until sold needs to be in the written contract.  This may affect who insures your work in case of breakage or theft.  The division of responsibility needs to be written in the agreement.

Management of stock

The shop should have a system to keep track of sales and stock. Ask about it.

Stocking

Agree restocking arrangements to be responsive to sales. An agreement on removing items due to lack of sales, or your requirement to have the item in your possession is needed.

Promotion

You hope and expect the retailer to promote your works, but you must also promote the retailer in your social media and your direct selling venues.  Participating in events related to your work is one of the ways to assist in promotion too.  Some element of this needs to be included in the contract.

Selection of a gallery or shop in which to place your work is a complex interaction of commission levels; the value you place on your time in preparing for and attending craft fairs or putting your work online; the perceived prestige of the shop/gallery; the potential relationship between you and the outlet; and the relationship of the consignment, wholesale and retail prices.

Other posts on consignment:

Consignment

Consignment Agreements

Consignment Rates

Consignment Venues

Glue boiling

People often find that their glued pieces shift in the firing.  Sometimes dramatically. This can be from placement or boiling of the glue.

Almost all commonly available glues evaporate well below the “sticky” range of glass. 

The boiling points of some of the popular glues:

PVA (also known as: wood glue, white glue, carpenter's glue, school glue, Elmer's glue in the US, or PVA glue)  

Boiling point: 112°C (234°F)

Super glue (and other cyanoacrylate glues) 

boiling point 54-56°C (129-133°F)

Lacquer (hair spray)

Boiling point: 185 to 189°C (365 to 372°F)

CMC  (carboxymethyl cellulose includes wallpaper paste, vitragel and most fusing glues)

boiling point: 260–270°C (500–518°F)  

melts at 274°C 

Aloe vera gel  

ignition point: ca. 232°C therefore, its boiling point is lower.

This shows the popular glues used in kilnforming are not effective above 300°C and many with much lower boiling points.  This means that glues only hold glass in place when cold. Glues may be useful in getting items with many pieces into the kiln, but they will not hold them in place until the glass becomes sticky.  The glass, in general, needs to be at or above the slumping temperature to begin to stick together.

If glue doesn’t work, what can I do?

Other means than glues are required to support the moveable items until the glass become sticky at around 620°C (about 700°C for float glass).

If placing frit supports is not possible without showing, such as in a tack fuse, you can use mechanical means. Two of these are grinding flat spots on rolling pieces; and placing supports under the balanced items. Other support and damming methods will depend on the nature of the project.  In general, if the pieces will not stay in place without glue before placing in the kiln, the pieces will move in the kiln after the glue evaporates.

This evaporation can be so fast as to be called boiling.  Glue boils off in the kiln whether dry before firing or not. Sometimes there is enough glue or rapid enough heating to cause displacement of the glass by the force of the boiling. Just as in boiling water, the evaporation can be explosive.  The force of the built-up pressure of glue trapped under glass can move small pieces relatively large distances.

How do I avoid boiling the glue?

• Use as little glue as possible.
• Use it at the edges of the pieces.
• Do not place it in the middle of large pieces.
• When you do use glue, advance slowly to at least 300°C allow the glue to evaporate, rather than boil.  I’d suggest a rate of 50°C per hour would be slow enough to avoid the boiling of sparingly applied glue.

Best of all, use no glue.

Quickly fired glue - wet or dry - boils.  Sometimes with enough force to move the glass significant distances.  Avoid gluing as much as possible and use sparingly when needed.

Consignment – meeting the owner/buyer

When approaching the retailer keep several things in mind:

Prepare for the meeting

• Make an appointment, as the retailers’ focus is on selling. Buying is done in down time from the sales.
• Explain how you came to select the shop – this can include recommendations from people already represented by the store.
• Provide a brief description of the kind of work you do.  If you sell at other locations – craft shows, online, etc. – include that and be prepared to say how well they sell.
• Be prepared to talk about the inspirations behind your work.
• Prepare yourself with the points you want to make about your work and its relation to the shop’s offerings.
• Remember that you are providing retailers with unique items that fit with their customers interests and needs.
• Be prepared with suggested retail price ranges for each line, remembering the commission the shop takes.
• During the meeting, the retailer will be assessing both your work and the potential working relationship.
• Be prepared for the retailer to ask for time to consider whether to stock your work.

Bring a range of materials to support your presentation.

• Take a small but representative sample set of your work in its packaging.
• Back up the samples with good photographs, which are essential, especially if the pieces are too large for practical transport.
• Bring business cards, a resume relevant to the shop, marketing materials, photographs, and samples you are prepared to leave with the shop if asked.

Presentation

• Dress to make a good impression. You are presenting yourself as well as your work.  You don’t need to be super smart.  Dress neatly in a way that suits your personality.
•  Present your work at its best along with its packaging.

Follow up

Follow up is essential. A week or so after the meeting contact the premises with further information or even questions.  If the response is to decline to carry your work, ask for feedback about your work and its relation to the shop’s offerings. This will assist your future presentations.

Selection of a gallery or shop in which to place your work is a complex interaction of commission levels; the value you place on your time in preparing for and attending craft fairs or putting your work online; the perceived prestige of the shop/gallery; the potential relationship between you and the outlet; and the relationship of the consignment, wholesale and retail prices.

Other posts on consignment:

Consignment

Consignment Agreements

Consignment Rates

Consignment Venues

Annealing Bullseye and Oceanside Together

Credit: Bullseye FAQ_kilnforming_annealing

The question sometimes arises as to whether Bullseye and Oceanside can be annealed in the same firing, since the two glasses cannot be combined in the same piece.  They also have different published annealing soak temperatures (also known as the annealing point).  The explanation requires some knowledge of annealing.

Annealing can be done at other than the annealing point. This is because annealing can be done over a range rather than being a single magic figure. Bullseye did not change their glass when they altered the recommended anneal temperature.  This means that the annealing point is still at 516°C. Their research has shown that good annealing results are obtained by doing the temperature equalisation soak at the lower end of the range.  Temperature equalisation throughout the piece is what happens during the annealing soak. Therefore, it is a descriptive term for what happens at the annealing temperature.

Bullseye's previous annealing temperature was 516°C and Spectrum's was/is 510°C. These are very close, and in the past, many chose to anneal at either - or in most cases, both - of these temperatures. Bullseye's research has shown doing the temperature equalisation at the lower end of the annealing range provides good results and ones that are more reliable than the higher temperature.  This research is applicable to all soda lime glasses, not just Bullseye. Therefore, the same principles can be applied to Oceanside fusing compatible glass, or any other fusing compatible glass. This further indicates that you can anneal both Bullseye and Oceanside fusing compatible glasses at the same temperature. 

Further support to this view of the possibility of annealing the two glasses at the same time and temperature is given by Wissmach.  Wissmach W90 and W96 now are both given the annealing temperature soak as 482°C.  Previously they both had been at 510°C.

If you feel the need to compensate for the annealing point differences, you can increase the 482°C for Bullseye by 6°C to 488°C for both. Although I don't think it is necessary, 488°C will be fine for Bullseye and safe for Oceanside.